Saturday Night School Ch. 06

She nodded, her eyes twinkling. The same little smile.

Glenn got to his feet. "Better get to class," he said. "What do you have now, Charlie?"

"Video 3."

"Awesome. I'll see you around then." Glenn clapped him on the shoulder, before turning to leave with Cody and a few of the other football players.

Charlie stood, uncertain how Michelle would say goodbye to him in public. He felt slightly disappointed when she only waved at him and said, "Bye, Charlie!" before flitting away with her circle of friends. That disappointment was somewhat tempered when several of the other cheerleaders also said goodbye to him, including Vanessa, who gave him an assessing look before turning away.

He lingered behind, watching the group of girls as they left the cafeteria, in particular watching Michelle, her blue dress clinging to her perfect figure as she walked out the door. The lunch group had dispersed; Charlie had arrived alone, and he would leave alone.

That was fine. He had done it! Lunch with Michelle, out where everyone could see, and it couldn't have gone better. Charlie felt like he was floating as he walked to his next class. He felt like smiling and saying hi to everyone he passed.

His good mood lasted all through the afternoon, up to the point where he walked to his car after school and discovered all of his tires had been slashed.

***

He would have preferred that Daryl not get involved, but it was impossible to hide his slashed tires from the security guard, especially when he had his car jacked up with a stack of tires next to it. Charlie had found a nearby place called Discount Tire Warehouse, and after Charlie explained his predicament over the phone, the sales manager agreed to deliver four slightly worn replacement tires to the school parking lot. Unfortunately, Charlie couldn't afford the labor to have the tires changed, so he was stuck doing that himself.

"Who the hell did this?" the guard fumed. "I'm not going to let this kind of thing happen in my parking lot."

Charlie tried to evade the question, but Daryl wouldn't drop it. Finally, Charlie told him, "I had lunch with Michelle today in the cafeteria. I think I probably made someone jealous."

"Who?" Daryl looked at him intently. "You have an idea?"

"I don't know for sure..." Charlie said. "You don't have to worry about it. It's my problem."

"The hell I don't have to worry about it. I'm the security guard. It happened in my parking lot. That means it involves me. You have any idea who it was, even just a notion, you tell me. I'll find 'em and make 'em admit it."

Charlie held up his hands. "I don't know. Someone who's pissed that I'm hanging out with Michelle. That's my best theory, and unfortunately it doesn't narrow it down much. Lots of guys like Michelle."

Daryl scowled. "All right. All right. Maybe that's all I got to go on. But maybe it's enough." He nodded to himself and muttered, "Maybe it's more than enough." The guard dropped the subject, although the stony scowl never left his face as he helped Charlie change the four tires.

Charlie finally made it home three hours after school let out. He could see that his mom's car wasn't there, which was a relief. She would have asked why he was at school so late, and he had no idea how he would have explained to her that someone had intentionally flattened all his tires.

"Just an act of random vandalism, mom," he murmured to himself as he unlocked the front door. "Could have been anyone."

She probably would have insisted on calling the police.

As it was, he doubted she would notice his car had different tires. The discount replacement tires he bought were used and already showed some wear. They wouldn't stand out like new tires would have. And his mom was not the most observant person.

He noticed the message light blinking on the answering machine. He pressed the button and heard his mom's voice. "I'm gonna be late, Charlie..." she said. "We're doing an inventory of one of the storerooms and I need to cover a swing shift. See you later tonight, okay?"

Charlie went to the kitchen to cook himself some dinner. He was just starting the microwave when his phone rang. He glanced at the name on the screen. Michelle. The first time she'd ever called him.

He walked to the living room and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Charlie?" Michelle's voice.

"Yeah. Hi."

"Are you okay? Are you still at the school?"

"No." Charlie sat down in a chair. "I'm at home."

"I heard about your tires. I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"Do you know who it was?" Charlie asked.

Michelle hesitated. "I got mad at him," she said.

"Cody?"

"Vanessa and I yelled at him. He said he didn't do it... but I know he had something to do with it. Charlie... he's going to pay you back for the damage. How much was it?"

"He's going to pay me back?" Charlie thought he must have misheard.

"He is. How much?"

"Um... about $250 for four tires. Four used tires."

