They might be spending more money on dates and making love instead of making out, but some things, such as Johnny, never seemed to change. 

The imperative, female voice boomed down the hallway. “Gwen, pick up the phone, already! It’s your friend Robin.”

Gwen put down her nail polish and reached for the phone her father had installed in the bedroom she shared with her kid sister. “Hey, Robin. Where are you? Is everything alright?”

“Quit worrying, mother hen. I’m calling from cosmopolitan Hicksville, Long Island and everything’s fine,” said Robin. “I had to get out of the house or go nuts. So I came down to Daddy’s office to do some stuff on his new electric typewriter. I’m calling on the company’s WATTS line.”

“Robin, we’re on semester break,” protested Gwen. “Please don’t tell me you’re doing school work.”

“Just a few things like the student nurse association newsletter.”

A loud click on the line indicated Mrs. Kaplan had heard enough and hung up.

“God, I didn’t think she’d ever get off,” fumed Gwen.

“Is it just me or does she do that to all your friends?”

“Oh, you’re not the only one, believe me.”

“Well, it’s good to know I’m not alone on the Sarah Kaplan surveillance list.”

“Sometime, especially when Johnny calls, I swear she’ll listen forever. Then, just to piss me off, she’ll leave the phone on the kitchen counter and go back into the living room and watch TV. If I yell about it, she’ll say she just forgot to hang up.”

“Speaking of Johnny, you two going out tonight?”

“You bet,” said Gwen, as she finished her nails. “We’re going to that new disco in Forest Hills. What’s more, he told me to really dress up nice and to be sure to wear the ankle bracelet he gave me last weekend.”

“An ankle bracelet? Are you serious? My God, they went out with bouffant hair.”

“I know, but you wouldn’t believe how proud he is of the thing. Anyway, I told him it was so special I’d only wear it when we were together.”

“Give yourself an A+ for that shrewd move. But what’s the big, dressy-up occasion anyway?”

“Well, you know, I told you about how he’s gotten this new, mystery job. He still won’t tell me much about it, but tonight he’s going to introduce me to a couple of his bosses.”

“Shit!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, except I just realized I screwed something up. Don’t worry, it’s nothing an extra hour or two won’t fix.”

Gwen reached for her make-up. “Well, I’m glad to hear it’s nothing serious. Believe me, I’d stay and suffer with you but I’ve got to leave soon.”

“That’s right, go out and dance the night away while I slave over a typewriter,” teased Robin. “So what are you wearing?”

“I’m not sure. I was thinking about the navy blue outfit. You know, try to look dignified and lady-like for the big bosses. The problem is it’s a little conservative. I mean, we’re going to a disco and the hem nearly reaches my knees. Besides, the only time Johnny notices what I’m wearing is when my skirt is really short. So I guess I’ll wear my Henley, plus that ankle bracelet.”

“Are you talking about the pale blue number, the one you wore the first time you and Mark spent the weekend together?”

Memories of Mark Cahill flooded Gwen's mind. She remembered their strained parting and her decision to put him out of her thoughts, at least for the holidays. Now she was determinedly lavishing all her affection on Johnny who was, after all, the man she loved and wanted to marry,.

Gwen felt a little annoyed with Robin. Even if she did hate Johnny, that didn’t justify bringing up the subject of Mark. Finally, Gwen decided to try and brazen her way through Robin’s needling. “That’s right. Only this time I’ll be wearing underwear and Johnny’s ankle bracelet.”

“Better you than me,” laughed Robin.

“Somehow, I can’t see you in an ankle bracelet,” said Gwen, relieved at getting off the subject of Mark.

“Neither can I,” agreed Robin. “But I’ve got to get back to my labors or I’ll be here all night.”

“And I’ve got to hurry. I can usually count on Johnny being late. But tonight , he’s promised to be on time.”

A few minutes later, she slipped on the short Henley dress and looked at herself in the long mirror hanging on the bedroom door. Seeing herself in that dress brought back memories of Mark.

Whenever she thought about him, which was often, she tried to remind herself that while she might have become fond of him, their relationship was just a brief affair based on proximity and compassion, not real affection. Granted it had somehow become physical. With an irrepressible shiver of excitement, she would even concede that the physical part had been unforgettable.

