Out of Left Field: Marlee's Story (13 page)

Her mother’s cell phone rang. She held up an index finger to Marlee, clearly a signal to wait. “Marge McAllister. Oh, hello, Joan, can you hang on a second? Thanks. Marlee’s just leaving.” She covered the cell phone with her hand. “Marlee, do you have your cell phone?”

“Yeah.” She inched them toward the door.

“And, I’m assuming all your homework is done?”

Oh, come on, Mom. Not now!
Marlee was mortified that her mother brought up the homework thing in front of Susie. “Yeah, Mom. I told you that this morning.” C’mon, Mom, c’mon. Just let me go.

“Okay, then.”

Victory!

Her mother turned toward Susie and said, “Susie, it was nice to meet you.”

“It was nice to meet you, too.”

“Have a nice time, girls.”

They turned toward the kitchen door anxious to go when Marlee’s mom abruptly said, “Marlee?”

What now?
She tried to sound calm. “Yeah, Mom?”

“Midnight, okay?”

“Yeah, Mom, of course. We gotta go. Bye.”

They flew out the door and let the screen door bang behind them.

When they got into Susie’s car, Susie said, “So, where are we really going?” She started the Toyota and backed up the gravel driveway.

“Just drive where I tell you,” Marlee instructed and reached for Susie’s hand.

They drove toward the village of Clarksonville and stopped at the McDonald’s drive-thru. Susie pulled the car back onto

C.R. 62 and said, “This is our first dinner together.”

Marlee smiled at the thought. “And here we are hiding in your car because I can’t let any of my friends see us.” She sighed and handed Susie a bag of french fries.

Marlee gave Susie directions to Lake Birch. When they reached the four-way stop intersecting County Roads 62 and 12, Marlee reached over and pulled Susie toward her. She kissed her eagerly.

Susie kissed her back for a moment, but then broke off abruptly. “Somebody might see us.”

Marlee looked around in the twilight. She blushed. She had forgotten about the rest of the world. “I feel so safe with you. I forgot about...people.”

Susie grabbed her hand. “Just be patient, mi vida. You can wait a few more minutes.” She squeezed Marlee’s hand and added, “You have to remember that most folks aren’t kind to people like us.”

People like us. Am I one of those people?

Marlee thought she would never go back to Lake Birch, but here she was heading up the pine-lined entrance with Susie. She directed Susie to the west end of the nearly deserted parking lot. She and Bobby had always parked on the east end near the lake, but she wanted to be as far away from those memories as possible. She scanned the lot and thankfully didn’t recognize either of the other two cars. Susie pulled into the quiet dark corner. Marlee was grateful that the summer season wasn’t in full swing, because for now they had a little bit of privacy.

Susie didn’t even have the car engine turned off when Marlee whipped off her seatbelt and spun around to face her. Marlee realized she must have had an expectant look on her face because Susie teased, “Miss me?”

Understatement of the year
, Marlee thought. She nodded and grinned like a kid in a candy store.

“Come here.” Susie held her arms open. Marlee fell into them and absorbed Susie’s warmth. She felt safe, enfolded in Susie’s strong arms. Susie stroked Marlee’s short hair and said, “I missed you, too, Marlee.”

Marlee wanted to hold on to Susie’s warm athletic body as long as she could. She put her shaking arms around Susie’s neck. She maneuvered much more easily in Susie’s Toyota than she ever had in Bobby’s Camaro. Thinking of Bobby made her uncharacteristically aggressive and she crushed Susie’s mouth with her own. Susie kissed her eagerly in return.

Susie whispered, “
Eres tan hermosa,
Marlee. You’re so beautiful.”

Marlee shivered. That was the second time Susie had called her beautiful. She lost herself in Susie’s kiss. She had never felt this way with Bobby. Susie maneuvered her way to Marlee’s neck and nuzzled the sensitive skin there. She moved up and kissed Marlee’s earlobe sucking the soft skin tenderly. Marlee moaned. She was embarrassed about moaning out loud, but her nerve endings were on fire and she couldn’t help it. Susie moved back down and nuzzled the other side of Marlee’s neck. Marlee quivered and pulled away. It was too much.

Susie looked at Marlee and said thickly, “C’mon, let’s go for a walk. We need some air.” She opened her car door.

