Читать книгу Hard To Forget - Annette Broadrick - Страница 9

Eighteen-year-old Joe Sanchez looked into the cheap mirror over his scarred dresser and blinked. He didn’t recognize the stranger he saw. Tonight was the first time in his life that he had worn formal clothes. They were rented, of course. It had taken him weeks to earn the money to rent the tuxedo he would be wearing tonight to the Santiago High School senior prom in Santiago, Texas, a small town on the Texas-Mexico border.

He grinned at the thought and was once again startled at the image in the mirror. He couldn’t remember ever seeing himself smile—either in a mirror or a photograph. He had a great deal to smile about tonight, though, because he was taking Elena Maldonado to their senior prom.

He was still amazed that she had agreed to go with him.

For the past few months she had been tutoring him in English and history. Thanks to her help, he was fairly certain he’d be graduating, after all. He’d be the first of his family to get a high-school diploma.

Last year, even last fall, he wouldn’t have thought that any of this would ever happen….

“Yo, Sanchez,” Coach Torres hollered at the end of football practice in late September. “Meet me in my office after you’ve showered.”

Joe gave him a brief nod and trotted with the other team members into the locker room. He went over to his locker and pulled off his football uniform. He knew what the coach had to say to him. His teachers had already told him his grades were dropping after the first round of exams.

So what? At least he’d been able to play on the varsity football team these past two years. That was worth a lot to him. Coach Torres had made him a wide receiver because he was fast and could handle the ball. In fact, he was getting the reputation of having magnets in his hands. He usually managed to snag the ball if the quarterback got it anywhere close to him.

His teammates chattered around him, but he tuned them out as he showered and dressed once again in his faded jeans and hand-me-down shirt. He walked out of the locker room down the hall to the coach’s office, knowing he was about to be dropped from the squad.

Coach Torres was on the phone when Joe walked in. Coach waved him to the chair in front of his desk. Joe slid into the chair and watched the coach, who sat with his ankles crossed on the desk. When he hung up, Coach dropped his feet and pulled his chair closer, placing his elbows on the desk.

“Tell me something, Sanchez,” he said in his gruff voice. “You planning to follow in Alfredo’s footsteps?”

Joe blinked. What did his older brother have to do with anything? He eyed the coach warily. “What do you mean?”

“I understand Al was convicted of drug smuggling a couple of years after he dropped out of school. He’s how old now?”

“Twenty-two.”

“Uh-huh. And been in and out of jail for most of the past five years, right?”

“So?”

“Is that what you want for your life?”

Joe shrugged.

Coach Torres didn’t say anything. Just looked at him. And kept looking at him.

Joe shifted in his chair, placed his foot on his opposite knee and began to pull at the sole where it was coming loose. He kept his attention on the shoe.

Finally Coach said, “I’m going to offer you an alternative to Al’s life, Joe, if you’re willing to consider it.”

Joe looked up in surprise. Coach was still studying him. It was as though he’d never taken his eyes off him.

“You’re intelligent, Joe. You learn the plays quickly. You’re a natural leader. You’ve got every guy on the team following your lead. You’ve got everything it takes to make it big in the world, except the drive to do it.”

“You calling me lazy?” Joe asked, his expression sullen.

Coach smiled. “Nope. You’re just not motivated. And I’d like to help you to change that.”

“How?”

“By getting you a scholarship to go to college next year.”

Joe’s foot fell off his knee and he straightened in surprise. “College? For me?”

“That’s right. At the rate you’re going, you’re going to be ready to play college ball in another year. If you can get your grades up, that is.”

Joe slid back down in the chair. “Yeah. Right.”

“You think that’s so impossible?”

He shrugged again.

“How much time do you spend on homework every day?”

He shrugged again.

Coach Torres looked down at a piece of paper in front of him. “Obviously not enough if your present grades are any indication.”

Joe didn’t see a need to respond to that comment, either. He went back to worrying the sole of his shoe, wondering where he was going to get the money to buy a new pair.

“You don’t believe you can do it, do you?” Coach asked.

Joe shook his head without looking up.

“Then I’ve got more faith in you than you do. As a matter of fact, I found someone who would be willing to tutor you if you want to put some effort into bringing those grades up.”

Joe looked up from beneath his brows. “Who?”

“Elena Maldonado.”

