“He used to box when he was my age,” I put in helpfully. It wasn’t the complete truth. My father also taught me some, but he didn’t like to talk about it. He never liked to remember his years in the army. That didn’t stop him from teaching me to defend myself. The men in our family learned how to protect themselves early.
“And just what was this fight about?” my father asked, refocusing the conversion.
‘Oh boy! Here it comes!’ I thought, readying for the storm.
“Well, it seems that one of the boys thought that your son had something to do with his girlfriend breaking up with him,” the vice principal explained.
“But I didn’t!” I added quickly. It was no use.
“A girl! You got in a fight over a girl!”
Maybe I should explain. My father was madly in love with my mother. She left him when I was just a baby. He pretty much hates all women now. Not a unique story really, but rare or not, I was in for it.
“Mr. Harmon, I’ve spoken to the girl in question and she agrees that your son had nothing to do with the break up. It seems the other boy was cheating on her,” vice principal Tagli said quickly when he saw my father’s reaction. It did seem to calm my father slightly.
“So, if my boy didn’t start it and he didn’t do anything wrong, why again am I here?”
“School policy,” the vice principal shrugged. “Anyone involved in a fight is automatically suspended for three days minimally.”
“That’s a stupid rule!” my father snapped. I received the distinct impression that Mr. Tagli agreed, but he couldn’t say that.
“I’m sorry, those are the rules.”
“Fine,” my father said. “Let’s go.”
The ride home and the rest of the night were not particularly fun. My father was stressed about work and his having to leave early to come get me only made it worse. I tried apologizing, but it was pointless.
Pop was gone by the time I woke up the next morning. I was relieved. He left a list of chores for me to do, but none of them were all that difficult. I finished them before he got home. That night was a little better. My father was already asleep when the phone rang. I frowned. No one normally called this late.
“Hello?” I said.
“Come outside,” Carrie’s voice said over the line. I opened the front door to find her, Tara and Jill sitting on my porch. Carrie smiled and closed her cell phone.
“What brings you ladies here on this rather unpleasant night?” I asked.
“I wanted to apologize,” Carrie answered. “Sitting with you at lunch probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do while I broke up with Jimmy.”
“No need,” I shrugged. “You tried to tell him that I had nothing to do with it.”
“At least you beat the tar out of Jimmy and his goons,” Jill grinned.
“Beat the tar out of?” I asked. She laughed.
“It’s one of my grandmother’s sayings.”
“Along with quite a few other gems,” Tara grinned. She was around the same height as Carrie, but she was thinner and her hair was almost black. Her eyes were actually a paler shade of blue as well. They were the type that drew you to them.
“It’s cold out here!” Carrie said, rubbing her arms.
“Look, I’d invite you in, but my father is already asleep and he’s not really in a good mood these days,” I said.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Carrie asked.
“I’m still suspended,” I shrugged. “I’m not doing anything. Why?”
“Well, the three of us are thinking about playing hooky,” she grinned. “You want to hang out?”
“Depends,” I replied. “I’m not much of a shopper.”
“Me neither,” Jill laughed. “My mother picks all my clothes.”
“We’re taking a room at a local hotel for the day,” Tara said. “My uncle owns the place. We do it every once in a while.”
“It’s a blast!” Carrie grinned. “We bring wine and some movies. The rooms have DVD players in them.”
“And your uncle won’t mind me being along?” I asked in disbelief.
“Oh, he’d be mad as hell,” Tara giggled. “That’s why we have to sneak you in.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said. “My father’s already mad at me. If I get caught there is no telling what he’d do.”
“Did I mention that there is a hot tub?” she grinned.
“We always bring our skimpiest bathing suites,” Jill added. I shook my head.
“So, will you come?” Carrie asked again.
“Of course I’ll come,” I said. “Do you mind if I bring a camera?”
“What for?” she asked, rather lewdly.
“Well, I was going to say because my friends will never believe me without pictures, but if you ladies have any other ideas…” They laughed as they stood to go.
“Forget the camera,” Carrie answered. “We use these cut days to relax and unwind.”
“But don’t forget to bring your bathing suite,” Jill added. “Unless of course you’d rather share the hot tub nude?”
“I don’t think I’d survive seeing all three of you nude,” I joked. “In a bathing suite is going to be hard enough.”
“We can only hope!” Tara grinned.
“We’ll pick you up at around nine,” Carrie said before I could say anything else. They waved goodbye and turned to leave. I watched three of the best asses in school sashay their way back to the car. Carrie turned and caught me staring. She smiled and waved once more.
“Oh brother,” I said to no one in particular. The next day promised to be interesting indeed.
**********
“Any problems sneaking up?” Carrie asked as I entered the suite. I shook my head.
“Wow, this is some hotel room!” I said as I looked around.
“It’s one of the more expensive suites, but they don’t go this time of the year, so my uncle lets me have one for free,” Tara explained.
“There’s wine when you’re ready,” Jill said.
“I brought this,” I said, holding up a bag.
“What is it?” Carrie asked. I pulled one of the two bottles out.
“Champagne! I love champagne!” Tara cried. “Put it on ice and we’ll have it later.”
“You’re now her new best friend,” Jill joked.
“Do you want me to fill the hot tub?” I joked back. “I can’t wait to see you ladies in your bathing suites.”
“And Carrie told us that you were such a nice guy,” Jill replied.
“Nice, not gay!”
Tara started coughing and gasped out, “You made me choke on my wine!” It didn’t sound too bad.
“Sorry.”
“The hot tub is for later,” Carrie said.
We finished a bottle of wine while we watched the first movie. Thankfully one of the ladies brought stuff for us to eat. The movie was a tearjerker, but I kept making comments that made them laugh.
“Men!” Carrie snapped after one particular mushy scene where I made fun of the actor.
There was only one bed in the room. It was king sized so we could all fit if we squeezed, but I sat on the floor to make it more comfortable. It was also to stop me from getting any crazy ideas. I wasn’t sure why they decided to invite me, but I wasn’t going to blow it by trying something stupid.
The movie ended and we all stood, stretched and took turns using the bathroom. Jill selected another movie when we were ready. Tara opened one of the bottles of champagne while Carrie grabbed more munchies. I sat back on the floor as the movie started.
“Hey, chicken little!” Jill joked. “There really is plenty of room up on the bed. Are you going to stay on the floor all day?”
“I think it’s safer down here,” I joked back.
“You’ve got that right!”
“Here,” Carrie said as she sat on the floor next to me and handed over some cheese and crackers.