Hurricane Season

"Not sure. I think I liked you immediately for some reason."

"When we first met, I planned to stay as far away from you as possible," Siouxsie said, lightheartedly.

I looked over at her. "What changed your mind?"

"I thought about my first ride in your car. Even after I said no thanks, you were nice enough to offer again when it started to rain. Then you didn't hit on me during the ride. You got outta Dodge as soon as you heard the family drama start in the driveway."

"Didn't think you wanted a stranger hearing family stuff."

"And you haven't flirted with any of the women we work with. Not even me. Even though I could tell you were interested. I kept hearing what a nice guy you are. I never met a guy somebody, especially a woman or two, didn't speak ill of."

I laughed again. "I'm the boss, sort of. I try not to have to be a boss, though. Ask instead of order. Praise when it's deserved. Say thank you. So far, it's worked."

"Any other reasons you don't fraternize with the help?"

"Well, there is Kinsey. We were together for a while. Though, I'm sure knowing I'm seeing you wouldn't bother her in the least."

"You still like her?"

"Of course, I still like her. But we were over while we were still in high school. Kinsey and I never got very intimate. We were a bit too young for anything serious."

Siouxsie kissed me suddenly. It had the same effect as the first one. The difference was this time she was up against me. And she would feel me growing erect as she held herself against me. We were both breathless when she broke the kiss.

"I know you'd like to take things further, Paul. I want to, too. But not just yet. Maybe you should take me home, now."

Disappointed, I took a deep breath. "Okay."

When I pulled up in front of her house, Siouxsie's mother's car was in the driveway and most of lights in the house were on.

"This isn't good," Siouxsie said.

"What?"

"It's late and everyone is still up," she said. "Ian's sitting in the shadows on the left."

I didn't see her brother sitting on the porch in a dark corner until Siouxsie said something. "How old is Ian?" I asked.

"Almost sixteen. Hear my mother?"

I listened for a moment. Her voice was muffled but her tone was readily evident. "Yep. She sounds . . . upset," I said.

"I better get inside. If Ian's sitting outside in the dark and Mom's yelling at Nate, they did something to get in her doghouse. Which is easy where those two are concerned."

"How old is Nate?"

"Four minutes older than Ian. Nate doesn't like that Ian's bigger, stronger, and more athletic. Nate's the smart one; school is easy for him. Which doesn't sit well with Ian who works hard to get C's and B's. There's a lot of friction between them. You always hear twins are close. Not those two."

Siouxsie leaned toward me and gave me a peck on the lips. That simple peck got me going all over. "If Ian weren't on the porch," she whispered. Siouxsie's eyes darted down at my shorts. She grinned. It was becoming a frequent expression. "You better stay in the car. In case my mother comes out to get Ian."

I watched her walk across the driveway. She stopped on the porch and said something to her brother, who got up and went inside. He looked like he was fuming. Then she turned around and waved at me. Before she went inside, she pantomimed she'd call me.

It was almost twelve-thirty when I pulled into the driveway at home. My parents were home. Mom's car was in the garage. Dad's behind the house. I parked alongside my father like I always did. The back porch light was on but other than a few under-cabinet lights in the kitchen, the house was dark. I sat in the car for a few minutes and thought about my first date with Siouxsie.

Siouxsie excited the hell out of me. Spending time with her felt different. I was unusually comfortable with her considering how long I'd known her. But I felt like I was in over my head, too. Which didn't make sense. I was worried that it was way too soon to feel like I did about her. Even though we'd known each other just a few weeks, it felt much longer. I hoped she felt the same way but wasn't sure she did. At least not yet. I knew she was attracted to me. That much was obvious. But how deep her attraction ran was an open question despite what she'd said earlier.

The few girls I dated that Joanie met were overwhelmed in Joanie's presence. But Siouxsie held her own with my sister-in-law. Joanie told me Siouxsie was into me. Even Kinsey, who was nice if sometimes a little bitchy, saw some spark between us. Siouxsie had kissed me several times, so I knew there was some level of physical attraction. Plus, she'd strongly hinted at taking things physical. But so far, we'd basically been work buddies. Okay, there had been that one phone call. But I wondered if it was my imagination run wild. Or if she was messing with my head. Now we'd gone on a date. One I felt pretty good about.

