But, boy, could he move on the ice. His edges were solid as a rock; he had quick feet, good carriage, everything you could want in a young skater-except jumps.
Sophia skated up to him as he took a slight break next to the coach. "Warren, I’ve been watching you."
"What did you think?"
"Warren, we should dance together."
"Ah, I don’t know."
"Warren, you’ve got strong, strong basic skating skills. Your edges, your turns, everything. Screw the jumps. You need to dance, and you need to dance with me."
"You’re pretty vehement about this."
Sophia smiled a little. "Yeah, I suppose I am. I watched you do that piece of footwork a minute ago, and I said to myself, damn, I want him to do that with me. With me in your arms."
Carol, the coach, overheard. "Do you have a dance background, Sophia?"
"Sixth in novice sectionals three years ago."
"Great! You didn’t skate out of here?"
"No, down in Wennington."
"Ah. Well, if you want to dance again, I’m sure we could find you a partner."
"I’m trying to convince my partner," Sophia said with a smile.
"Actually, Warren, she’s got a point. You’ve certainly got the basics to do ice dance. The jumps are not coming. And, I don’t know if you guys can learn to dance together, but you are certainly physically well-matched."
Warren thought for a minute, and then said, "Hmmm. What the heck? I can try it, right? And I get to skate with the love of my life, that’s a cool bonus."
Sophia laughed. Carol said, "Listen. After the free session, the next lesson is run by June Riegert. She’s a dance coach. You guys were going to stick around for the free session, right? Afterwards, I’ll introduce you."
They tried skating together a bit during the free session, and found that they had a decent natural rhythm. They met June, and she agreed to let them join her dance class. They danced for a while, mostly just trying to teach Warren the most basic of steps, but Sophia loved it. By the end of the class, Warren realized that he liked it better than singles, already.
PLANS AND SCHEMES (Chapter 10)
"So, we’re going to take ice dance lessons and see how it goes."
Sophia was sitting at a party that Saturday night, talking to Jessie. Warren had had plans with Crash, so Sophia had decided to go to the party. She had wondered whether or not to tell Warren, finally decided to, and was happily surprised that he told her to go. She knew he’d worry, but he was good enough to understand that she couldn’t drop out of the party scene altogether. That’s where her friends were. She really was lucky to have him. She made a mental vow to take it easy on the nasty stuff at the party.
"So, the Famous Couple is now a couple on the ice, too," Jesse snorted. "Jesus, do you guys do everything together?"
Sophia sighed. "Well, Jess, aside from the fact that he’s not here-no, we don’t do everything together. I wish."
"Hmmm. Methinks my friend sounds just a touch frustrated."
"Just a touch."
"What, that he’s not here?"
"Oh, no. I’m fine with that. I’ll get him to come to one, when we’re ready for that. It’s fine that he’s not here, he had plans anyhow."
"Oh. OK. But there is a problem."
"Jess, it’s such a minor one, I don’t want to make a big deal about it. I’m so in love with him, I can’t stand it. It’s everything I could have ever dreamed about in a relationship. He’s damn near the perfect boyfriend."
"Except…"
"Except we’ve been going out for three weeks and he hasn’t made even something resembling the slightest hint of a move on me!"
"Aaah. Sophie’s horny."
"And how. And he hasn’t done anything more than kiss me. Oh, and just to ratchet up my hormones a few degrees, he’s an exceptionally good kisser."
"Really? Prep Boy?"
"Yeah. Surprised me how good he is."
"Hmmm. Well, as for your little problem, you’ve gotta understand-three weeks for you might be an eternity, but for Mister Inexperienced? If you guys are making out, that’s fast for him."
"I know, I know" Sophia groaned. "I just wish I could somehow let him know that I’m not going to bite."
"You don’t bite? That’s a pity."
"JESS!"
"Aaron used to like it when I bit."
"JESSIE! You’re horrible! Besides which, I thought you and Aaron never did it?"
"We didn’t, but we did everything but. No, unlike you, I kept my virginity. Unfortunately. If I hadn’t, I might have kept Aaron."
"You did the right thing, Jess, you know that."
"You’re probably right. I wasn’t ready."
"Jess, I wish I had held out. I might not be driving myself crazy right now. Damn, I am just not used to this-I’m used to guys that want to jump my bones on the first date."
"Hey, I didn’t tell you to go out with a preppy, now, did I?"
Sophia giggled. "Ah, I wouldn’t trade him for the world."
"So jump his bones."
"Huh?"
"Make the first move, Soph. Grab his crotch or something. Answer the door wearing a baby-doll. Write a lascivious note and put it in his bookbag. Be creative."
"That’s a damn good idea."
"Of course it is. I thought of it."
"Jess, you’re a genius. Hmmm. This beer is almost empty."
"How many?"
"First."
Jessie gaped. "Soph, you’ve been here two hours. One beer?"
"I’m taking it easy."
"You’re turning into me, is what you’re doing."
"Huh?"
"Soph, haven’t you noticed? I hardly ever get drunk. I take a beer and nurse it forever. I take one toke off a joint and pass it around. All the parties I go to, and the times I’ve been truly wasted or stoned I can count on about two fingers. Everybody thinks I’m cool, but I keep in control. And I even manage to get decent grades without everyone thinking I’m a wimp. I’m serious-you’re turning into me. Keep your rep but take care of business."
"Yeah, except you don’t have to worry about venturing into this den of jackals with a preppy on your arm."
Jessie laughed. "True. Of course, if I could get me a preppy that treats me like Warren treats you, I might consider it. But, what you said reminds me…"
"Of what?"
"Three weeks from now, the ‘rents are out of town. Which coincides with your fifteenth birthday. Which means…"
"Jessie’s Annual Sophia’s Birthday Bash?"
"You got it. And this is a perfect opportunity to parade the preppy into the den."
"You think?"
"Sure. First, you know my parties tend to be tame by comparison."
"That’s because if anyone gets out of hand, you kick their ass."
"Exactly. Second, it’s my party. My party, my guest list, my best friend’s boyfriend is firmly on the guest list, and if anyone has a problem with that…"
"You kick their ass."
"Exactly."
"We’ll be there. Might as well get it over with."
"Cool. It’s going to go better than you think, you know. Just make sure Prep Boy brings that rapier-sharp sarcastic wit that I’ve seen with him."
"I’ll do that. But first, I need to launch The Plan to Get Sophia Laid."
Jessie just laughed.
Sophia wrote the note on Wednesday. They had made plans to get together on Friday night, as usual, and her mother was working late, and the kids would be with their father. She planned to drop the note in his bookbag at work on Thursday. So she thought for a while on Wednesday night, and ended up writing this:
My dearest Romeo,
I don’t have a balcony for you to sing up to, so my bedroom will have to do. Up the stairs, to the right, first door on the left. I will be waiting for you there Friday night. Just let yourself in and come right up. I will be ready for you, and I will be wearing something very special for the occasion.
I want you, Romeo, so bad I can taste it.
See you Friday,