The Wrong Side

"Take your shirt off, Henry." He hesitated, worried about how she'd react, but then did as she asked and lied down on the bed next to her. "I think we should stay above the waist this time, okay?"

Henry nodded before bringing her lips to his. They stuck with strictly kissing for about another 10 minutes. Kelly was enjoying feeling Henry's muscular torso with her hands, though noticed a roughness on his back. Kelly wanted him to touch her as well but needed him to be comfortable enough to do it on his own. Finally, she felt his hand work its way to her breast, though on the outside of her clothing, and felt her nipples respond. She moaned her approval and increased the intensity of her kissing in a move designed to let him know she liked what he was doing. It seemed to work because moments later Henry had worked his hand back down to her waist so he could get his hand under her shirt this time.

Henry was enthralled with the feel of her smooth, soft skin on his hands, briefly hoping his hands weren't too rough for her. When he finally took her bare left breast into his hand he felt himself shudder with the pleasure of it. It was so soft on the outside, yet so firm on the inside. Her nipple was long and hard, and he wanted to do more than feel it. He decided she had led the way long enough. He broke their kiss.

"Take your top off, baby."

Kelly smiled at him, inwardly delighted he was being assertive, then sat up and pulled her blouse off and tossed it aside. They spent as much time as they dared kissing and touching. They each found the other's necks and ears, and certainly Henry's lips found Kelly's marvelous breasts and swollen nipples.

"Ooh, I like that, baby. I like you sucking my nipples."

It was difficult to resist touching her below the waist, even avoiding her legs for fear that the temptation would be too much. Finally, they became aware of the late hour. They still had to walk back to the shop to get her car in time for her to make the drive back home for curfew.

As they climbed off the bed, Kelly finally caught sight of Henry's back before he put his shirt back on. She gasped and her hands came up to her mouth.

"Baby, what happened to your back?!"

Henry finished pulling his shirt on quickly. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, honey. What happened? Who did that to you?"

"Pops. Mom wasn't the only one he beat up on. I tried to stop him a few times before I was big enough to make a difference. At least it gave mom a chance to get away. I know it's pretty gross to look at. I'll leave my shirt on from now on."

"No baby, don't." She tried to pull his shirt back off him but he struggled against her and she could feel the tension in his body. She leaned into his ear and whispered: "Baby, let me. I won't hurt you." Henry finally relented and Kelly pulled his shirt all the way off him and ran her hands over the scarred skin. "Was it a belt?"

"Yep."

"Don't cover it when we're intimate, Henry; just the opposite, in fact. They're part of you so they're not gross or ugly. We just need to give you more pleasant memories for them."

Kelly pressed her lips to his left shoulder, to the first scar, and didn't stop until she had kissed every inch of his back.

"Can you feel that, baby? Does it feel good?" This caused a stirring in both of their loins, and they finally decided to get dressed and end the evening before they gave in to temptation.

Kelly took her bra from the shelf and put it back on, then took the blouse that Henry had retrieved for her and put it back on as well. They kissed again, and then started the walk back to Art's.

(----------)

You may be wondering exactly what it was that Kelly did about her friends and their attitudes toward Henry. It happened at the very next party. Kelly kept her hands-on Henry's as they walked in the door. Kelly had confided in just a couple of her friends that she and Henry had worked it out and were back together, so the tension in the room was palpable and the surprised looks on the faces of the other guests were priceless, at least to Henry.

Kelly had decided that nothing less than a spectacle would do. And so the very first thing they did upon getting into the party was to ask that the music be turned off for a minute so she could say something. She even stood on a chair to ensure everyone could see and hear what she had to say

"Can I have your attention for one minute," Kelly shouted. Things calmed down quickly and most eyes were focused on her. "Thanks. I'm sure several of you have already noticed that I'm back with Henry again tonight. And I know that some of you are probably unhappy about that. And that is your right. But I want to make something very clear to each and every one of you. Henry is my man and that is something that nobody but me has a say in. You don't have to like him, but you sure as hell better treat him with respect and decency. If I even think that anyone is being less than kind to him or, God forbid, trying to somehow come between us, you will have shown yourselves to be something other than my friend and none of you will see me again. And maybe that's fine with you, but I think you should all think about how you would feel if your so-called friends were to decide who you should or shouldn't be with, then actively try to get you together or break you apart even if that is against what you want for yourself. Would you feel like they were your friends, or would you feel like they were more concerned with what they wanted instead of what you wanted? I know what I think. I suggest each of you think about it."

