Stupid Fast - By Geoff Herbach Page 0,47

that Jerri was sort of out of it was really good because she didn’t know or care where I was. If I was out until 2 a.m. before, she would’ve totally freaked. She had no idea where I was. She probably didn’t even notice I was gone. Jerri took my TV and then it was on in her bedroom twenty-four hours a day, and there was no way she could hear me come and go.

I spent most of the weekday mornings with Aleah too. (Probably like two out of every three days, she’d stop practicing by the time I got to her house.) She rode on the back of my bike when she went, and we got good at it. I’d accelerate really hard, and she’d hold on and scream and laugh. One time, she even said, “My football player is so strong,” which totally made me happy because I liked being somebody I’d never been before; someone not connected to what was happening at home; somebody who is obviously not a Reinstein because, I thought, Reinsteins aren’t football-playing powerhouses who make their girlfriends squeal with the massive power of their god-like thighs!

We never smashed up after the first day, though, which was kind of sad because I never had a chance to roll over and kiss her, which I really, really wanted to do. I spent almost all my non-football time when I wasn’t actually with her thinking about kissing her: when I biked, when I tried to sleep, when I watched Andrew digging through boxes. I began to worry that I’d never ever get another chance to kiss her. I mean, Jesus, how are you supposed to kiss somebody if you haven’t fallen over on the ground? Tickle fight? Tickle her. Tickle her. I didn’t tickle her because it didn’t seem respectful.

Hi, I’m Felton Reinstein, football player on the outside; Squirrel Nut Donkey Ass on the inside.

Of course, I didn’t come up with the solution. Aleah did.

The last Saturday of June, we watched Casablanca in her/Gus’s basement. We watched that particular movie because her dad was writing a paper about it and had the DVD. When Rick, the old dude in the movie, kissed the young beautiful one, Aleah totally grabbed me and kissed me. Then we kissed for a while until we heard Ronald get up and walk across the living room.

Then Aleah stared at me and said, “Haven’t you wanted to kiss me?”

“Yeah, I think about it all the time.”

“Why haven’t you kissed me?”

“Uhh, I didn’t want to seem like a dork?” Of course, I totally seemed like a dork by saying that.

“Don’t worry about being a dork with me,” Aleah said. “I’m a dork.”

“Okay.”

Then she got really serious. “When you ask me questions, do I hold anything back?”

“I don’t think so.” She clearly didn’t. She talked about everything.

“You hold back though. Is that because you’re worried about being a dork?”

“I don’t hold back. I talk! When don’t I talk?”

“When I ask how your mom is, you just say fine.”

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because she’s fine.”

“And when I ask how exercise went…”

“Weight lifting.”

“Whatever! When I ask how that was, you say pretty good.”

“It’s just lifting crap. It isn’t very interesting.”

“I’m interested.”

“Why?”

“Because I like you.”

“Why?” Here we go, Gus. I’ll give it to you.

Aleah paused. She looked at me and didn’t say anything.

“Because I’m mysterious and you like mystery?”

“No. Because you come from a musical family and…”

“I’m not musical, Aleah.” This isn’t good. If she knew about my family.

“That’s not what I’m saying. I like you because you’re really gentle and…”

Blood rushed to my face. My eyes watered. I was so embarrassed. What kind of kid am I that a girl would call me gentle?

“You’re blushing.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Don’t be embarrassed, Felton. After the year I just had with my mom, I really love gentle.”

I looked down.

“I don’t mean you’re weak because you’re not. I know you’re not.”

I looked back up.

“How do you know?”

“Because what you went through with your dad and how you just seem like a normal kid who likes football, and you’re not all messed up. That’s strong.”

Then Aleah touched my face. Then she kissed me again. I was really aware of her face being so close to mine. Her face was right up against mine. She smelled like lilac bushes. We kissed for a while longer until Ronald, her dad, called down the stairs, “Getting real late, kids.”

I biked home through cool 2 a.m. air thinking about being gentle and about how I’m strong.

***

When I got home, I found