When the interior light came on, Marlee saw contentment in Susie’s eyes. That was not the look she’d seen in Bobby’s eyes the last time she was there with him.

When they met in front of the car, Susie held out her hand.

“Let’s walk by the lake.”

“I thought you were worried about someone seeing us.”

“I know, but it’s dark and I want to hold your hand and walk with you in the moonlight. And, besides,” Susie continued, “with your short hair and my big chest they’ll just figure you’re the boy and I’m the girl.” She took Marlee’s hand and squeezed gently.

Marlee melted. Bobby had never once wanted to walk by the lake and hold her hand. Maybe because she and Bobby could hold hands in plenty of places—the movies, the mall, basically everywhere. Realization dawned on her that she would not be able to hold hands openly with Susie. It wasn’t like they could go to the East Valley Mall and hold hands there. This might be one of the few times they could hold hands, in a pitch-black deserted park.

They walked along the edge of the trees with the light from the waning moon to guide them. When they reached the lake, they strolled hand-in-hand along the manmade beach only a few yards from the water. Although the evening air was cool, Marlee felt rather warm. They walked quietly for a while until Marlee said pensively, “You know, I hated lying to my mom. But what was I gonna tell her? That I wanted to be alone with you? Lies seem to come with this, don’t they?”

“Yup.” Susie sounded a bit sad. “I didn’t tell my folks where I was going, either. I told them I was going to Christy’s.”

“They won’t check on you?”

“At Christy’s? Not a chance. I’m over there all the time.”

All the time?
Marlee swallowed hard. “Where does Christy think you are tonight?”

“Well, I told her that I had family up from the city this weekend and I had to hang at home. She can live without me for an evening.”

“Oh.”

“I actually do have to hang out with my cousins, but that’s next weekend after the SAT’s, and I had to tell Christy something so I lied.” She hesitated and said somberly, “You get used to the lies.”

“Yeah, I guess. But I lied big-time to Jeri and Lisa.”

“Why don’t you just tell them? Tell Jeri the truth. Think she’d flip out about us?”

Marlee’s heart leaped with joy.
There was an “us.”
She said, “I have no idea how Jeri’d react. I’m still not sure how to react myself.”

When they reached the end of the beach area, a dark expanse of forest lay ahead of them so they turned around and headed back toward the stand of birch trees they had passed earlier.

Susie changed the subject. “Your mom’s pretty cool. I think she liked me.”

“Yeah, I think she did. Thanks for being so charming.”

“Hey, anything to help the cause, right?”

Marlee laughed and squeezed Susie’s hand.

Susie continued. “Your mom must be one tough lady.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I mean she had to become both parents all of a sudden when your dad died. That couldn’t have been easy, especially with you so young at the time.”

Marlee grew quiet. She rarely talked about her father’s death with anyone except her mother. Well, Patches sometimes and Jeri every now and then, but never this casually. “I, uh, never really thought about it. I was into my own stuff, I guess.”

“It must have been hard losing your dad.”

The now-familiar heartache returned. She was quiet for a few moments. Susie seemed to respect her silence and also seemed to understand how much it still hurt, even after five years. “He died when I was eleven. I knew he was gone, but I kept expecting him to come home, you know? Like he always did. I remember once I heard a thump in the kitchen and it sounded just like when he set his briefcase down. I jumped up from my bed and ran down the stairs. Susie, when I got to the kitchen and he wasn’t there I realized what I had done and I just lost it. I started crying and kicking the kitchen door.”

Susie stopped walking. She pulled Marlee into a hug and rocked her gently. “Oh, Marlee. I’m so sorry. I bet that was hard for you to deal with.”

“Yeah, it was. It still is. I miss him. Especially when softball season rolls around. He and I always played catch in the yard.” She pulled out of Susie’s embrace and reached for her hand again. They continued their trek back toward the parking lot. Marlee laughed and said, “I think my mom was kind of jealous, but she knew that I was always Daddy’s little tomboy. I still am, I guess.” She looked up to the moonlit sky. “Right, Dad?” She smiled and looked back at Susie for a moment. “Well, anyway, yeah, my mom took control of everything and got a job and took care of us. I used to hear her crying at night when she thought I was asleep. I didn’t know what to do. I felt so bad for her. But I guess we both had to have our private moments about Dad, you know?”