I got out of the car and went inside. I stopped and looked in the fridge, hoping to find a quick snack but settled for water. When I started up the stairs, I heard noises from my parents' room that told me they weren't asleep. I tried to go upstairs quietly. So, they wouldn't know I heard them. Instead, in my haste to avoid hearing any more of my parents' passions, I tripped on the second step and fell forward. I landed with a loud thump. My shin felt like it got kicked with a steel-toed boot. I stifled a cry of pain. Tripping and landing hard was bad enough. My mother's sudden loud shriek of laughter just made it worse. I hoped she wasn't laughing because she heard me fall. But I also didn't want to imagine what might be making her laugh like that.

I stripped to my boxers, brushed my teeth and went to bed. The pain in my shin gradually faded and I started to doze. I almost didn't hear my cellphone vibrating.

"Hi," I said groggily.

"I woke you," Siouxsie said. "I'll let you go back to sleep."

"No, no," I said. "I was waiting for your call. I just nodded off for a moment."

"I had a good time, tonight."

"Me, too," I said. "I was nice to do something outside of work with you. It's always fun hanging out with my brother and his wife. Joanie loves to needle me. But she doesn't mean anything by it. And she takes as good as she gives."

"I'm sorry I cut the night short."

"I understand. It was our first date."

"Second. I think of our first date as when we played cribbage."

I laughed, softly. "That wasn't a date. That was a fleecing. A few more games and the only thing I could have paid with was clothing. You might have sent me home naked."

"Hmm, that's an idea. Maybe next time we should play for clothing. I like some of the stuff you wear. I could add it to my wardrobe," she giggled. "I wouldn't mind sleeping in one of your tee shirts."

"I'd like to see you in one of my tee shirts, too," I grinned.

"Oh? You see me in a bathing suit all the time."

"Not quite the same," I laughed.

Siouxsie giggled. "Paul?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm only wearing a tee shirt now."

I didn't, couldn't, say anything for a moment. For one thing, I couldn't believe she said it. "What?" I finally gulped.

"I'm not wearing anything but a tee shirt," she repeated in a whisper.

My boxer briefs suddenly felt very confining.

"Are you?" she continued.

"Are I what?" I shook my head. I sounded like an idiot.

"Wearing any clothes."

"Yeah, I am."

"Why?" When I didn't say anything. Siouxsie added, "I've been thinking about you. I can't seem to think about much else most of the time. Especially at this time of day. Hang on a second."

I heard some muffled background noises. What she said rattled around in my head while I waited.

"You still there?" she asked when she came back.

"Yeah."

"Do you know what this is?" She tapped her phone several times. Whatever it was thunked in my ear.

"Your fingernail?"

Siouxsie giggled. "How about now?" A loud pulsing buzz, something like "jdjdjdjzzzzzzz . . . jdjdjdjzzzzzzz' sounded in my ear. Loud enough that I pulled the phone away from my ear. When the noise stopped, I heard her ask, "Know what it is now?"

"I think so," I managed to choke out.

"I'm going to turn my phone off now. I'll be thinking about you for a while. And imagining what you'll be doing. Goodnight, Paul." Just before dead air, I heard the buzz again. And a gasp.

I was awake for another hour. I lasted about thirty seconds the first time. Barely got my boxer briefs off. The second time took a bit longer. Once I was done, I was so exhausted I fell asleep immediately.

I was awake earlier than usual the next morning. I took a quick shower, put on my swim trunks, a tee shirt, and sandals. I stripped the bed and took my sheets and pillowcase down to the washer and started the load. My parents were still asleep when I started making breakfast. But the coffee maker came on. That meant parents would be joining me shortly. I went to the fridge and got enough omelet fixings to feed everyone.

My father wandered into the kitchen first, wearing his usual early Sunday summer morning attire. A tee shirt and baggy basketball shorts. He went right to the coffeemaker and poured two cups, added milk and sugar to my mother's. "Good morning," he said just before he took a sip of his black, unsweetened, morning caffeine fix. He looked down at my leg. "That hurt?" he asked.

I looked down and saw I had a small but bright purple bruise on my shin. I hadn't known it was there. "It didn't until just now," I said as the shin began to ache now that I knew it was bruised.

"It looks like you'll survive," he said. "What'd you do?"

"I tripped going up the stairs."

"You fell up the stairs? Better than down, I suppose. How'd that happen?"

