“Why do I feel like I’m being put down?”
“I have no idea,” Eli said, his face innocent. “My point wasn’t about you and me specifically, but in a general way. Sex doesn’t last over the long term. Now even my par
ents would rather spend Saturday at home watching a movie on TV.”
“How the hell do you know?!” Chelsea said in anger. “Are you there on Saturday nights? Have you set up spy cameras in their house? For your information, a good sex life is one of the strongest bases for a good marriage.”
“That’s nice to hear. I’ll keep that in mind for the future.” He looked back out the windshield.
Chelsea was frowning as she watched customers wander along the sidewalks and in and out of the many stores. “Are you saying that you’ll settle for a less interesting sex life if you get the other things you want?”
“I’m going to have to, aren’t I?” Eli said. “I’m certainly not going to find sex like you and I have with someone else. I’ll just have to make do.”
Chelsea leaned back in her seat, staring straight ahead. “I never want to settle for anything,” she said softly. “I want it all.”
“I hope you get it. Look! Is that Abby?”
Walking along the deep sidewalk in front of them were two teenagers. She was tall, with a very pretty face, and lots of chestnut hair. Beside her was a skinny boy who was about four inches shorter than she was. They were an odd-looking couple.
“Do you think we looked like that?” Eli asked.
“I think they’re our mirror image.” She looked at him. “I wonder whose idea it was to make girls gain their full height before boys do?”
“My guess would be older men. Less competition for them.”
Chelsea laughed. “Probably so. Old men used to hit on me when I was in high school. And by old I mean about twenty-five. What about you? I never knew about the bullies, so were there any girls you never told me about?”
“Amber Wilson.”
“You’re kidding! She was . . .”
“One of the pretty ones,” Eli said, his eyes on Abby and Scully. They were looking in the window of a shoe store.
“When did she—?” Chelsea began but stopped because coming from the opposite side was a small crowd of teenagers. They were loud and laughing, punching each other. Two of the girls were tapping away on their cell phones.
“He sees them,” Eli said, nodding toward young Scully. “And he’s not going to say a word.”
“Is that his pride or stupidity?” Chelsea asked as she stepped out of the car. Bending, she looked back at him. “I’m going to go listen.”
Eli was out of the car instantly and he took her hand in his. They looked like every other young couple, with no hidden agenda.
They eased around the crowd of teenagers to stand in front of the shoe store window. They could see everything in the reflection of the glass. As always with teenagers, they were oblivious of the older couple.
“Mine’s a sort of greeny blue,” a girl was saying. “What about you, Addy?”
“It’s Abby, short for Abigail,” Scully said. He was behind her, glaring at all of them.
“Oh, right,” the girl said. “It’s hard for me to remember since we just met two days ago.”
“You’ve been in classes together for three years.” Scully’s voice was rising.
Abby put her hand on his arm. “It’s okay,” she said softly. Through all of this, she hadn’t taken her eyes off a tall, big, handsome boy who was looking around at the stores as though he was unaware of the turmoil around him.
“Hi, Baze,” Abby said softly.
Turning, the boy looked down at her and gave a little smile. “You okay?”
“Sure.” She just looked up at him, seeming to be incapable of further speech.