In the three years that I've been a high school student, I've been able to make three very clear observations about the month May:
1. Teachers begin to rush through the material in order to get everything done.
2. Kids get stressed out about their upcoming finals to the point that they start fights in the middle of the courtyard.
3. (most importantly) People get very worked up about all things having to do with one particular social event.
PROM
The most anticiapted event of the year is Prom, and I was anticipating just as much as everyone else.
You see, in the past, when there has been a school function like prom, I didn't care too much and would end up alone at home calling girls that I hadn't talked to in a long time. These were the girls that I had hooked up with at USY events and such, and I guess talking to them made me feel less lonely. Sometimes I would even make promises that I would make more of a point to keep in touch and all that crap; I even promised one girl that she could travel the world with me! Btw, I haven't talked to her since then.
This year was different though, because I had a girl that I was in love with. I couldn't wait to go to prom with Dara. It was gonna be the perfect evening.
For the past month, I had been putting in extra hours at Temple Beth Zion in order to afford all the prom necessities: tickets, tux, dinner, limo, etc. Working 20 hours a week for a month had earned me approximately $640.
As soon as I got my paycheck on the Monday before prom, I went with Ben to get our tuxedos.
"So I was thinking, Mac."
"That's new."
I always give Ben crap like that; it's my duty as a best friend.
"Anyways, I was thinking about asking Melinda to go to prom with me."
"Oh, really? Are you into her?"
"No, but since you have a date, I figured I should find one."
"And you're wanting to ask Melinda?"
"Well, she'll be with all of us anyway. She and I are friends, and it probably wouldn't hurt to go with a friend.
I understood Ben's logic. Ben and Melinda were gonna be third wheels anyway, so it would made sense that they would rather be each other's wheels.
"I think that's a good idea, Ben. You better ask her quickly, though. Prom is this weekend."
"Yeah. I think I'll call her now."
"Just make sure she's in a good mood!"
Lately, Melinda had been really moody, especially when I would talk about aspects of my relationship with Dara. I guess girls don't always like to hear about all that romantic stuff.
I payed for my tux and went outside to wait for Ben. As I stood out in the Arizona heat, I started thinking of another type of heat: my relationship with Dara.
You see, Dara and I had been together for about a month and a half. Things had been moving really fast, as we had professed our love pretty early. However, as fast as we had been moving, there was one thing we hadn't done yet. We still hadn't...
"She said yes!"
"That's great, man."
"Yeah, I'm actually pretty excited."
"Good. So we'll be meeting up over at my house; my parents told me that they would help pay for the limo, but that the two of us would have to pay for at least half."
"Okay, that should be fine. You wanna go get some lunch over at By the Slice?"
"Yeah, I'll meet you over there in like 10 minutes."
"Okay. See you in a bit."
As Ben walked away, I decided it might be a good idea to finish the paragraph I was writing before he interrupted me with the news of his prom date.
So as I was saying, Dara and I still hadn't had sex. In reflecting, we had come close a couple times. For example, on Passover, she had put her thong in my car as a gag...but we were interrupted by my twin brother Darrin.
I also thought about the fact that we probably would've had sex on our one-month anniversary, but the roast that she made got burnt and we ended up spending the night finding a place to eat.
Then I began thinking of how we were going to Prom, the most romantic night of a high schooler's life. Could it possibly be the perfect night to make love?
I saw Dara at school the next day.
"Hey, baby," I said with a kiss.
"Hey. Are you excited for this weekend?"
"Oh, you know it."
We started making out in the middle of the hallway.
"So, I was thinking. I still owe you some dessert from our anniversary."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I was thinking that, since prom is gonna be over pretty late, you might wanna just crash at my place and I can take ya home in the morning."
"Wow, I love that idea, especially knowing that prom is gonna be going so late. I don't want to wake up my parents in the middle of the night!"
She smiled and winked, and we kissed again.
"It's gonna be perfect."
"I can't wait."
We began making out again, when all of a sudden.
"Hi, Dara."
It was none other than Dara's ex-boyfriend Ray. He was a real jerk, and never treated Dara very well. She got together with me not long after she left him.
"What do you want, Ray?"
It kinda turned me on to see Dara being a bitch to the asshole.
"I want you back. I wanna give us another shot."
I seriously wondered if this guy realized that I was standing there.
"I'm standing right here."
"Zip it, Jack."
"His name is Mac, and he's my boyfriend now."
"You think that's all I was? Just a boyfriend? I thought we'd be together forever."
"Well, we weren't."
"Why can't you just leave this loser and come back to me already?"
"Once again, I'm standing right here."
Just then, the bell rang.
