Girl Opportunities

by Tony DuShane,

Editor & Publisher of Cherry Bleeds

We found the swimming pool by accident. Yesterday when we jumped a fence to skate a ramp at Matt's house, we ended up at a house on the wrong street and landed right in the unexpected beautiful setting.

The water glistened in the morning sunlight.

The door was open to a cabana room off to the left of the large swimming pool.

Gibby and I made our way into the inviting cabana.

We went through the place looking for something of value, not because we needed money but because we needed thrills.

Gibby found a cool pair of swim trunks that were his size.

Let's bring girls here sometime. Don't touch anything so the owners won't know we were here.

Gibby agreed and put the trunks where he found them. We hopped the fence back out to the street and skated around listening for the sound of a skate ramp.

I got home that night and called Tiffany to see if she wanted to swim with us.

My hands shook a bit when I dialed her number. I never called Tiffany before. I got her phone number from the school directory six months ago. It's been on my wall ever since, waiting for an opportunity to open up, especially an opportunity that would present itself to see her in a bathing suit.

Tiffany's in Portland for the summer. Do you want to leave a message for her?

No thanks, I replied to her mom and hung up.

Monica was a good back up. Her older sister took us to a Love & Rockets concert a few months ago. Monica and I made out for something like 20 minutes that night. My ears were ringing.

Monica is pretty. When she kisses her tongue curls back to her tonsils. She opens her mouth for me to stick my tongue in, but it's the weirdest kissing I've ever done with a girl.

I want to see her in a bathing suit. It will be stunning to see all that white skin exposed.

She always talks about secret signals between men and women. It's confusing as I usually have enough on my mind already when I'm with a girl.

If a girl wears her purse on the right side, it means she doesn't want the boy to put his arm around her….BUT, if she puts her purse on the left it means she's willing to hold hands or be in the boy's arms.

What if she doesn't have a purse, then what do I do? I asked.

See if she's wearing more bracelets on her left hand. Bracelets are a good indication of how far the girl wants to go.

It went on and on with ear rings, hairstyles, if pants were cuffed, if she's wearing heels or boots, etc.

To think girls already know if they're going to make out with a guy before the date. And on top of that, we have all these secret signals to figure out.

I wish I could read their minds.

Hello?

Is Monica there?

Yeah, Monica's sister puts the phone down and yells for Monica in the background.

Hello?

Monica, it's Henry.

Hi there. It took you long enough to call. Usually a girl waits six days after a date and when the boy doesn't call during that time she will never go out with him again.

Where does she get all this information?

Gibby and I found a pool, do you wanna go swimming tomorrow?

Sure, but my sister probably has to go with me. I'll get her stoner boyfriend to drive us over. When & Where?

864 Chadbourne Ave @ 10am.

Goodbye sweetie, and she hangs up.

I wanna kiss her while she's wearing a bathing suit. I wanna feel her skin on my skin.

Gibby calls.

Who did you get?

I got Monica, who'd you get?

Tina, I thought you were going to get Tiffany?

She's in Portland.

You think she's fucking someone up there?

How should I know, I reply as my heart sinks with the idea of Tiffany fucking someone else. I hope she's a virgin like me. If she's not I better start getting some experience in case the opportunity presents itself.

Opportunity is what Mr. Kennedy talks about in Social Studies. People take opportunities and start businesses and give other people opportunities to get a job or buy things.

I use my opportunities for girls. Running a business would be easier.

Gibby and I skateboard to the pool. It's about 80 degrees already and I have my shirt off so I don't get a farmer John tan. I want a full chest and back tan to show girls. My towel is around my waist. Gibby's towel is around his neck. We both push our skateboards down the avenue to meet our sweeties in bikinis. Sweeties in Bikinis, that should be the name of a band.

Monica and Tina are in Wolf's Oldsmobile listening to music as we skate toward them.

What the fuck dude, we knocked on the door and no one's home, yells Wolf as he disengages from Jennifer’s mouth.

SSSHHHH, I put my finger over my mouth.

We don't know who lives here. We have to sneak in.

Wolf gives me a look of developing respect at this act of breaking and entering. He gets a case of beer from his trunk and we hop the fence.

When Wolf brings beer, it's always warm since he leaves it in the trunk for days. His parents would kill him if they found out.

Monica wears a wrap around skirt and her bikini top. She gives me a kiss on the lips.

Hi honey.

Hi Monica, you look beautiful. I notice her chest and stomach. Her chest looks bigger in the bikini top.

Thanks handsome, I see your hair is parted on the left side, she winks at me.

That's because the wind blew it that way when we skated over.

Sure Romeo, she says messing up my hair with her hands.

We all chug beer in the cabana.

Ew, it's warm, Tina squirms.

It gets you more drunk when it's warm, Wolf replies.

Cool.

We all nod in agreement and I drink until my eyes water.