"Ok. I'll get the money from him and give it to you."

"Wow," Charlie said. "Thanks, Michelle. What did you say to him? You must have really let him have it."

"Well..." she said, "Vanessa was with me."

"Right. He's dating Vanessa. I forgot about that."

"Mm... I don't know that they're really dating..." Michelle said. Her voice sounded subdued.

"Okay. But they're going to the prom together. That kind of means they're dating, right?"

"No... I mean, I don't know." Michelle paused. "Charlie, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"I hope you won't be mad."

Charlie sat up in his chair. "What is it?"

"When I talked to Cody... I had to tell him that there's nothing between you and me. I told him you and I are just friends. I mean, that I just see you as a friend."

Charlie held the phone to his ear, his body motionless. "Is that true?" he asked. "Do you just see me as a friend?"

"No..." she said softly. "It's not true. You're not just a friend."

"Then why'd you say it to him?"

"So he'll leave you alone."

Charlie scowled. "So you're going to let him win."

"No..." She paused. "It's just none of his business. He thinks it's his business, he thinks he's being a good friend to Glenn. But I don't belong to Glenn or anybody."

"So then why didn't you tell him to stay out of it?"

"Because..." She hesitated. "I just don't know if that'll work. I mean, I don't think he'll stay out of it. Glenn is his friend..." She sighed. "Please, Charlie... just until prom, okay? I told Glenn I would go with him. I mean... I still hope I'll see you... outside of school.... but at school, can we just be friends?"

Charlie closed his eyes. "So back to walking past you pretending I don't know you."

"Um, friends say hi to each other, you know. I'm not asking you to pretend you don't know me." Michelle paused, then continued in a softer voice, "I just... I don't want Cody watching us. Following us, to see what we're doing. I don't want him taking any more pictures... because... what if he catches me? And what if he takes a picture of me?"

"Oh..." Charlie nodded slowly. "Like outside."

"Yeah," she whispered. "Outside. Like what if he takes a picture and shows it to everyone? He almost caught us on Saturday. I had just put my dress back on when he saw us."

"Right," Charlie said, thinking that he had been the one to put her dress back on. Michelle had showed every intention of stepping out of the train while still completely naked. That would have presented an interesting picture for Cody to take. "I see what you're saying. So... you think we're going to have more... adventures?"

"Well... I'm having fun. Aren't you?"

"Yeah." Charlie suddenly thought of Ronni. He needed to tell Michelle that Ronni knew what they'd been doing. But it didn't seem like the right time to tell her. "Okay. Just friends at school. Outside of school..."

"Bonnie and Clyde," she said.

"Our secret life of crime."

She giggled. "Yeah."

"You know, Daryl was pretty mad about the tire thing. I told him I didn't know for sure who did it. But he seemed pretty set on figuring out who it was."

"Oh. Well... if Cody pays you back, do you think you could talk to Daryl and get him to drop it?"

"Maybe," Charlie said. "I can try. He is the security guard, though."

"Yeah. What about your mom? What did she say?"

"I'm not going to tell her, to be honest. She's not home yet, anyway. She's working late."

"Oh? How late?"

"She's covering a second shift at work. She won't be home until past 11."

"Oh, really..." Michelle murmured. "Are you all by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm home by myself." Charlie abruptly realized the tone of the conversation had changed. He sat up straighter in his chair. "Why?"

"Let me come over."

"You want to?"

"I want to make it up to you. For telling Cody that you and I are just friends. I felt like I had to say it, but I'm sorry I said it and I want to make it up to you."

"It's fine. I get why you said it."

"I want to make it up to you anyway." Her voice was low and sultry, like a purr. "Should I come over?"

Charlie licked his lips. "Do you remember where I live?"

"I can find it. See you soon." She disconnected before he could say anything else.

Charlie set his phone on the armrest and leaned back in his chair. He'd come home while the sun was still up, but now it was dusk and he hadn't turned on any lights so he sat in a rapidly darkening house. He could feel his heart beating in his chest as he anticipated Michelle's arrival.

He thought, "When she gets here... we're going to have sex." It wasn't even wishful thinking. He was pretty sure he could treat it as a fact. Every time he'd been with her, they'd ended up having sex.