Of course, letting things go that far had been a big mistake. Still, she could console herself that had been nothing more than a brief, once-in-a-lifetime thing. In eighteen months, she’d graduate and marry the man she really loved.

After all, the only reason she ever got involved with Mark was because she felt sorry for someone alone and far from home. Now he was gone. What’s more, he’d left without even promising to write. With the distraction of Mark behind her, she was determined Johnny would never have any reason to doubt her love or her loyalty.

For the first time in months, she could spend all her free time with him. And to her surprise, he actually seemed to have plenty of money. She still had no idea where all this money came from. After leaving Wall Street, he hadn’t gone back to the supermarket. Instead, he began working part-time at Goodies, a combination newsstand and candy store on Main Street which served as the neighborhood hangout for high school kids. But how much could that possibly pay?

###

Shiny and loud, the disco pulsed with sexual energy and excitement. Gwen loved it and couldn’t wait to get out on the crowded dance floor. But Johnny steered her over toward two men sitting in a corner table.

“Gwen, this is Gino and Hector. They’re kinda like my bosses.”

“Not really,” insisted Gino, standing up and taking Gwen’s hand. He was a sharp dresser, and good looking in an exotic, slightly dangerous sort of way.

“We’re more like associates than bosses.”

“That’s right,” said the other man after standing and taking over possession of her hand. His suit seemed expensive and fit his short, powerful body like a glove. “Johnny’s still learning the ropes, but he catches on fast.”

They sat and ordered drinks. After they arrived, Johnny blurted out, “By the way, what do you guys think about Gwen’s ankle bracelet?”

“I’m not sure,” said Gino with a sly smile. “Her eyes are so nice, I hadn’t thought to look that far down.”

Gwen blushed, and thanked him for the compliment. To her surprise, Johnny, normally shy and somewhat jealous, insisted on her twisting around in her chair until her legs came out from under the table. Hector and Gino leaned over, and took their time looking down in the general direction of the bracelet.

“Well, I don’t know about Hector, but that bracelet looks almost as good as the leg it’s attached to.

Hector agreed. “We always knew Johnny had good sense. Now we find out he’s also got good taste in bracelets and in women. But I wonder if those legs dance as good as they look?" Beaming at the compliment, Johnny invited him to take her out on the dance floor and find out for himself.

All three men were soon taking turns dancing with her. Whenever she was with one of the new guys, the other one would sit at their table and talk to Johnny. They must have been content with the arrangement Gwen decided, since neither appeared to be interested in finding a girl of his own or tried to come on to her.

After a long session of virtually uninterrupted dancing, she finally had to plead exhaustion and collapsed into a chair at their table. Although sweaty and tired , Gwen felt exhilarated. But she barely had time to catch her breath before Johnny pulled her back to her feet.

Giving Hector and Gino a lewd smile, he announced that he and Gwen had to make a special rendezvous. With knowing smiles, they laughed, stood and wished them good night.

It took Johnny only a few minutes to locate a secluded spot he said Hector had recommended. The moment the car was parked, he and Gwen clutched in a passionate embrace. After a few moments of intense making out, they scrambled into the back seat.

Gwen helped him spread out the old blanket they always used for this purpose. With a sigh of relief, she lay down and closed her eyes. Moments later, he began removing her panty hose. It was almost off when he stopped. Curious, she opened her eyes. The ankle bracelet was obstructing progress. Johnny kept muttering obscenities while he feverishly struggled to remove the gift he had been so proud of giving her. She had to bite her lip to keep from giggling.

An hour later, they were rushing home through late evening traffic. Digging through her purse for a mint, Gwen heard the ankle bracelet rattle inside. The sound reminded her of Hector and Gino, of how they pretended to admire the bracelet and the hours she spent dancing with all three men.

Squeezing Johnny's leg, she wondered if he had actually been a little jealous of his new friends. For whatever reason, he'd been an especially ardent lover that evening in the back of the Chevy.

