I couldn't leave her. This is the first time I've ever recommended reading the preceding parts. You'll get the jokes and references.
Perfume. The perfect amount. My nose was nuzzled beneath Kim's earlobe, and I sniffed, taking it in. My Christmas present to her. "Opium." Intoxicating.
I hugged her tighter, and sniffed loudly. "Oh, my God, Kim! You're so...so...irresistible!"
"Don't make fun of me!"
"I'm not making fun of you! You're irresistible! I want to gobble you up!"
"Stop it!"
"I do! Here, I'll show you!" I bit her neck, lightly.
"Ow! Stop it!"
"I'm out of control! That perfume makes me wild!"
"David! Stop teasing me!"
"Teasing? Me? I would never do that. Just like you would never tease me."
"I never tease you!"
"Never? You never tease me? So you want a list?"
"Let's go to the fair."
"Don't change the subject when I'm teasing you about teasing me."
"Do you love me?"
"Personal foul! Illegal use of the mouth! Fifteen yard penalty!"
"Do you?"
"Double technical! Illegal change of subject! Two free throws and ejection from the game!"
"If you loved me, you wouldn't tease me."
"Well, then, if you loved me, you wouldn't tease me."
"But that's exactly why I tease you! When I tease you you're so...adorable!"
"But that's unfair!"
"Why?"
"Because, Kim, you're adorable all the time! I don't need to tease you to find you adorable!'
"Then, don't!"
"But I like it."
"And I like to tease you."
"So, the only way you can find me adorable is when you tease me?"
"Well, not the only way."
"When else do you find me adorable?"
"When you're a big oaf."
"A big oaf!"
"Yes. When you do something clumsy or oafish I just find it so...cute."
"I'm cute when I'm a dork."
"Well, yes."
" So I'm adorable when you tease me, and I'm cute when I'm an oaf. Wow. Now there's a strong basis for a relationship. How flattering."
"Oaf! Those aren't the only two words I think of when describing you."
"Let's go to the fair."
"Oh no, Buster. You started this, so you can take it like a man."
"OK. What other words do you use?"
"Handsome. Sensitive. Caring. Wonderful. Loving. Generous. Thoughtful. Sexy. Delicious."
"Now you're just trying to weasel out of it. Penalties still apply."
"What are you going to do? Spank me?"
There was a long silence while I engaged in a delightful daydream. "That might not be a bad idea. Would you like that?"
"Depends," she said, with a trace of wickedness, "On what else we were doing at the time."
"Kiss me, you fool," I said, reaching for her.
Let's take a moment and describe what I reached for. Six feet of lithe All-American basketball player, long blonde hair loose on her shoulders. A perfect, athletic body, incredible long legs. Mesmerizing blue eyes, and incredible charisma. She was spectacular in every way.
And today, a hot mid-summer day, had brought her to her front door in her father's white Oxford shirt, unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, a navy blue tube top that emphasized nice-sized breasts by just hinting at cleavage and clinging so nicely. The famous cutoffs, and way at the other end of those legs, sneakers and rolled-down socks. She also wore the necklace and earrings I had given her for Christmas, along with the perfume that had started all this trouble. Casual, yet elegant.
"No more teasing, David," she said plaintively, and kissed me.
"You're just trying to escape."
"Yup. I don't want to tease any more."
"Won't the shirt be hot today outside?"
"Maybe, but it hangs down enough to cover my butt."
"So?"
"I don't want guys staring at my butt."
"What about me?"
"In your case, think of it as the reverse: Touch, But Don't Look."
"Mmm. Sounds good to me. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Where else did you dab perfume other than your ears?" I grinned.
"A girl never tells. You'll just have to find out for yourself. Let's go!"
I figured I'd have to find a way to find out later, as she brushed past me and walked to the car. I had to run to catch up and open the door for her, as I always did. It earned a smile and thanks.
Since we had decided on college, the whole atmosphere of our relationship had improved. It was like being relieved from pain that you didn't realize you had. All of a sudden, everything was better. Kim had signed on to Duke at a press conference, coach in attendance, reporters, flashes of cameras, film cameras. It was before the day of portable video. We watched her on local TV that night. I had given my formal letter of acceptance of my academic scholarship to Duke to one of the representatives, who more-or-less dismissively put the folded letter in her briefcase. That was fine. It was Kim's moment.