Then he thought, "That was the first time I've ever talked to her on the phone." Which was so strange to think about that he thought for sure it must be wrong. How could it be that they'd never talked on the phone before?

He roused himself from his chair and went around the house turning on lights, trying to give the house a warm glow. He remembered that he had microwaved a mini-pizza for himself, so he took it out and put in a second mini-pizza for Michelle. He took out two cans of Sprite and set them on the table.

What else to do? He thought about turning on the TV but felt too restless to sit and watch it. He paced back and forth through the house, tidying things here and there. The microwave beeped, so he took Michelle's pizza out and sat it on a spot at the table with her Sprite. He put his own pizza on the table across from hers. Not exactly a romantic candlelight dinner, but at least if she was hungry she'd have something to eat.

A timid knock came from the front door. Charlie walked quickly to the door and pulled it open. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Michelle said. She stepped inside. Charlie admired the short tan summer dress she was wearing, dotted with a pattern of tiny red flowers. It fit her loosely, coming down to just above her knees, and he could tell by the way it draped over her breasts that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath. He could easily make out the points of her nipples against the fabric. She wore brown sandals, which she kicked off beside the door. She set her purse down as well.

"Still here by yourself?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Good." She reached down to the hem of her dress and in a single fluid motion pulled it up, tugging the fabric over her arms and head until it came loose in her hands. She was naked underneath. She balled up the dress and handed it to him. "Will you put this in your room?"

Charlie gaped down at her exposed body for a moment, then realized she was standing in the open doorway. He hastened to close the door, pulling her in by her shoulder. He peeked out the door to see if anyone had seen, but no one was outside. "Wow," he breathed. "Not wasting any time, are you?"

"No." Michelle walked into the living room and stood there, looking around. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No." Charlie's eyes lingered on her perfect ass. "Not at all."

As if she could feel his eyes on her body, she looked over her shoulder, smiling. "I'm usually like this when we're alone, right? You're probably used to it."

"I wouldn't exactly say I'm used to it..." Charlie said. "Um... I'll go put your dress in my bedroom, then."

"Okay." Michelle carefully lowered herself onto the couch, perching on the edge of the cushion for a moment before slowly settling back. He noticed her hands rubbing her upper legs in that habit of hers.

Charlie quickly went up the stairs and entered his room. He draped her dress over his desk chair and then came back down, taking the stairs two at a time.

Michelle looked up at him as he entered the living room. She sat in the middle of the couch, her legs together and her hands on her knees. Charlie thought she looked nervous, sitting as if she shared the couch with two enormous invisible men on either side.

"Um... so I don't know if you're hungry..." he said, "but I cooked you a pizza for dinner... it's on the kitchen table, if you want it..."

She nodded. "Ok. I haven't had dinner." She rose to her feet.

Charlie started walking towards the kitchen. He glanced over his shoulder but Michelle still stood in front of the couch, gazing at him. "I made one for myself, too," he said. "I mean... I made one for myself before I knew you were coming... and I haven't eaten it yet. It's on the table, too."

Michelle just stood there, watching him.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"Charlie..." Michelle said softly. "You haven't even kissed me yet."

He blinked at her for a moment, surprised. Then he came to her and embraced her. His arms circled her waist, touching her warm skin. He could smell the perfume on her. His lips found hers, and he kissed her softly, conscious of her breasts which pressed against his chest. He kissed her again, harder this time, and allowed his hand to rise up and press against the cushion of her left breast, the nipple hard against his palm.

"I guess sometimes I forget I'm allowed to kiss you," he murmured, their heads tilted and leaning against each other.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Are you sure you're all right with me being like this? It's not weird, is it?"

"That you're naked?"

"Yeah." She leaned against him, her arms loosely wrapped around his shoulders.

"It's fine. My mom's not coming back until late tonight." He lightly stroked her nipple with his finger, playing with it. It occurred to him that not only was she nude in his house, but very likely he was free to touch her body however he liked, whenever he liked. His erection surged to life, swelling against the front of his pants. He thought about reaching between her legs, to test his theory, but he didn't want to push her too far too fast. "Come on." He looped his arm behind her waist. "I need your help to fulfill this fantasy of mine. It involves me watching a beautiful naked woman eat a pizza."

