Dancing With Velvet by Judy Nickles

brother.”
    “How about your mother? You never mention her, not really.”
    He sighed. “Her, too, but…”
    “But?”
    “To tell you the truth, she never liked anyone I dated in high school.”
    “Why not?”
    “Well, I was the oldest, and she depended on me after Dad died.” He sighed again. “I don’t know…she’s a little, well, possessive, I guess you’d say. When she said she was going to talk to one of Dad’s friends on the draft board about getting me exempted, I just went down and enlisted.”
    “She didn’t like that much, I bet.”
    “She didn’t like it at all.”
    “Then this might not be the time for me to meet her.”
    He pushed back the hair that fell over her face despite the barrette holding it and brushed her cheek with the tips of his fingers. “She’s going to have to meet you sometime, because I like you a lot, more than I ever liked anyone else.”
    For a moment, the pit of Celeste’s stomach burned, and her knees felt like jelly. “I like you, too, Kent.”
    “I wish there was some place we could be by ourselves and have some real privacy,” he said. “Besides the dance floor at the hotel. I’m always looking over my shoulder for some hotel employee who might have seen us come up here.”
    “I know a place.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, guilt kicked in.
    “Where?”
    “I have a key to the store. Mr. Thomas told me to keep it after we had the going-away party for Paula in the employee lounge. He said somebody ought to be able to get in if there was an emergency, and he was out of town or something.”
    “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
    “He won’t know.” What am I saying? Mr. Thomas knows everything that goes on in that store.
    “He might find out.”
    “Then I’ll explain it to him. He’ll understand.” He’ll understand, but he won’t like it. But Kent’s leaving soon, and this might be our only chance to be alone. Really alone.
    They cut through the alley to the back of the store, where Celeste let them in with her key. “There aren’t any windows in the lounge, so we can turn on the light in there.”
    Kent made sure the door was locked behind them before he followed her down the dim corridor.
    “This is it,” Celeste said, opening a door and flipping on the light. “Such as it is.”
    They sat discreetly apart on the cracked leather sofa. “It’s hard to talk when there’re people around,” Kent said after a minute.
    “Yes.”
    “I’ve decided what to call you.”
    “Did you? I thought you’d forgotten.”
    “Well, I had to make sure it was just right.”
    “So what is it? What’s my new name?”
    “Can’t you guess? It’s Velvet.”
    “Velvet?”
    “Sure. That’s how I always think of you. Soft and pretty in that dress.”
    “Velvet.”
    Kent reached for her hand. “You’re real special, Velvet.”
    Before she realized it, she was in his arms, and he was kissing her harder and more intimately than ever before. “Oh, Velvet,” he whispered, “you’re so beautiful.” His hands caressed her back and slipped down to her waist, then around to her stomach and down. “So, so beautiful.”
    She knew he was way past too familiar , as Coralee used to say, but she didn’t care, not until he slipped one hand up under her sweater. “Kent, don’t…”
    He didn’t seem to hear her as his fingers crawled down the top of her slip until they were on her bare flesh.
    The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back on the sofa with her sweater up around her neck. He began to tug the straps from her shoulders. She felt his lips, moist and searching, where they had no right to be.
    “Kent, stop.” She struggled to sit up. “We’re going too far.”
    He sat back, a look of confusion on his face. “I thought you liked it.”
    “I did…I do, but it’s wrong. You know it’s wrong.”
    “I wouldn’t hurt you, Velvet. I’d know when to pull back.”
    Moving away from him, she straightened her sweater.