driveway. Chaz was right on time. Maddie was covering a nightshift in the ER so I didn’t have to deal with her recitation of rules. I ran out to the driveway as Chaz pulled in and tugged on the passenger door. It wouldn’t budge.
“It’s jammed,” he chuckled. “My sister crashed it when it was her car. I’ve never bothered to fix it.” I climbed over the door onto the front seat.
“I would have opened the door for you. Just not the passenger door,” he smiled and leaned in to give me a peck on the cheek. His lips were warm and soft. I was glad it was dark so he couldn’t see me blush.
This was a date!
It seemed everyone in town was at the drive-in. I had never seen so many kids or cars! When I was little I would tag along with Dad and Maddie. They would put me in pajamas and I would sleep in the backseat while they had a “date night.” Now I was here on my own date night, I hoped . Chaz went to the trunk and took out a brown paper grocery bag.
“Picnic? I asked.
“Props.”
“Props?”
“No way! Are you a virgin?”
“Excuse me?”
He slammed the trunk closed and shook his head. “No. I didn’t mean that ,” he laughed. “Have you ever seen Rocky Horror ?”
“No.”
“Ah, so you are a virgin,” he smirked.
We left the car and pushed through mingling teenagers. I followed him down to an area with rows of metal chairs in front of a raised stage. The large screen was behind the stage.
“I thought you stayed in your car at a drive-in,” I teased. I was more than disappointed. I had imagined sitting in the private, cozy, confines of Chaz’s car, his arm draped casually around me as we shared a tub of popcorn, our hands occasionally touching as we both reached in at the same time…
“Paige?”
I looked over, quickly snapping out of my thoughts. A young man had joined our group.
“This is Spade. We’ve known each other since like… fourth grade right?”
“More like third I think.” He smiled warmly and shook my hand. “Joseph Spader.”
Spade was tall and lean with copper hair and a dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose. He had that generic boy-next-door look. The look that Danielle always went for but never stayed with very long.
“Spade, this is my friend, Paige. We’re modeling tomorrow in that show I was telling you about.”
Friend? Great. This was not a date.
“That’s bitchin’. I’m totally going to show up and make fun of you guys.”
They continued talking and I turned and scanned the crowd. The seats were starting to fill up with people holding props or dressed in costumes. I wondered what I was getting myself into.
“Hey, Paige.”
I spun around to see Donny dressed in the most bizarre costume I’d ever seen! He was wearing a black leather vest, black opera length gloves, tight black trunks, and fishnet stockings. His big feet were crammed into red platform heels and he had a white face and dark lipstick.
“Holy shit, Donny! Is that you?”
“I’m in the play that gets acted out on the stage as the movie is playing. I’m Dr. Frank N. Furter.”
“Oh,” I sighed in relief. I thought he had lost his mind. “I didn’t realize there was a play too.”
“Oh my God! Are you a virgin?” Here we go with the virgin thing again.
Chaz turned from his conversation. “She is a virgin.” Big smirk from Chaz. He pushed me to Donny and before I knew what was happening I was being pulled onto the stage.
Donny cupped his hands together over his mouth and shouted into the crowd. “Attention, everyone. We have our first virgin of the night!”
Within seconds people formed a ring around me and started to sing and dance. Ring around the virgin, ring around the virgin, they sang. I was mortified. They disbanded as quickly as they gathered and disappeared back into the crowd.
“My dear, you are no longer a virgin,” said Donny as he bowed and pretended to lower a cap from his head. I spotted Chaz in the row of seats below and walked over