She stood down from the chair then led Henry into the backyard so they could have a few minutes to themselves. Eventually they rejoined the party, and they were both surprised at the number of apologies they received. Even the girls that had been most involved in trying to break them up came directly to Henry and apologized for what they did. While it would be nice to say that they all became friends with Henry, the fact is that many of them still felt he was 'beneath them'. But to a person they accepted that he would be there and they were civil and decent to him, with some even greeting him by name as he and Kelly arrived at get-togethers in the future.

(----------)

Senior Prom is one of the benchmark events in a girl's life. It's a strong delineation between childhood and adulthood. Kelly had been looking forward to the big night for a long time. She had it all planned out: The limousine, dinner at a nice restaurant, and dancing the night away with her friends, perhaps for the last time.

But a monkey wrench had been tossed in: Her boyfriend wasn't allowed to attend. Hampton Academy had long had a rule stipulating that non-students couldn't attend the prom, even as dates of other students. And they did check student ID's at the door. So Henry couldn't take her.

Kelly broached the topic. "Honey, would you mind if I went to prom anyway?"

"Of course not. You should go. Are you allowed to go by yourself, or did you plan on getting a date?"

The tone in his voice suggested he preferred the former, and would not be happy with the latter.

"I was thinking I would just go with Mary and Brian. They and some other couples are getting a limo anyway and said they could fit me in with no problem."

"Sure honey. Go and have fun."

(----------)

And so was the stage set for the next hurdle in Henry and Kelly's relationship. You see, Kelly didn't really like the idea of going to prom alone. It wasn't that there was somebody at Hampton she wanted to go with; she just didn't want to arrive alone. It didn't fit her version of an event she had been looking forward to for years. She would do it, of course, because she wouldn't miss prom. But she was disappointed.

She and Katie went and found a distinctive sky-blue prom dress that accentuated Kelly's figure beautifully, which Kelly later modeled for Henry. He complimented her choice and also mentioned how it brought out her eyes. Everything was set.

Kelly and her family had lived in this neighborhood for 15 years, so she had a lot of friends, male and female, that lived nearby. One of these friends, and a fellow student at Hampton, was a young man named Andrew. He was a nice enough guy but nothing special; certainly no one Kelly had ever been interested in. He was going to prom as well, and would be attending with his longtime girlfriend, Lisa, obviously another Hampton student.

Lisa was, among other things, a dancer. And she was very good. The year-ending show was coming up and she was rehearsing during much of her free time. It was just one of those freak accidents. She came down on the foot of one of the other dancers and rolled her ankle severely. She was in all kinds of pain, and the dance teacher rushed her to the hospital as Lisa's ankle started to swell and turn purple. It proved to be an extremely bad sprain, with the accompanying pain so strong that she couldn't even move it. And worst of all: this took place the day before prom. She would be in no condition to even go to prom, let alone participate.

Andrew and Lisa were among those that had been scheduled to ride in Brian and Mary's limo. When word got out about Lisa's injury and that she would be missing prom, someone (and at this point no one is even sure who) suggested that Kelly and Andrew should just go together. They were just friends; it wouldn't mean anything, except giving two people who had been flying solo someone to walk in the door with. Neither of them had a problem with it, and so it was agreed. And for some reason, probably because it was completely platonic and she didn't even think of it as a 'date', it never occurred to Kelly to mention this arrangement to Henry.

On prom night Henry was, in fact, supposed to work at the shop. And he intended to do so. But rather than getting there at 7:00 and working until 10:00, he decided to get there at 9:00 and work until midnight, so that he could park outside the hotel and watch his beautiful girl walk into the hotel in all her splendor. He had seen the dress, of course, but tonight her hair and makeup would also be done, and he wanted to see the whole package.

