chapter TWO
MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1962
If you woulda told me that Curtis Walker would carry my books to school, I woulda thought you were crazy. And if you woulda told me that I might actually like Curtis Walker, I woulda thought you needed to go to the loony bin for sure.
Today, both of those things happened. Curtis walked me to school, carrying my books (I still can’t believe he carried my books!), and at the end of the day, he walked me home. At some point, I think I started to like him, even though I’m not sure I should. He’s cute and he’s fun to be around, and he has the dreamiest eyes. But besides that, he makes me feel like I always have a song playing inside me. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I feel lighter when I’m with him.
Now, I just want to go to bed so I can wake up and see him again.
Pacing back and forth across the dirt path, kicking rocks as he did, Curtis forced himself to wait a little while longer. School would be starting in a bit, but he knew Lorrie would be coming this way because Joseph had told him that she walked to school.
He remembered the conversation he’d had with Joseph last night, the one that had resulted in Joseph punching him, then Curtis punching him back. It was true, Joseph hadn’t been at all pleased that Curtis had asked about Lorrie, but that didn’t matter to him.
“Hey, you can’t like Lorrie,” Joseph spat.
“Why the hell not?”
“’Cause I like her.”
“Why ain’t you with her then?”
Joseph glared at him.
“She came over here to see me today. Not you.”
“That ain’t true,” Joseph argued. “You just answered the door.”
“Wrong. She told me so. Now tell me how she gets to school or I’ll punch you again.”
Joseph had finally caved. As far as Curtis was concerned, if his brother had really liked Lorrie, he would’ve staked his claim on her already.
Only then did it occur to him that Joseph could’ve been lying about her walking to school. Maybe Joseph was yanking his chain, sending him out here to look like an idiot. Squinting in the direction he expected Lorrie to come from, he contemplated his next move. If Joseph had been messing with him, Curtis was going to pay him back. With his fists.
Ever since yesterday, when Curtis had walked her home after they’d spent an hour down at the creek talking about nothing, really, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. Every single thought that flittered through his head was about her. Her pretty blue eyes. Her silky blond hair. Her smart-aleck mouth … all of it. She was invading his brain. To the point he knew he had to see her again, and he couldn’t wait until this afternoon.
Stopping, Curtis glanced in the direction of the school, then back toward where he expected Lorrie to appear. His breath hitched because there she was, walking his way, her head down as though she was lost in thought.
She looked pretty, even if her dress was not at all appealing. It was longer than the one from yesterday, and her arms were covered completely. Once again, he tried to imagine what she would look like in a bathing suit.
He watched her as she came closer, her eyes still focused on the ground in front of her.
Was she thinking about him? Had she thought about him at all since yesterday?
“Hey,” he greeted when she neared.
Lorrie jumped, letting out a surprised shriek, her schoolbooks scattering on the dirt and grass around her. He rushed over, snatching them up one by one as she attempted to do the same.
“You scared me, Curtis Walker.”
“Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “I thought you saw me.”
“What’re you doin’ here?” Her tone was hesitant as she looked around, almost as though she feared someone might see them together.
“I wanted to walk you to school.”
“I don’t need help gettin’ to school. I know the way.”
That made him smile. “Didn’t say you didn’t.”
Once they’d gathered all her things, Curtis stood. But when Lorrie tried to take the books from his hands, he held them out of her reach. “I’ll give ’em to ya when we get to school.”
“I can carry my own books,” she insisted.
“I know you can.” But he still didn’t hand them to her.
Rather than let her continue to glare at him, Curtis started walking slowly, looking back at her until she started to follow. Finally, she inched her way forward, then fell in step with him.
“I don’t know why you’re here,” Lorrie announced, her cheeks pink, as though she was embarrassed.
Curtis chuckled. “Then I guess we’re even. I don’t know why you were at my house yesterday.”
“I don’t, either.”
“Did you ask your old man why he sent you over?”
“No.”
“Are you gonna?”
“No.”
Curtis couldn’t stop grinning like a fool even though Lorrie was making this conversation as difficult as possible. That seemed to be a trend with her. He wanted to ask her a million questions, but he didn’t even know where to start and doubted he would get any answers anyway. He decided to start simple.
“Do you always walk to school by yourself?”
Lorrie shook her head. “I usually walk with Kathy, but she’s not feelin’ good today.”
Lucky him.
Unfortunately, their attempt at conversation was cut short when they arrived at the school a few minutes later. Before they stepped inside, Curtis handed Lorrie her books. “Can I walk you home this afternoon?”
Lorrie glanced around once again before meeting his eyes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Curtis frowned, not understanding.
Rather than argue, because he’d already learned with Lorrie it would get him nowhere, he simply nodded his head and stepped out of her way.
And made the decision that he would be waiting for her after school whether she wanted him to or not.
Lorrie wasn’t sure how she made it through the school day. She’d been in a daze ever since Curtis had scared her that morning. Not only had she not seen him, she hadn’t expected to see him, but it had been a nice surprise.
Except Lorrie wasn’t the type to enjoy surprises. Usually.
And rightfully so.
Nothing good ever came from a surprise. At least not in her experience.
Because of who her father was and the fact that they didn’t have any money, the kids made fun of her and her sisters. Her brothers, especially Mitch, didn’t have to endure the comments and the pointing fingers because most of the kids were scared of him, but she hadn’t been that lucky. It wasn’t that they didn’t like her, but they liked to pick on her about her clothes mostly. Sometimes they played pranks on her, too.