I didn't want to have this conversation. I punted by giving him something else to think about. "I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking about the girl I had dinner with tonight." It was a mistake. For my father, mentioning a girl wasn't a big deal. My mother was a different story.

My mother arrived in time to hear what I said. "Someone special?" she asked. "Maybe the girl with red hair Joanie said she saw you with?"

Yeah, one day I would have to kill my brother's wife. Siouxsie had become a dominant presence in my daily thoughts. But I wasn't ready for my mother to start getting ideas about grandchildren. At least not any grandchildren by her youngest son. "She's someone I work with, Mom. She's nice. I spend quite a bit of time with her because I give her a ride to work and sometimes home. Her family moved into the old Davis farmhouse a few weeks ago. They only have one car."

"She must be more than just someone you work with if you're taking her to dinner with your brother and his wife."

Joanie talked to my mother after dinner? No question about it. I was ordering her tombstone first chance I got. I was glad she and Mom were close. But I wasn't so happy that she was keeping my mother abreast of my alleged love life. "I didn't take her to have dinner with Mark and Joanie. We went somewhere to eat. Mark and Joanie just happened to be there."

"Well, when do we get to meet her?" my mother asked. "You should bring her by for dinner one night after work."

"We'll see, Mom. Be patient. It might not go anywhere. I'm leaving for law school the beginning of September. Remember? She's going back to school in the fall, too." I didn't mention Siouxsie was going to be on the same campus. I plated three omelets and toast. "How about we eat breakfast and forget about any imaginary future mother of your grandchildren? For now, anyway. What are you guys up to today?"

"I'm going to go buy the supplies we need to paint the garage," my father said.

My mother chimed in next. "I'm showing houses to two couples today. One this morning and then another late this afternoon. The couple this morning is also considering building so in between, I'll be researching lots and rentals to show during the week."

"I'm off tomorrow. I'll start the prep on the garage while you're at work."

"Your brother should be available. I'll give him a call later today," my father told me. "I'll try to get started on it today."

Mom and Dad began talking about what else she wanted him to do while she was working. I finished my breakfast and started to clean up.

"Leave it," Mom said. "I'll clean the kitchen. I've got time before I have to go." She hesitated for a moment. "Go pick up your girlfriend."

I had my back to her when she said it. I didn't react or respond. But I knew Mom was smirking just from the way she said it. I started composing Joanie's epitaph as I grabbed my stuff to leave.

It was earlier than I had to leave but I left anyway, rather than run the risk that the conversation would circle back to Siouxsie and me. I pulled up in front of Siouxsie's house and waited. Nate came out of the house after a few minutes and walked toward my car. He was a half head shorter, and much slighter, than the kid I saw the previous night.

"Siouxsie will be ready in a few minutes. She's just went to her room to get dressed and then has to make her lunch," he said. "Mom told me to invite you in for a cup of coffee while you wait."

I hesitated for a moment, as I realized I hadn't made a lunch in my haste to get out of the house. There was an Italian restaurant near the park that would deliver to the lifeguard shack if the order exceeded twenty-five dollars. I'd order a couple of pizzas for the crew on duty. Even if everyone had a lunch, it wouldn't go to waste.

I was forty-five minutes early. I decided to get out of the car. I didn't want to go in, but I also didn't want to appear unfriendly.

Siouxsie's mother was giving Ian directions about what to do with a box of books. Ian was huge compared to Nate. Six-two to Nate's five-eight or five-nine. Ian was probably fifty pounds heavier, all muscle. He picked up the oversized box of books like it was filled with air. Most of the boxes that were stacked everywhere last time I was there were gone. The living room was already livable.

"Good morning, Paul," Siouxsie's mother said. "Siouxsie will be ready soon. You're early. Want a cup of coffee?"

"No thank you, Mrs. Hurrican. I've already had breakfast and more than enough coffee."

"Let's not be so formal. My name is Sharon."

"Okay."

"Thanks for all the rides you've given Siouxsie. I worry about her when she rides the bike. The traffic here can be a nightmare. I used to work Orthopedics at a hospital. I've seen what happens to a cyclist that gets hit by a car. It's not pretty."

"My pleasure, ma'am."

"Didn't I just tell you to call me Sharon?"

"My pleasure, Sharon."