She laughed and let herself be pulled towards the kitchen.

The dinner looked pathetic when he saw it, an empty table with just the two cheese pizzas on paper plates. He hadn't even cut them into slices. "I know it's not much..." he said, embarrassed. "I can see what else we have..."

"No, no. It's great! I love pizza." She approached the table. "Which one is mine?"

"That one is hotter. Let me cut it into slices."

"No! You sit." Michelle took his arm and guided him to a chair. "I'll cut them for us. Where's your silverware?"

Charlie sat down and pointed to the silverware drawer. He watched Michelle as she swayed over to the drawer and found a knife. She walked back and leaned over the table, her breasts wiggling as she vigorously cut his pizza into quarters. After it was done, she stood up straight, her arms behind her back.

"Where's your cups?" she asked.

"Cups? That cabinet, right there." He pointed. She spun and walked to the cabinet. He watched her stretch up and pull out two glass tumblers. She took them to the refrigerator and filled them with ice. Returning to him, she sat a glass down by his plate and a glass by hers. She took his Sprite and opened it, filling his glass until the bubbles threatened to overflow the top. Once again, she stood up straight and put her arms behind her back, her body displayed to him from head to toe.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked. With her naked body right there in front of his eyes, it was hard not to react to the double entendre in her question.

"Not right now..." he managed to say. His erection felt like it was going to rip through his pants.

"Bon Appetit!" She smiled.

"Thanks," he said, picking up a piece. "Uh... you, too." She stood and watched him until he lifted his pizza and took a bite, then sat down in front of her own pizza and started to cut it. He couldn't help watching her breasts dance as she moved the knife back and forth.

"You seemed to get along with everyone at lunch today," Michelle remarked.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "I guess so. Even Glenn. I thought he'd give me shit about sitting by you, but he seemed okay."

"Yeah, Glenn is nice."

"Cody told me he wasn't going to tell Glenn about seeing us at the train station. So Glenn doesn't know."

Michelle shrugged. "He doesn't need to. It's not his business."

"He likes you, though."

"It's still not his business." She opened her own Sprite and filled her glass.

"Does Vanessa know?" Charlie asked. "About us and the train station?"

Michelle shook her head. "No. I don't know how to tell her without telling her everything. She'll ask questions, and she'll know that I'm holding things back."

"Right." Charlie took a bite of his pizza. Michelle hadn't touched hers.

A car could be heard driving by outside. Michelle tensed, looking towards the front of the house.

"Don't worry," Charlie said. "We still have a few hours before my mom comes home."

Michelle laughed nervously. "Can you imagine what she would think of me if she saw me like this?"

"You're fine," he soothed her. "Relax."

Michelle reached for her pizza, took a tiny bite of the tip and then set it back down. "Do you think you'll sit with us in the cafeteria from now on?" she asked.

Charlie brooded on her question before answering, "No, I don't think so."

"No?" She looked up at him.

"We're going to be just friends at school, right?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "But friends eat lunch together."

"I know..." he said. "But I don't think I'm a very good actor."

"Actor?"

"Yeah. You know... sitting at a table with all those people, putting on a show like I just wanna be your friend." Charlie shrugged. "I don't think I can do it."

Michelle looked to the side, gazing at a painting of a dog running in a field that hung on the wall. Her fingers traced the edge of the table. "You think they won't believe you?" she asked.

"Nah. I mean, really, who would?" Charlie glanced at the painting, not sure what it was about it that held her attention. "What guy just wants to be friends with you?"

"Because guys think I have a nice body," she murmured. "Is that what you mean?"

"Um... well, you do have a nice body... obviously..."

"So you're worried that everyone at the table is going to know you want to fuck me?" Michelle still had her eyes to the side, avoiding his eyes.

"No. That's not what I'm saying."

"You think everyone's going to know that you DO fuck me?"

"No, no." Charlie took a breath. "I'm not just talking about... sex. I'm talking about everything. I can't sit at the table and act like we don't have all this between us. It's going to be really obvious to everyone that you mean much more to me than just a friend. I think Vanessa is already pretty wise to us."

Michelle finally moved her eyes to Charlie. "Yeah," she said softly, smiling. "I think she is." A car honked outside, and she flinched, turning to look in that direction.