In fact, for most of the day, she’d been fighting her anxiety, fully expecting someone to tell her that this was all a joke. That Curtis Walker couldn’t possibly want to walk her to school or carry her books or even talk to her. At one point, she’d even imagined the teacher telling her as much.
She’d never actually liked a boy before, but she’d seen some of the girls get teased when someone found out they liked one. She did not want to be that girl.
Hurrying out of the school, wondering if Curtis would be waiting for her even though she’d told him he shouldn’t, Lorrie kept her head down as she always did. She rushed down the steps, then across the lawn, heading for the path that led to her house.
“Hey, Lorrie!”
Crap. She knew that voice, and she wished she could pretend she hadn’t heard it, but it was too late. She’d been surprised enough to stop walking. Turning slowly, Lorrie found the source. Helen Jenkins, with her long brown hair flowing over her shoulders, was strutting toward her, hands on her curvy hips, the devil in her eye.
Maybe Helen was going to be the one to tell her all this was a big, elaborate joke. It wouldn’t shock her if she did.
Lorrie had never liked Helen Jenkins. Not because she was the prettiest girl in school but because she knew she was and wanted to make sure everyone else knew it, too.
“Someone told me that you went to Curtis Walker’s house yesterday,” Helen said with a frown, tossing her hair over her shoulder and cocking her hip.
Rather than confirm or deny, Lorrie stared at Helen, keeping her expression neutral, waiting to hear what she had to say.
“So it’s true?” Helen didn’t appear happy with that answer, though she’d come to that conclusion on her own.
Again, Lorrie kept her mouth shut, hugging her books to her chest as she contemplated walking away.
“Well,” Helen began with a huff, lowering her voice, “I should hope you know that Curtis is gonna be my boyfriend soon. Sandra heard him say that he was gonna ask me to go steady.”
Lorrie didn’t believe that for a minute, but she wasn’t sure what made her doubt those words, so she didn’t bother to argue. It wasn’t in her nature to argue.
“And I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t go to my future boyfriend’s house. If you do it again, I’ll…”
“You’ll do what?”
The deep voice came from behind Helen, and when Helen spun around, Lorrie noticed that Curtis was standing there, staring back at her. She had no idea how long he’d been there, or how she hadn’t seen him, but she assumed it was long enough to hear what Helen had said.
“Curtis,” Helen whispered breathlessly. “Hey.”
Curtis briefly glanced at Helen while Lorrie stood there like an idiot.
Please, please, please don’t let them make fun of me.
Helen took a step closer, then put her hand on Curtis’s arm. Lorrie wanted to smack her right upside the head.
Where did that come from?
“I was hopin’ to find you,” Helen said sweetly. “I thought maybe you’d wanna walk me home.”
Funny. Helen didn’t sound nearly as confident as when she’d been talking to Lorrie.
Curtis shrugged Helen’s hand off. “I’m walkin’ Lorrie home,” he said frankly, as though it was the truth.
Lorrie was tempted to run the other way, and she wasn’t even sure what she was running from. Curtis or Helen. Or both. Or neither.
“Come on, Lorrie,” Curtis said, reaching out and taking her books from her hands before she even realized what he was doing. “Lemme walk you home.”
Swallowing past the lump that had formed in her throat, Lorrie quickly glanced at Helen, noticing she was fuming. Lorrie was tempted to tell Curtis that she could walk home just fine without him, but she didn’t want him anywhere near Helen Jenkins, so she kept the remark to herself. Then she did something she’d never done before, she flashed Helen an evil grin. It felt good, too.
A few minutes later, once they’d gotten far enough away that no one else could hear them, Lorrie glanced over at Curtis. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?” His eyes met hers.
“Are you gonna ask Helen Jenkins to go steady?”
He chuckled but didn’t answer as he pulled his cigarettes out of his pocket.
“Why is that funny?” she snapped.
“Would I be walkin’ you home if I wanted to go steady with Helen?”
No, she guessed not. “Well, she said Sandra told her that you were gonna ask her.”
Curtis’s grin tilted, a cigarette now dangling from between his lips, and she found she couldn’t look away. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”
“So you’re not gonna be her future boyfriend?”
“Lorrie!”
“What?” she asked, glancing over at him.
“Stop talkin’ about Helen.” He lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply.
“Why?”
“’Cause I don’t wanna talk about her.”
“What do you wanna talk about?” she implored.
“You.”
“Me?”
“Why do you make that sound like such a crazy idea?” Smoke trickled from between his lips as he spoke.
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she opted to stop talking altogether.
The rest of their walk was done in silence, so when they came up to her house, Lorrie didn’t even know what to say to him. Thankfully, he handed over her schoolbooks, smiled that sheepish smile, and told her he’d see her in the morning because from now on, he was walking her to school.
“You don’t have to do that,” she told him.
“Oh, but I do.”
“Why?” She was well and truly baffled by his matter-of-fact statement.
“Because, Lorrie Jameson, if I’m gonna be anyone’s future boyfriend, I’m gonna be yours.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You. I’m gonna find a way to win you over. No matter what it takes.”
With that, Curtis turned and walked away, leaving her completely stunned.
And more than a little happy.