From that point on, we made a quantum leap closer. Not physically, but emotionally. It was like our spirits emerged from our bodies and merged. It was a little weird. I could almost always read her mind, and she mine. While we never had arguments, we did disagree sometimes over little things, but understood that they were little things, and so we could always settle differences quickly. Sometimes we pretended to argue, just so we could kiss and make up. The making up part was always so sweet, that eventually we dispensed with the argument part.
In other words, I learned about unlimited love. I had thought that I couldn't love her any more than I did. But each day, love grew. We'd talk about that, shaking our heads in amazement while we giggled. "How can it get any better?" we'd ask each other. Then it would, and a week later we'd ask again, usually sharing a milkshake, cheeks touching as we used two straws. A heart can stretch to any size, and keep on stretching. Love becomes infinite when you have someone like Kim.
We were off to the county fair for the day. Typically hot, the fair was the gathering place for young people, and we were bound to see many friends.
"I want to see the farm animals," I said.
"I want you to win me prizes on the Midway," Kim said.
"Maybe I want you to win me prizes?"
"Nope. I'm the girl here. I deserve to be pampered."
The fair was hot, crowded, and fun. I always had fun watching men watch Kim. She was a guy magnet, no question about it. While she seemed oblivious to it, she had, in fact, worn the white shirt. For her part, she would hold my hand or take my arm, clearly establishing territory (not that other girls gave me a second look, except to see what a stunning package like Kim would choose. I'm pretty sure they were disappointed in her taste.), and also signaling to the guys that she was taken. It reassured me, not that I really needed it.
We ate really bad, expensive food: tasteless Italian sausages with limp onions and peppers, fatty hot dogs with too many trimmings, fried dough sprinkled with too much powdered sugar, cotton candy that stuck to your nose, French fries dripping in grease with runny ketchup, Sno-cones with too-sweet syrup melting all over your hand, fresh-squeezed lemonade watered down by too many ice cubes. A fair is meant to be eaten through, in my experience, to heck with the cost. Or quality. I would burp and pat my belly. Kim would feign disgust at my manners. We would laugh and hold hands.
We strolled the aisles in the barns looking at the cows, hogs, horses, and sheep. We laughed at the looks of some of the exotic chickens. We perused the displays of prize-winning pies, cakes, and cookies. I bought Kim a thick leather belt adorned with lots of metal bits, large enough for her to wear loose around the shirt, slung low on her hips. I told her it was sexy, which was no lie. It accentuated the flare of her slim hips even over the shirt, and drew attention down to her classic legs. I think every guy in the place over the age of twelve stared at her. Younger ones, too.
We spent time with friends, going to the Demolition Derby in the sun on a hot afternoon. It was really loud, and I can't admit to becoming a lifelong fan. We laughed a lot, and even our friends saw our closeness. They were true friends, and happy for us. We were so obviously in love.
We made it to the Midway after yet another round of food, in the evening when the summer sun was low. Kim in low, warm sunset light was breathtaking. I'd like to say that my distraction with her beauty was the reason I sucked so badly at winning her prizes, but if truth be told, it was oafishness. I wondered how cute I was.
Kim was a little impatient. "Oh, here, let me try!" She did, and won. She did again, and won. A third time, and won.
"This is fun!"
"Yeah, I really enjoy being shown up by my girlfriend."
"Don't be a grouch. Being a grouch cancels out the cuteness of being an oaf."
She kept on winning most of the time. She also won the hearts of every hard-core carny in every booth with her warm smile and laughter. I think she got better prizes than most other winners. I was loaded down carrying all of them.
"I want that stuffed dog!" she said, pointing at a huge St, Bernard with a pink hanging tongue mounted on the wall behind the carny.
"OK. But it's my turn." I gave the money to the carny. He handed me a pellet rifle. "How many hits to win the big dog?"
"Eight out of ten," he said, lethargically. It had been a long, hot day.
I approached it scientifically, figuring that the sight on the rifle was off, intentionally. Not much room to spare, needing eight out of ten. And the targets were moving. Squeezing off a test shot, I predictably missed, but I had a good idea of how the sight was off, and had a sense of how far to lead the target. Taking a deep breath, I aimed.
To make a long story slightly shorter, I hit the next eight in a row. For a capper, I hit the last one, too.
The carny looked at me angrily, and took the dog off the wall. "Not to you," he said.' "To her." He handed the stuffed animal to Kim with a smile, who was clapping and hopping up and down. She took it and hugged it tight. The carny's grin widened. He gave me thumbs-up with a laugh. I think she made his day.
"I can't top that," I said. "Let's go home."