I cringed a moment later when Sharon barked at Ian because he hadn't returned. I hoped she never got on my case. Nate was diligently hanging framed photos and prints that were placed around the room.

Sharon and I talked about some inconsequential stuff for a few minutes. When Siouxsie came down the stairs and smiled at me, Sharon said, "Go join my daughter in the kitchen. I've got to make sure these two goof-offs stay focused. I want to finish this room today. Then I have to get after them about their stuff."

I went in the direction Siouxsie went and quickly found her in front of the fridge. "I didn't get a chance to make lunch. I'll order pizza for everyone working today."

"How come? You're real early. Never mind. I'll just pack some snacks and drinks for us then," she said. She quickly found some granola bars and fruit and put it all into a nylon lunch bag and then put several bottles of iced tea and water into a small cooler with some ice packs. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"Whenever you are. We'll be early."

"That's okay. I wanted to talk to you anyway," she said softly. "Mom, I have to leave. I forgot we have a meeting this morning."

"Okay. Stay safe." Siouxsie gave her mother a kiss goodbye. Nate grinned at his sister when she slapped him on the butt as she walked by. Ian was listlessly going through an open box whose contents I couldn't see. "Get over here and give me a hug," Siouxsie said to Ian. She whispered something to him I couldn't hear but he looked in my direction and grinned.

After we got in the car and were under way, I looked over at Siouxsie. "I don't want to be nosey and won't ask you to betray a confidence. But what did you whisper to Ian? He looked right at me and grinned when you hugged him."

"I told him you'd be jealous because he was getting a hug from cute redhead and you weren't."

I laughed. "Okay."

After a moment, we both said, "About last night . . ." at the same time.

When I took a deep breath, Siouxsie went first. "I've only done that once before, Paul. The first time I didn't tell you what I was doing but I'm sure you figured it out. I'm a little embarrassed I was so blatant about it last night."

I took another deep breath, intending to say something, though I hadn't figured out what.

"I'm not playing games, Paul. I'm not going to tease you forever. The last time . . . the only other time I wanted to get intimate with a guy, I'd known him for more than a year. And we dated for most of it. I'm still trying to figure out how and why I got these feelings for you so quickly."

"Siouxsie, I told you I stayed away from summer romances and why. I had two girlfriends while at State. I was more serious with one than maybe I should have been. I still can't believe I got interested in you so quickly. It's difficult for me to wrap my head around it. I'm leaving for law school in a few weeks. I'm a little worried about how you're going to feel about it all at the end of the summer."

Siouxsie looked down at her feet. "I don't care that you're going away. Right now, I'm willing to take a chance on you." She hesitated for a minute. "I think you're the kind of guy that's not going to toss me aside without regard for my feelings."

I almost told her I was going to law school at Cornell right then. I'm not sure why I didn't. But I didn't. "Siouxsie, why don't we continue on whatever path we're on. Then figure it all out when we have to leave for school."

"I'm not on a path, Paul. I'm in a tempest in a storm-tossed dinghy."

I grinned. "Apropos of your name," I said. "I'm in the same storm."

"So, what do we do?" I asked.

"See if we can weather it," Siouxsie said softly. "At least, that's what I want to do."

"Me, too."

We rode the rest of the way to the park in near silence. We circled around each other all day at the park. We didn't avoid each other but there was an underlying tension neither of us could deny. I couldn't help feeling something very intense was about to start.

I ordered four pizzas for lunch. I told everyone lunch was on me but nearly everyone tossed a few bucks on the lunch table. I ordered two large antipasti and garlic bread with the extra cash and still had enough cash left over for the driver's tip.

Siouxsie was done for the day at five but stayed at the park until closing. I saw her a few times in passing the last couple hours. But she knew I was still on duty. She went for a swim. Walked the park. Sat up on a tower chair with Janet Dobbs, who like Siouxsie, never looked away from the water when she was on a chair.

When I locked the gate behind me at eight, I was looking forward to the ride home. Though I must admit some trepidation. Siouxsie was ready to face her passions, knowing, maybe even expecting there might be emotional consequences when it was time to go to school when the summer ended. I was ready to face them, too. But I knew I was going in the same direction she was at the end of the summer. I felt a bit guilty. If things didn't work out between us, being at the same school could be awkward. But my secret would remain like the cards contributed to a cribbage crib. Unrevealed until the hand was played out.