Joe frowned. He’d never heard of her. He started to shrug once more when he suddenly remembered a girl in several of his classes named Elena. “Is she that skinny nerdy girl with glasses and all that hair?”

“That’s the one.”

Joe laughed. “She said she’d help me with my classes?”

“Yep.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding. She don’t—doesn’t give anybody the time of day. She’s like a mouse—creeps into class and sits there taking notes all the time.”

“Well, those notes may make the difference between your graduating from school and going on to college, or someday ending up in jail alongside your brother. Your choice, my friend.”

Joe wouldn’t admit it for the world, but the thought of actually getting to go to college electrified him. A chance to get away from the poverty of his home life. A chance to make something of himself. A chance to be able to provide for his mother, who had worked all her life to support him and his brother.

“So what do you think?” Coach asked as the silence lengthened. “Are you willing to work at bringing those grades up so you can continue to play ball? Because if you are, I’ll do what I can to place you in a college next year with a full scholarship. You’ll have to earn it in class, though.”

Joe started to speak, but his voice broke. He cleared his throat. “If you’re sure Elena won’t mind, I’d like to work on getting my grades up.”

“Good choice, son,” Coach Torres said with a big grin on his face. “I’ll let her know. The two of you can work out the arrangements of when and where you’ll work together.”

Joe left the coach’s office that day feeling bewildered. He and a few of his friends spent most of their time chasing around town at night, raising hell. If he was going to start working on his grades, his time was going to be taken up with things other than hanging out with his buddies.

The thought of college made him smile. It might even be worth it.

The truth was, he was ashamed of what Al had done, even though he didn’t blame him. Al had never done much in school. He’d dropped out in the middle of his sophomore year because he’d convinced his mom he would get a job. He hadn’t bothered to tell her that the job wasn’t exactly legal. When you lived on the border, there were all kinds of ways to make money, as long as you didn’t get caught.

He waited until the end of his history class the next day to approach Elena. He’d watched her in English earlier in the day. She’d kept her head down and never looked his way. It was only after he almost ran into her in the hall and saw her blush a fiery red that he knew Coach Torres had spoken to her.

He walked up to her desk as she was placing her books into her backpack.

“Hi,” he said.

She didn’t look up. “Hi.”

“Coach tells me you’re willing to help me bring up my grades.”

She nodded.

“So where do you want to do this—your place or mine?”

Her head jerked up and she stared at him, eyes wide. “I can’t do it at home. My, uh, dad doesn’t like it when I have anyone over.”

He knew that was a crock. He’d asked around about her and found out that her dad rarely worked and spent most of his time in one of the three bars in town. She just didn’t want him there if her dad came home drunk.

Not that he blamed her. But at least she had a father. His dad had left when he was five. He barely remembered him.

“You want to come to my place, then?” he asked, dreading the idea that she would see the shack he lived in. He knew that her home was much nicer. The Maldonados lived on the outskirts of town in a large home that her dad had inherited from his family.

“What about working here at school?” she asked. “We could meet in the library or outside the cafeteria. There are tables and chairs there.”

They were bolted down, but they were there. “Sure,” he said. “Whatever you want. When can we start?”

“Don’t you have football practice?”

He nodded. “We’re through at five. I could meet you after that.”

She ducked her head. “Okay.”

“Today?”

“Uh-huh.”

It had taken him several weeks of their studying together before he broke through the wall of reserve that was always around her. He discovered that she had a delightful personality and a wonderful sense of humor. He’d fallen for her playfulness, as well as her vulnerability.

She’d been too thin, with thick riotous hair and oversize glasses perched on her nose. Somehow, though, she had a way of looking at him that had made his heart race. He’d never been able to figure out what it was that she did to him.

He couldn’t remember when he first began having erotic thoughts about the girl helping him pass his classes. What would it be like to kiss her? What would she do if he tried to touch her? Would his fantasies be fulfilled if he ever had the chance to make love to her?

For the first time in his life, there was a girl that he thought about more than football or going out and raising hell with his buddies.

Now, months later, they were going out on their first date together.

He gave one last look in the mirror, then walked into the room where his mother sat mending one of his shirts.

“Oh, Joe, you look so handsome!” she said, pressing her hand to her chest. “You take my breath away.”

He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks. And thank you for getting Uncle Pete to loan me his car for the night.”

She looked at him over the top of her glasses. “You’d better not let anything happen to it.”

He held up his hand. “I promise. I will take very good care of it.”