This being an event full of rich kids, limos were the norm. Stretch after stretch pulled up to unload a carful of teenagers then go find parking in the hotel lot to await word they were needed again. The repetitiveness of it was getting to Henry, when he finally saw Mary and Brian step out of a limo. This was Kelly's car. He got out of the GTO and walked a few steps closer, hoping to get a closer look. Imagine his surprise when he saw his girl on the arm of another guy. Their elbows were linked; they were clearly there together, and Kelly's unique dress made it clear it was her. Henry simply climbed back into the car and drove to Art's and knew in the back of his mind he would be spending an awful lot of time here again going forward. Time he had been planning to spend with Kelly.

(----------)

A week had passed since prom. Kelly hadn't heard anything from Henry and was getting worried since they previously had talked to each other at least once a day. She had left him several messages but hadn't heard anything back. She had been busy with getting ready for finals and graduation so hadn't been able to drive over to see him. So now that it was Saturday again she was strongly considering making the time to go see him and find out why he was ignoring her. But finally, just before noon, his number popped up on her caller ID.

"Henry?" Kelly asked.

"No Kelly. Sorry, but it's me."

"Hi Abby. It's nice to hear from you. He's mad at me again, isn't he?"

"I think so. He's doing the same thing he did before. Listens to the message, gets sad for a minute, deletes it, and goes to bed."

"And I assume he hasn't said anything about why?"

"As usual. I've told him he should call you and talk about it but I guess he hasn't. My brother can be so immature sometimes. He's at Art's today, if you care."

"I'm not sure I can play that card twice but I guess it's worth a shot."

(----------)

This was Saturday afternoon so, unlike the last time she had been here, Art's and the area around it was fairly active. Kelly parked outside the shop and walked in. An older guy that had seen her drive up told her first thing they didn't do luxury cars there. It was Art himself, according to the patch on his shirt.

"I'm not here for service. I wanted to talk to Henry."

"Uh, yeah, okay. Let me get him." Art walked toward the back of the shop and found Henry rebuilding a carburetor. "Hey Henry, there's some hot dame here to see ya."

This was not unexpected. "Tall, slim, blonde hair?"

"That's her. Don't know what she'd want with you, though," he joked.

"Tell her I'm busy."

"You serious? Hell, I'd give my left nut to have a girl that looks like that wanna talk to me."

"Then you talk to her. I told Mr. Evans I'd have this done by the end of the day. Besides, I don't think I wanna hear what she has to say."

"Okay, I'll tell her, but I don't think this'll be the end of it." Art wandered his way back to the front of the shop. "Sorry lady. He says he's on deadline for a rebuilt carburetor and can't talk right now. You wanna leave a message?"

Kelly just stepped past Art and headed right for where Henry was working.

"Lady, hey, you can't go in there. If you get hurt my insurance will drop my ass. C'mon lady."

Kelly ignored Art's pleas and walked all the way to Henry's work area. "Henry, we need to talk, and we're going to do it now."

Art finally caught up to her. "Sorry Henry. Can you get her out of here before something happens?"

Henry caught Kelly's eyes with his, then walked past her and headed for the front of the shop. Kelly and Art followed behind, and Art breathed a sigh of relief when she left the work floor without incident. Henry walked out the big bay door and continued down the street. Kelly followed along, waiting for him to stop. Finally, he stopped at a corner store. He walked in and got himself a soda and a bottle of water for Kelly, handing it to her before heading back outside.

"Do you have any idea how many people's jobs you just endangered? I know you have all the money in the world but these people need these jobs to feed their families. Wanna tell me what's so important you decided to risk everyone's livelihood?"

"You are, Henry. But you won't talk to me. I've left message after message and you won't call me back. Thank you for the water, by the way."

"You're welcome. So, you risk Art's insurance because I didn't drop everything when you beckoned. I know you richies are used to that but I didn't know it was required of me."

"You haven't called me a richie in ages. What's this about, Henry? What did I do this time?"

"I don't know, Kell; you done anything lately that might upset me?"

