American Boy - Larry Watson [53]
Johnny lifted his foot to rest it on the bench, but he missed and almost fell over. He giggled. “Or else we’d have to kiss each other!”
Louisa dropped her cigarette on the floor and crushed it with her foot. “Okay. Come over here. Both of you. Stand right here in front of me. Put your drinks down. We’ll settle this now.”
We arranged ourselves side by side in front of Louisa. She stood, letting her banner-shawl slip to the floor. Then she took off her gloves and put them in the pocket of her coat. “Let’s see. Who wants to go first?” She squared her shoulders like an athlete before an event.
Without another word, she stepped up to Johnny, took his face in her hands, and kissed him on the mouth.
Whether it was the effects of the beer-wine combination, the force of Louisa’s kiss, or both, Johnny lurched back a step when she kissed him. But somehow Louisa didn’t lose contact. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to watch them or stare straight ahead.
“Okay. Not bad. Some girls don’t care how a guy kisses as long as he’s good looking. But that’s not me. If a guy can’t kiss I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“How about Lester?” I asked. “How was he?”
“Oh, please.” She put her hands to her ears. “Don’t even mention his name.” But then she brought her hands down and broke her own commandment. “He was pretty good. He wasn’t the best-looking guy around, but he was a good kisser. He really was.”
She beckoned me toward her, though we were only a couple feet apart. “Come on, come on. The contest isn’t over. Next.”
I stepped closer. Just as she had with Johnny, Louisa put her hands on my cheeks. Her hands were cold, but her lips were warm, and the wine she’d been drinking gave her breath a sweet mineral smell.
I put both arms around Louisa, pressing one hand on her back between her shoulder blades and cradling the back of her head with my other hand. But before I could exert much pressure, she broke away.
“All right, all right. That wasn’t bad either. And I didn’t get wet, rubbery lips from either of you. No runny noses. And no teeth in the way. So that’s all to the good. But which was the best? Hmmm.”
She pushed Johnny and me closer to each other, until our shoulders touched. “I’ll need another round of testing.” She popped her lips together a few times. “Once I get this settled, maybe I’ll go over to the high school and write the results on a wall in the girls’ bathroom.”
This time I was first, and again I put my arms around Louisa and pulled her close. I felt her body’s contours through the layers of our clothing. With this kiss her mouth opened wider, and her lips felt softer yet pressed harder against mine. It seemed for a moment as if her breath was quickening, but before I could be sure, she pulled back.
“Next!” she said. “Come on, let’s go. Quick, quick.” Before Louisa and I had stepped far apart, she reached out and grabbed Johnny’s arm, almost as if she wanted to drag him into our embrace. And as she did this, I resisted an impulse to push him away, to push him so hard he’d fall to the floor.
But just before Louisa could put her lips to Johnny’s, he said, as if once again he could read my thoughts, “I have to go get my cigarettes.” We were all standing so close that I felt the warmth of his breath on my cheek.
“Smoke Matt’s,” said Louisa.
Johnny was already moving toward the door. “Can’t. Gotta be filters. Gotta be Winstons.”
When the screen door slammed, Louisa said, “Jesus. What got into him?” She sat back down on the bench and reached for the bottle of wine.
The Valiant’s engine grumbled, caught, then roared to life. As Johnny circled the parking lot on his way out, the beams from his headlights swept across the locker room walls.
“What the hell!” Louisa jumped up. “I thought he was getting cigarettes from the car!”
“He’ll be back.”
“He better be,” said Louisa. “We’ll freeze if we have to walk home from here.”
“Trust me. He’ll be back.”
“Hell, we might freeze in here.” She swiveled and sat sideways, bringing her feet