Of course the thing was ancient, but it was wheels, which was more than he had. He couldn’t very well ask Elena to walk to the prom with him.

He drove the old Plymouth away from town, eventually turning into the lane that led to Elena’s house. This was the first time he’d ever been to her home. He wasn’t sure what made him more nervous—taking a decent girl out on a date, driving a borrowed car, or having to meet her parents for the first time.

He walked across the small porch and knocked on the front door. Before he could take another deep breath, the door swung open.

Elena had on a slim black dress that was held up by tiny black straps, exposing her shoulders. The dress fit her slim form as though made for her, ending at the toes of her high-heeled shoes. She had her hair piled on her head with curls framing her face. Her glasses perched on her nose.

That was when Joe realized that he was in love with Elena Maldonado.

Elena caught her breath as soon as she saw Joe standing at the door. She’d never seen him in anything but old jeans and faded shirts. She couldn’t believe how different he looked tonight. Older. More sophisticated. To-die-for handsome.

“Come in,” she said, stepping back from the door.

Joe walked past her and she got a whiff of an aftershave lotion she hadn’t known he wore. She wasn’t sure her knees would hold her up. Wouldn’t she feel foolish if she collapsed in his arms before they even got out the door?

She would never forget how he looked in his rented tuxedo. The white ruffled shirt emphasized his dark skin and the suit drew attention to his wide shoulders and slender hips. She felt as though the night had cast a spell on her, and she wondered if this was all a dream.

Going to the senior prom with Joe Sanchez was very special for Elena because it was her very first date, with Joe or anyone else. Meeting him after school and discussing English and history with him certainly didn’t count as dating someone.

Even when he got into the habit of meeting her between classes and walking her to her locker, she hadn’t allowed herself to think he meant anything by it.

However, when he asked her to the prom, her hopes soared. She knew she wasn’t pretty, not like the other girls. Even though she’d gotten her braces off two years before, she was still careful about smiling at people. She didn’t know what to say to the other kids, who seemed so sure of themselves, so she just went to her classes without making eye contact and without speaking to anyone.

But during the three weeks between the time Joe had asked her to go to the prom with him and the prom itself, Elena knew that she had blossomed into another person. She felt popular and attractive for the first time in her life. She’d held her head up and smiled at classmates, who had been startled at first before they had smiled back.

She’d felt more comfortable joining a group in the cafeteria and listening to their conversation. She still didn’t talk much, but she listened and smiled and nodded her head in agreement. And she’d laughed more, because she was happy.

When anyone asked if she was going to the prom, she told them she was going with Joe Sanchez just to watch the expressions of amazement on their faces. Joe had quite a reputation around school. He was known for being a little wild and therefore exciting. He didn’t date girls from the school but had been seen from time to time with older girls who lived in town.

Elena and her mother had driven to San Antonio to find her the perfect gown to wear. It was midnight-black and straight, falling to her ankles with a slit to the knee so she could walk. She’d even worn two-inch heels, mostly so that she wouldn’t trip over the hem of her dress. Her mother had helped her with her hair, pinning it high on her head and letting stray curls tumble around her face and neck.

Of course her glasses didn’t help her glamorous image in the least, but without them she was practically blind. But not even having to wear her hated glasses could detract from her joy when Joe Sanchez saw her for the first time tonight.

He looked stunned. He acted stunned. And as the evening progressed, he didn’t let her get more than two feet away from him.

The only time Elena was uncomfortable was about midway through the dance when three of his buddies came up to them and made joking comments that she didn’t understand and that seemed to upset Joe. She asked him about it later when they were out on the dance floor, but he shrugged off her questions, saying his friends were too stupid to bother with.

Joe had begun to relax and enjoy the dance before the guys had shown up. He didn’t know how they’d managed to be here, since they were all dropouts. These were the guys he’d considered friends until last fall when he’d changed his lifestyle by working hard to bring up his grades.

They hadn’t liked that he was suddenly too busy to hang out with them. As the months passed, he’d realized what losers they were, doing stupid stuff, getting into all kinds of trouble for no other reason than they were bored.

His life was different now. Coach Torres had told him last week that he’d been approved for the scholarship to go to Texas A & M at College Station. He’d talked to him about joining the Corps, which was the military school there. All at once, Joe could see a future for himself, a chance to get away from bums like these guys.