"I don't think so, Henry. I wanted to see you last weekend but you didn't call me back. I was hoping we could do something this weekend but, again, no call. I miss you."

"Sorry. I guess I assumed all your social time would be spent with your new guy."

"What new guy, Henry? There's only you."

"That right? You haven't been out with a new guy lately? Let me tell you a story, Kelly. There's this guy, nice enough. Works hard to take care of his family and wants to make a better life for his little sister. He had a girl, the most beautiful one he had ever seen. He was ready to fight and die for her. She had this thing to go to but he couldn't go. It was a real formal deal. She bought a new dress and was gonna get her hair done and spend a bunch of time on her makeup. He was disappointed that he wasn't going to get to see her all fancied up, except maybe in a picture a few weeks later, so he decided to go into work late so he could drive down to where this thing was taking place and watch her climb out of a limo looking just as gorgeous as can be. Imagine his surprise when he saw his girl walk into this fancy thing with another guy. Imagine how that hurt him, especially after she had told him she was going without date. Can you imagine how he felt? Because I sure as hell can."

"Henry, I'm sorry. It wasn't what it looked like."

"Are you saying that wasn't you I saw with another guy?"

"No Henry, it was me. But can I please explain?" He nodded for her to continue. "I've known Andrew for years, since we were kids. He lives just a couple streets over, in fact. His girlfriend, Lisa, sprained her ankle really bad the day before prom. So bad she couldn't even move, let alone walk. Someone suggested that he and I walk in together, since neither of us had a date. I thought it was harmless so I agreed. Once we got inside I saw very little of him. I danced with him a couple of times, just to be polite, but I danced with Brian a couple of times, too. Hell, I danced with Mary a couple of times. But they were all fast dances. I sat out all of the slow dances. I didn't dance even one slow dance at my senior prom because you weren't there. And my prom picture just has me in it. Please baby, don't be angry with me."

"So, this was all arranged just the day before the prom?"

"Yes baby. It was all very last minute."

"And that whole time I guess you couldn't get to a phone that would allow you to have called me and let me know what was going on? Or did you simply not care enough to take the time to call me?"

"Neither of those, honey. I was just so busy that it slipped my mind."

"So, not caring enough, because if you cared enough about me the first thing you should have thought to do would be to call me and let me know."

"You're right, Henry, I should have called you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Henry just stood there silently for several minutes, before finally speaking. "I'll think about what you said, Kell. But I really do have a job I need to get done. I'll talk to you later."

With that he walked back to the shop, and Kelly, with little choice at this point, climbed into her car and drove home.

(----------)

Hampton Academy held their graduation ceremony the first Saturday in June. Kelly was excited to finally be done with high school but depressed about her relationship with Henry. She hadn't seen him since that day she went down to Art's, and had only had a few brief phone conversations with him. He had been really upset that she hadn't told him what was going on. And she and her family were leaving next week for a month-long vacation in Hawaii so she wouldn't be able to see him, obviously, for that entire time, so she was really hoping to get this behind them before they left.

But it was not to be.

(----------)

Henry was working 80 hours a week between his 2 jobs. He had bought Abby a bunch of new clothes and had actually gotten himself some decent bedroom furniture. He had also spent a lot of time thinking about the situation with Kelly. For his part, Henry was less upset at her arriving with another guy than he was at feeling like he had been deceived, and disrespected.

And the simple fact was that in his heart he knew that Kelly lived in a world that was completely different from his. Right now she thought she was in love with him but eventually, probably while she was at Stanford, someone from that world would catch her eye and she'd realize just how different they were, and what she was missing out on.

She would be back next week and he had realized what needed to be done.

(----------)

When the family went on vacation, all electronics and phones were left behind, with the exception of Mr. Krisner's. As a lawyer, it could literally be a matter of life and death for him to be out of contact so he was the exception. But they all sent out messages letting everyone know that they were out of contact for a month and to call or text when they got back. And so, except for some junk calls and texts, there was nothing waiting for them. Except on Kelly's phone; a single phone message of interest. From Henry. It said simply: "We need to talk. Call me when you get back."