“You and your mom are strong women. It kills me to think of you hurting like that, but you know what? I’m sure your dad still looks out for you.” She squeezed Marlee’s hand. “Do you think he approves of me? Of us?”

“If he sees you the way I do, then yes, one hundred times over, yes.” Marlee hadn’t expected to talk about her parents like this, but she found comfort sharing herself with Susie. Back in the house before they had left, Marlee thought she didn’t know Susie that well, and she didn’t really, but now she saw a caring and sensitive side to Susie. Her heart swelled. She said, “I think my dad probably gets it, gets us, way up there in heaven, but I’m not sure how people will react here, you know? I’m still coming to terms with it myself.”

“Yeah, that’s got to be the hardest part, I think. Coming out to yourself. So you had no idea?”

Marlee shrugged her shoulders and leaned against Susie as they walked. “Not really, but when I look back I think I had a lot of pieces to the puzzle. I just didn’t know I was putting a puzzle together. I mean, c’mon, I had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who I liked a lot, but he didn’t make me feel the way you do.”

“Oh, yeah? And how do I make you feel?” Susie leaned back against a birch tree. She pulled Marlee to her.

Marlee hesitated at first, but could barely see the cars in the parking lot through the stand of trees, so she relaxed. “Let me show you.” With ever-increasing boldness, Marlee moved closer to Susie and kissed her gently. Marlee let Susie pull her into a tighter embrace until they were pressed fully against each other. Susie’s softness against hers made her want to stay that way forever. Susie kissed her softly at first, but her kisses became more urgent. Marlee returned the urgency and couldn’t believe that kissing someone could get her so stirred up. When they reluctantly broke away from each other they giggled softly at their fervor. Marlee had never felt like this with anyone before. The moonlight was just bright enough for her to see the intensity in Susie’s eyes. Marlee moved forward again slowly. She reached up to trace Susie’s lips with the tip of her index finger. Susie closed her eyes and kissed Marlee’s finger softly, but then without warning caught the finger with her teeth. She stroked the tip with her tongue. She opened her eyes and then released the finger without warning.

“Marlee?” Susie said shyly. “I really like you.”

Marlee felt her heart jump to her throat. She could barely speak. “Me, too. I mean, I like you, too.”

Bright lights shattered the darkness and spotlighted the two entangled girls. Marlee stumbled away from Susie. “Crap. A car. Let’s go.” They ran, their adrenaline giving them greater speed than they’d ever had running around the bases. Marlee looked over her shoulder and was amazed to see a familiar Blue Camaro. Bobby. And he wasn’t alone.

Chapter Nine

Reflections

MARLEE AND SUSIE raced back to the car in record time, Marlee only a few seconds before Susie. Susie revved the engine and slammed the car in reverse. The tires screeched as she shifted back to drive.

“Bobby’s not alone,” Marlee said.

“Oh, is that who we ran away from?” Susie looked over her shoulder at the Camaro. “Nice set of wheels. But by the looks of those steamed-up windows, I doubt they care who we are.”

And Marlee found that she didn’t care, either. That surprised her a little. “He didn’t take any time replacing me, did he?”

Susie smirked in agreement. “Neither did you.”

“Cut it out.” Marlee playfully punched Susie in her bicep. It was solid.

Susie raised her arm in invitation. “Come here.”

Marlee accepted the invitation and moved to snuggle in the hollow of Susie’s arm. “I’m sorry we got interrupted. I, uh...” She felt herself blush. “I really liked what we were doing.”

“Mmm, me too.”

Marlee, alive with sensations, continued, “And I liked when you...” She took a deep breath. “When you bit my finger. That was amazing.”

“I know,” Susie answered. “Fingers are sensitive. Christy...”

Marlee sat bolt upright when Susie didn’t finish. “Christy what?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing. Come here.” She stopped the car on the dark road that led out of the park and opened her arms in invitation.

Marlee resisted. “Susie. C’mon. Christy what?”

“Oh, she just told me once that the fingers on her pitching hand were sensitive. Marlee, I don’t even remember why we were talking about it. Look, I’m sorry I brought her up. Let’s not talk about Christy, okay?” Susie’s arms were still waiting.

Marlee hesitated, but forced the sliver of doubt into the far recesses of her mind. She relaxed into Susie’s open arms.

Susie gave her a reassuring hug. “C’mon. I gotta get you home.” She pulled one arm free so she could steer.