"You know I'm the one you want, Dara. You can't throw away two years over a mistake that I made."
On that note, he walked away. I decided not to ask Dara what he was talking about until that night when I called her.
"What's this mistake that Ray made?"
"It's a really long story, Mac."
"I've got time."
As you can tell, I really wanted to hear this story.
"Okay, so Ray and I were together for two years. Before we were together, he was with one girl for nine months, until she moved to Alabama. Well, his ex-girlfriend came to town during March; it was her Spring Break. She called Ray and the two of them hooked up."
That didn't surprise me. Ray never seemed to appreciate the fact that he had the most beautiful girl on Earth.
"I came over to Ray's house to drop off his toothbrush, he had left it at my place. I walked into his room to find the two of them sleeping in his bed, naked. He called me later asking me if he could come over, and I broke up with him."
I was quiet for a second, then I finally spoke.
"You know I'd never do that to you."
"I know."
"You know how much I love you, don't you?"
"Of course I do."
"That's good. I'm just making sure nothing is left unsaid."
"I know. You never leave anything unsaid, it's a great quality."
"Okay, well, I've gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. Love you, goodnight."
"Love you too."
The next three days went by fast. Finally, it was Saturday night and it was Prom time!
I went over to Dara's and picked her up. When we got back to my place, there was a long white hummer-limo outside. Ben and Melinda arrived soon after.
Dara looked beautiful. She was wearing a long purple dress, strapless. I couldn't help getting my hands all over her while we were taking our pre-prom pictures. She enjoyed it though.
Melinda looked great too. She was wearing pink, and her nails matched her dress. Ben seemed pleased with his date.
The one thing that was bothering me about Melinda was that when it got time for her and Dara to take their picture together, she wore a really fake smile. I wondered if she didn't like Dara.
Ben and I took a picture together as well. We struck a pose in which I jumped into his arms as if he was carrying me across the threshold. It was a hilarious picture.
Eventually, we got to prom. Everything seemed so elegant...until we heard the words of TI and Rihanna telling us all to live our lives.
Dara and I danced for four songs straight without stopping. Once we heard the final beat of Boom Boom Pow, we sat down.
"I have to hit the ladies' room. I will be right back."
She kissed me.
"Don't be too long."
I suddenly noticed Melinda sitting all by herself.
"Where's Ben?"
"Restroom."
"What a coincidence, that's where Dara is!"
"THRILLING!"
I could sense her sarcasm.
"Hey, Melinda, what's your damage against Dara anyway? The entire time I've been with her, you've showed me nothing but negativity."
"Really? I didn't realize you noticed."
"Why do you have to be like this, Melinda? You've gotta get used to her."
"Why?"
"Because I love her."
"But I love YOU."
Cue awkward pause.
"What?"
"I love you, Michael; I always have. The reason I've been so negative about Dara is because she has you and I don't."
"Melinda, I...I don't know what to say."
Just then, Dara came back.
"Did you miss me?" She said as she kissed me on the cheek.
I looked at Melinda, then I looked at Dara.
"Yeah, I did. Uh, let's dance."
"Mmkay."
As I grinded my best girl, lots of things were running through my mind. First off, Melinda said that she had always loved me. I wondered how long "always" really was.
I also thought about the circumstances when Dara and I first got together. At that point, it hadn't been long since she left Ray. Was she completely over him?
Then I thought about Melinda again. Whenever things in my life weren't great, Melinda was always there. If I ever needed a shoulder to cry on, Melinda's shoulder was always there. How is it that I had been so blind?
But then I thought about how I couldn't be thinking about Melinda. Melinda was my best female friend, a family friend even. I had known her my whole life, and while we may be connected, she wasn't my girlfriend. She wasn't the one who would be staying at my house that night.
Dara was the one that was my girlfriend. Dara was the one who was staying at my house that night. Dara was the one who I kissed every day, the one who I was in love with...right?
Prom ended. The limo ride was quiet at best. When we got to my place, Ben drove Melinda home. Dara and I stayed at my house.
We got to my bedroom and I had totally forgotten about the rose petals that I had sprinkled on the bed. The ongoing playlist that was on my iPod, playing the most romantic songs of all time.
I had forgotten just why it was that this night would be so special.
"Wow, Mac, everything is perfect."
As my beautiful girlfriend kissed me passionately, I began realizing that everything was NOT perfect. The circumstances when Dara and I got together were NOT perfect. Our relationship in its current state was NOT perfect. The thoughts in my head about Melinda were NOT perfect.
That night, Dara and I made love. It was the first time I had ever had sex, and it was really good. It was really very good.
But it wasn't perfect.
Sincerely,
Mac-Attack
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment