No worries, we're all 18 in this story. She came to me in a dream, especially the shorts, which in the dream were even more risqué, exposing nearly half her delightful cheeks. The vision was pressing her up against the wall and cupping those cheeks in the shorts. Maybe in a later episode. Those shorts would have gotten her tossed out, so I tamed it a little bit. Not that any of this is at all credible.
She rattled around for a long time in my head, wanting to come out on paper. Well, on the screen, at least. Somehow I keep inventing female characters that I fall completely in love with. Kim is no exception. Straight from a dream, however. I only sort of played basketball in high school, and I only knew one six-foot girl. Enjoy, I hope.
Fall registration. Hot August day. My senior year in high school, 1972. Long lines in the gymnasium as we mostly stood around waiting to get our classes. Easier for seniors, and very easy for me, since I'd sacrificed study halls in my first three years to end up with a light schedule my last year.
Then, I saw her. Kim. I had seen her when we were both in summer basketball camp. An even six feet of lithe athleticism, she had been All-State her junior year. I had heard a rumor that her parents had moved into town, and she was transferring to my school. Guess so. There she was.
And was she there. Long blonde hair, parted in the middle, falling loosely halfway down her back. Bright blue eyes, a quick smile, and a ready laugh. She was radiant. But today, it was her shorts. Denim cutoffs so short that her cute, firm cheeks peeked out from below. A plaid shirt, sleeves rolled up, completed a look that was together, and sexy without seeming to try. Sneakers with rolled-down socks made me smile.
She pinned the Adorable Meter. I had watched her at camp. Quick, graceful, extremely talented, surprisingly tough and aggressive without seeming so, yet unaffected by her stardom. She was nice to everyone, sweet, and always happy-go-lucky. I was too intimidated to even talk to her for two weeks. But she had an underlying, subtle sophistication, a maturity. We had, at that time, what we called "the cheerleader mentality," ultimately responsible for that horrible, shallow comment "Have a nice day!" that is spoken all the time now, but never meant. Kim wasn't that, at all. If she wished you well, it was with those deep blue eyes looking right at you. No way would you refuse to comply, and your heart leapt that she would bestow such a blessing. Call it a pleasant intensity. She was a star, as a basketball player, and as a person.
Smitten? Me? I was a nerd before the term was ever applied. A loner, more or less. Quiet. A top student, an average athlete. Painfully shy and insecure. Girls, more or less, terrified me, even as I admired them. Yeah, smitten applied, but fat chance that I would ever even remotely act on it.
She looked over and saw me. With a squeal she left the line and ran over to me...and almost ran me over. It wasn't so much a hug as it was almost a tackle. Totally unprepared, I almost went over backwards.
"Dave! I'm so happy to see someone I know," she exclaimed, as I tried to keep my balance.
"You know my name?" I asked, truly surprised.
"Of course, silly!" she said, backing off her hug enough to look in my face. "I remember you from camp. You have no idea how great it is to know someone here." She hugged me again, tight. She bounced up and down a little, bending the needle of the Adorable Meter.
"Kim, I didn't even talk to you at camp," I said. "How do you even know my name?"
She backed off again, and her eyes twinkled as she looked in mine. "Research," she said simply. The smile behind the twinkle was warm. I felt like a stick of butter in 110 degree heat.
"Can you come home with me for lunch?" It almost sounded like a plea. "Please? Mom will be so excited that I met someone I know. And besides, you're so tall!"
True enough. I was 6'6". But as far as basketball went, I wasn't in her class. I was tall, and solid, but slow, not very quick, and nowhere near as instinctively talented. Nor was I nearly as handsome as she was adorable.
"Please?" How did she make her eyes beg, too? And what chance did I have to resist? The needle bent more.
"I'll meet you by the door when we're through," I stammered. At that time, bewilderment was a common state of being for me.
"Great!" She even sounded like she meant it.
We finished registration just before lunchtime, and met up by the door. "We only live a couple blocks away," she said, looking right at me with that smile. "Let's walk!" And with that, she took off. I was left to catch up, but watching her incredible, tight rear end peeking out from under those cutoffs, mounted upon the longest, loveliest legs I'd ever seen put me in no real hurry to catch up. And the grace she had on the basketball court translated into a motion as she walked that was mesmerizing. Her body just flowed.
Finally, she noticed, stopped and turned around. "Are you sneaking a peek at my butt?" she asked with a wicked smile.
"Uh, you caught me," I said glumly as I walked up to her.
She stroked the underside of my chin, almost as if I were a puppy. "I'll just have to take it as a compliment!" she said, her eyes turning gentle. How did she do that? The needle broke.
Lunch was, well, cute. Her dad had taken a new job nearby. Her mom was really nice, asking a lot of questions about the town, stores, restaurants, the school, people. She also gently probed me for who I was, about my family, my school career. She was subtle, and good. I felt completely comfortable and after a while was concerned that I was babbling. Kim was quiet, just watching me, all the time with this little smile on her face. Her eyes curious. How did she do that?
Mom excused herself to go grocery shopping. Kim laughed. "I think she likes you."
"Doesn't she usually like the boys you bring home?"
"I wouldn't know," she said lightly, "I never have...before now."
"Then why me?"
"Why not? Would you have preferred that I didn't?" The smile was genuine. She was teasing.
"No, not at all," I said, "But I just don't understand why."
"Because I know you from camp. Because you're the only person I know in a new place. Because you're tall. Because I want to get to know you."
I had no idea how to respond. "Well, uh, I guess I'll be going," I said.
"Are you good at math?" she asked.
"Um, yeah, I guess," I said.
"Will you help me? I'm terrible at it."
"Sure. Anytime."
