Page 31 of Putting Out
8
The doorbell rang late in the evening and the group of people circled around the large, flat- screen TV looked up expectantly.
“I’ll get it,” Kenny announced, bouncing up from his spot on the floor where he had served as Erica’s pillow.
He felt the punch in his gut the second he opened the door and wondered why after all this time, it still happened every time he saw her.
“Tessa.”
“Hey, Kenny.”
Tessa was tall and built like a woman should be but no woman wanted to be. Most women wanted to be petite and thinner than paper. Tessa was close to five-nine with round breasts, if Kenny remembered, that were larger than his hands could cover. And her legs went on forever. Soft, curly, brown hair framed an oval face that had almost as many years as his did but still always looked the same as it did when he met her in the sixth grade. She had been a mere fourth grader at the time.
“You’re dating the high school principal, Grams said. That’s not still Mr. Weaver, is it? Because he’d be like six hundred years old by now.”
She jammed her hands in the pockets of her bulky winter coat and looked away from him. She had this thing where any time he pissed her off, she would look the other way and count to ten. Some trick her mother taught her about keeping her composure.
He couldn’t fathom why she was upset with him. He was just asking about her life. It was polite.
When she faced him, her face was redder but her smile was intact.
“Yes, I’m dating the high school principal. No, it isn’t Mr. Weaver. It’s nice to see you again, too.”
“Kenny, who is it?” Reilly called out from the living room.
Tessa tilted her neck to see over Kenny’s shoulder.
“It’s Tess, Reilly. I came to talk to you about tomorrow.”
With a deft move she slid around Kenny and stood at the entrance to the living room.
Reilly had popped up from her perch on a cushion on the living room floor.
“Hey! How are you doing?”
Reilly turned back to the room. “Do you remember Luke?”
“Sure. I used to follow you when you were on the tour. You won the American.”
“Twice. I won it two times,” Luke said holding up two fingers.
“Now he is working on winning… Wait, what do you get for commentating on a golf match better than anyone?”
Behind Grams’s back, Luke lowered one of his fingers. Reilly smiled.
“This is Erica. She plays with me on tour.”
“And she’s dating me.” Kenny pounced between the two of them. “We’re dating.”
Erica glanced up from the TV to give a toothy smile and then turned her attention back to the movie.
Tessa nodded and moved back a step from where Kenny had inserted himself between them.
“Good. I’m glad. That you’re happy. Anyway, Reilly, I heard about tomorrow being the big announcement day.”
“Yep. Tomorrow the world is going to know my decision. Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi. I’ve got to tell you right now it’s still neck and neck.”
Tessa grew serious. “There were reporters talking about it outside the Lucky Cow…”