Wolf shoves me and yells, You're it.

He runs into the pool and does a cannonball.

I'm right behind him.

The coolness of the water makes my heart skip a beat; or maybe it's because Monica takes off her wrap around skirt and exposes her very small bikini bottom and the fleshy part of her hips.

Whatever it is, my heart skips.

I wade in the deep end.

Monica swims over to me.

Did you notice my skirt was wrapped around my waist on the right side.

My memory struggles to remember the meaning. Monica leans toward me and I take the cue she wants to kiss.

We kiss and embrace and let ourselves sink under the water. She runs out of breath first and swims to the surface. I tug on her bikini bottom as she passes me. I get a good look at her naked butt.

She splashes me and yells at me when I come to the surface. She jumps out of the pool and says to Gibby, Your friend's a pervert.

I know, Gibby replies over his 3rd beer.

Seeing her butt isn't worth her being pissed at me.

I grab and couple of beers and walk over to her.

I'm sorry Monica, I offer her a beer.

Her scowl turns to a smile.

I know boys can't help it, she says as she takes the beer.

The sun

the beer

Monica

the pool

Blissful.

Hey Henry, Wolf yells while holding my good towel over the water.

Don't, I plead.

Come and get it.

I run over to get the towel. He drops it in the water and throws me in the pool. He jumps behind me and keeps my head under water.

I gasp and kick for breath. Wolf's strength is no match for me. He let's go. Tears run from my eyes as I gulp for air wincing from humiliation, aching for male pride. I angle myself so Monica can't see my tears.

Wolf and Jennifer laugh at me. Gibby, Tina and Monica stay motionless, praying they won't be the next public example of Wolf's strength.

Wolf is just a big bully, Monica tells me as we suck more beer. My heart fills with warmth at her understanding. She kisses me on the cheek.

What the fuck are you kids doing here? a deep growling voice yells from behind us.

Must be the owner.

The Goliath man throws a lawn chair towards Wolf and Jennifer. They dart over the fence and we're close behind, leaving our towels, wrap around skirts, etc.

I'm going to beat the shit out of you, he yells.

Wolf and Jennifer are already in the car speeding down the street, leaving us behind.

I'm calling the cops on you punks, the owner's voice trails off as Gibby, Tina, Monica and I run full throttle down the street and around the corner.

We run into Dilly Deli, panting to catch our breath and laughing at the enormous size of the homeowner.

I still shake in fear and hope no one notices.

The Indian behind the counter gives us our blueberry slushies. We sit at a table near the back.

Monica and I kiss a little more. Our cold numb lips and blue tongues intertwine.

Monica, we got to go before your mom gets home, Tina says while breaking free for Gibby's lips.

Monica kisses me goodbye.

Call me before six days, she says while Tina and her run out the door.

I feel buzzed.

I feel divine.

We finish out slushies and skateboard down El Camino. Down the road two police cars surround Wolf and Jennifer. A policeman searches the car as Wolf sits on the sidewalk with his hands over his face. There's two cases of beer on top of the car.

Shit, it's Wolf, Gibby says.

We both hide behind some bushes to wait and see if Wolf gets arrested or not.

Gibby whispers to me, there's your revenge for him dunking you in the pool earlier.

My manhood gets revenge.

But my heart yearns for acceptance, not revenge.

Tony DuShane’s comment: The story is kind of a typical summer day when I was growing up in Millbrae, a city about 10 miles South of San Francisco (actually where the San francisco airport is).

Gibby was a real friend of mine who killed himself, shot himself in the head.

Along with the sexual tension I always felt, all of my friends seemed to end up in situations where we could really get busted, and did get busted, for doing innocent yet slightly illegal stuff....we didn't understand the boundaries of society, throwing an impromptu party in someone's backyard by bringing beer and climbing their fence was normal and we didn't think anything of it until we'd all be running
from cops or a car load of older kids.

The deli mentioned was a real deli that got busted for selling beer to minors....i think the owner was from iran, and his daughters were HOT, but a couple of years older than us, they'd smoke cloves and we'd feel really awkward staring at them while waiting for the owner to carefully package our 12 pack of budweiser. we kept him in business b/c i never saw him make a sandwich there, only sell beer to teens, but you had to know someone to get in with him, he wouldn't sell to just anyone.

Oh, and there was a girl who really kissed like that.

 

Tony DuShane is the editor and publisher of the literary 'zine Cherry Bleeds. He writes entertainment articles for the San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets. His short fiction and poetry has been featured in various anthologies and publications.

Since 2001 he has hosted the radio show Drinks with Tony which features interviews with writers, musicians, directors and actors. Among the guests are Edward Furlong, James Ellroy, Irvine Welsh, Chuck Palahniuk, Amy Sedaris, Kevin Smith, Miranda July and more. The show currently broadcasts every Saturday night on Pirate Cat Radio.