Elena noticed that Joe had become quieter after he’d told those guys to leave them alone. When he suggested they leave the dance sometime later, she was ready to go. She wasn’t used to dancing and she certainly wasn’t used to dancing in high heels. As soon as they got into his car, she kicked off her shoes.

He immediately removed his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. They looked at each other and laughed.

“That was fun, Joe. Thank you so much for inviting me…and for the beautiful corsage.” He’d given her a wrist corsage of gardenias, her favorite flower.

“Do you have to go home right away?” he asked, looking at his watch.

“Not anytime soon,” she replied. Her mother understood that this was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. As for her dad, she hoped he’d be asleep by the time she got home, so the later the better.

“I thought we might go out to the levee for a while….”

Her heart began to pound and she tried to remember to breathe. The levee was where the kids went to make out. Not that she’d ever been there before, but that was what they liked to talk about. Going to the levee.

It had been built many years ago to control flooding and to help direct irrigation from the Rio Grande into the canals that branched from it.

“If you don’t want to, that’s okay,” he finally said, and she realized she’d been sitting there, unable to provide him with a coherent answer.

She gripped her hands together. “I’d like that,” she said quietly.

He grinned. “Great.” As though her agreement freed him in some way, he leaned over and gently kissed her. Boy, if she thought she was having trouble breathing before! She forced herself to relax and placed her hand on his chest. Only then did she discover that his heart was racing as fast as hers. She found that somehow reassuring.

When he finally straightened, he looked at her for a long time before starting the car.

Once parked, she saw why this was such a great place. It was higher than most of the land around them, and she could see the lights of Santiago, as well as those across the river in Mexico.

She wasn’t surprised to find that there were several other cars parked, but Joe parked in such a way that each car had adequate privacy.

Once Joe shut off the engine, the quiet around them seemed to seep into the car. They rolled down the windows and a slight breeze wafted through.

Joe pushed the seat back, then took off his jacket. “I, uh…I’ve never brought anyone here before.” His voice sounded forced.

She turned and looked at him. “Really? I would have thought a football star like you would be up here every weekend.” She was amazed that she could tease him.

He undid another button of his shirt. “Actually football kept me really busy all fall. Since then, I’ve been spending most of my time on homework. How about you?”

“Homework keeps me busy, too.”

“No, I mean, have you ever been here before?”

She laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Who would bring someone like me up here?”

“What do you mean, someone like you?”

She shrugged. “You may not have noticed, but I’m not one of the popular girls in school.”

“You could be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you’d relax a little more and join in. Actually I’ve noticed you with some of the girls in the cafeteria lately. They all seem to like you just fine.”

She hadn’t given their response to her much thought. “I guess so.”

He slid his arm around her shoulders. “I’m glad I’ve gotten to know you this year, Elena. You’ve helped me to look at life in a whole new way. I mean, you have all this ambition—you plan to go to college and do something with your life.”

“You mean work my way through college.”

“Well, we all have to do that. I hadn’t really believed I had a chance to go to college until Coach started urging me to fill out applications and you and I became friends. I just found out that I’ve been accepted at A & M for next year.”

“Oh, Joe, that’s wonderful!”

“I wouldn’t have considered it before. I guess I figured I would stay here and find something to do with my time like everyone else.”

“I’m glad you’re looking at the bigger picture.” She lightly touched his jaw with her finger. “I’m also glad you consider me a friend.”

He took her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers. “How about you? Do you know what you’re going to do after graduation?”

“I’ve been accepted at George Washington University in D.C. I’ve been offered a scholarship and a couple of grants. Mom says she has some money put away that I can use, as well.”

He framed her face with his hands and looked at her with a serious expression on his face. “I want to be much more than just friends, Elena,” he finally whispered.

“You do?” She could scarcely get her breath.

“Uh-huh,” he replied, kissing her with a lot more assurance and passion than he’d allowed himself during their first kiss.

She’d never felt like this before. She couldn’t get enough of his touch. Her brain shut down and all she could do was to feel. She knew that the scent of his aftershave would always bring this magical night to mind. When the kiss ended, they were both breathing rapidly. The night was too dark for her to see his face, but she knew by his breathing and the racing of his heart beneath her palm that he was equally affected by what they had just shared.

“There’s not much room up here with the steering wheel and all. Do you want to move into the back seat?”

She nodded, and somehow he must have been able to see that. Since the car was a two-door, he pulled one of the seats forward and helped her crawl into the back. Then he followed her.

He stretched out the width of the car as far as possible, then pulled her down on top of him.

She’d never been so close to anyone before. Her dress had a halter top that now fell open. She was grateful that it was too dark for him to see anything.

Soon she no longer cared. As he kissed and caressed her and encouraged her to do the same to him, his shirt and the top of her dress became hindrances. He unfastened the back of her dress while she rapidly undid the buttons on his shirt and pulled it off him. Clumsily he unfastened her strapless bra so that there was nothing between them. Just bare skin, touching.

She stopped breathing when he touched her breast. He was so gentle, so caring, that all she wanted was to have him touch her again and again. She could feel how aroused he was through the thin material of her dress and his trousers.

His next kiss set her on fire. When he slid his hand along her thigh and through the slit of her dress to her panties, she pushed into his hand, wanting to feel more of the magic.

She heard the zipper of his pants in the silence between their labored breathing and knew that if she didn’t stop him, they were going to make love now. She realized that she didn’t care. At that point, all she wanted was to continue being close to him. He shoved her panties down and off her, then lifted her slightly so that his hard flesh was pushing against her.

She moved slightly, opening herself so that he could enter her. The sudden invasion and size startled, then hurt her, and she clamped her legs together, trying to stop him. But it was too late. He lifted his hips in a strong surge, holding her against him with such strength she couldn’t move. Why had she thought she wanted him to make love to her? It hurt. He was too big. She tried to pull away from him, but he kept his hands on her hips as he pumped into her until he made one final lunge and fell back onto the seat, his hands dropping away from her.

As soon as he released her, she scrambled to get away, pulling herself up and off him. The top of her dress was around her waist; the rest of it was twisted around her hips and legs. She struggled to lift herself off the dress so she could pull it around and cover herself.

It was then that three large flashlights appeared at the windows. She heard male laughter and hateful humiliating remarks.

“Way to go, dude. We knew you could do it!”

“Damn. Looks like we’re going to have to pay up on that bet, after all. You always bragged you could score with her, given the chance. Guess you were right!”

“Who woulda believed you’d get this far with her on a first date! That beats all your records. Gotta hand it to you, buddy.”

At the first sign of the flashlights, Joe jackknifed into a sitting position and reached for Elena, but not before the boys had seen her bare breasts. They hooted and hollered, laughed and made obscene jokes while he helped her refasten her dress.

He quickly covered himself, then pushed the seat forward and jumped out of the car. The boys took off running with Joe in hot pursuit.

Elena was numb with shock and humiliation. There was a bet? He had gone out with her…he’d made love to her…because of a bet?

She crawled back into the front seat and huddled against the door, waiting for him to return to the car and take her home. If she could live through this horrible night, she would never, ever speak to him again.

Eventually he returned to the car. When he jerked open the door, the overhead light flashed on. She turned her head so she wouldn’t have to look at him, but she didn’t miss his disheveled appearance and the scrape on his cheek.

He closed the door but didn’t start the car right away. She could hear his harsh breathing. Finally he sighed and said, “I can’t believe those guys did that. I am so sorry, Elena. They’ve been drinking and they’re angry at me for leaving the group. I guess they thought they’d pay me back this way, but it wasn’t fair to you. For what it’s worth, I told them what I think of them. I can’t believe I ever considered them friends.”

“Please take me home,” she whispered.

“Of course.” He started the car. “I’m so sorry our evening had to end this way.”

She didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. It took all her concentration not to burst into tears and further humiliate herself. As soon as they reached the end of her driveway, she said, “Please stop here.”

He pulled in and stopped. “Let me take you up to the—”

That was all she heard before she pushed on the door and got out, then slammed it. She clutched her purse in one hand and her shoes in the other, her skirt dragging in the dirt. She grabbed it with a couple of her fingers and sprinted to the house, not looking back.

Joe watched her, feeling helpless. He’d never been in this kind of situation before. Sure, he’d had sex with a few girls, but tonight was the first time he’d made love with anyone. He’d had no control with her. He knew he’d hurt her, knew this must have been her first time.

Those stupid bums had ruined everything. If he’d had more time, he could have explained that his lack of control was because of the way he felt about her. He could have told her that she was very special to him.

He would wait until Monday and talk to her. Maybe by then she would be calmer and willing to listen to him.

Unfortunately Joe never had a chance to talk to Elena again.