Suddenly, the car veered wildly, tossing Gwen across the front seat. While she tried to remain calm and not overreact to Johnny's erratic driving, her foot jerked instinctively for a brake pedal and her purse fell to the floor. Johnny was such a terrible driver. In fairness, he didn't get much practice, she reminded herself. After all, he hadn't gotten a license until two years ago and his mother seldom let him use her old Chevy unless it was for a date.

As usual, they were running late. Not wanting to get either of them in trouble with her mother, he was hurrying. Well, I said I was going to be nice to Johnny even if it killed me, she thought. I just didn't think it would be this literal.

After sliding back over to Johnny, she snuggled close and lay her head on his shoulder. He leaned his head against hers and placed a hand on her left knee.

“Sorry about that swerve back there,” he said. “I thought I saw something in the road.”

“That’s alright,” murmured Gwen. “Just please don’t get us into a wreck. We’d really be late then.”

“I’m trying babe, I’m trying,” he chuckled.

They rode in silence. On the radio, James Taylor was singing about seeing fire and rain, about lonely times when he couldn’t find a friend. The lyrics suddenly reminded her of Mark even as she tried to force the disloyal thoughts aside.

When the song ended, Johnny asked, “So what are you thinking about?”

The question, startled her out of the uncomfortable mental struggle. “I was thinking,” she said after a moment’s hesitation, “that this has been a very nice evening. But I was also thinking about how different it’s been from the ones we used to have back when I was still in high school.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, back then, we’d usually just grab a couple of slices of pizza at Mario's, then walk down to Parson's Theater. And remember how, if it were a special occasion, my folks would let us take the bus into Flushing to watch a movie at the RKO Keith Theater.? Back then it seemed so swanky and sophisticated.”

“I always liked going bowling at the union hall,” said Johnny. “And the dances at the Jewish Center were okay, even if I was the only Italian in the joint. ‘Course, if we were broke…”

“Which was most of the time,” interrupted Gwen with a giggle.

“Yeah, I guess that’s right,” he agreed with a half-smile. “Anyway, we’d end up at somebody’s apartment, eating popcorn and watching TV, usually ‘Shindig’ or ‘Hullabaloo’.”

“Do you remember that time we came in late to a party in the home of one of your friends? Someone saw us coming in and yelled, "Hey everybody, there's Johnny and his woman." Being called your ‘woman’ made me feel so special and grown up.”

“Sure, I remember. That was loud mouth Stevie Fontane. It was at a party in his basement game room. And to tell you the truth, hearing him yell that made me feel pretty good too.”

“What did you like most about dating during the summer?”

“Well, I liked going to Shea Stadium. But of course, we could only do that when your old man scored free tickets. And I liked us going to Jones Beach, especially last summer when you got that sexy two piece.”

“And what about all those warm, summer evenings in Flushing Meadow Park?” she cooed into his ear.

“That’d have to be damn near number one,” he replied, squeezing her knee. “Of course, just when things would start getting interesting, you’d make me stop to flip the radio between Cousin Brucie on WABC or WINS and Wolfman Jack.”

“Of course I did,” said Gwen. “After all, I couldn’t risk missing a Beatles song. Remember how there were always a lot of other cars there and almost everyone had their radios tuned to the same two stations? Sometimes, when everyone had their windows down, the place sounded like a concert.”

There was a brief lull in the conversation, as both recalled summers past. It was Gwen who broke the silence. “I loved those summer evenings with you at Flushing Meadows. After all, it was about the only place we could be alone. Making out there was fun and sexy but also cozy and safe. With so many cars around, we could only go so far. Everyone knew the rules. Groping and groaning were okay, ‘going all the way', wasn’t.”

“Yeah,” said Johnny, sliding his hand up and down her smooth, inner thigh. “Now I remember what I didn’t like about the place. Still, I gotta admit, those groping and groaning sessions were a lot of fun.”

“Well, we could always go back to doing that instead of what we did tonight ,” she teased.

“Not only no,” he laughed, “but hell no. I’m a man who believes in progress, and in plenty of good loving.”

A few minutes later, he was struggling to parallel park in front of her apartment building. As the car bumped and jerked back and forth, she glanced inside the building’s small, neon lighted lobby. With a smile and a shake of her head, she remembered walking home with Johnny from one of their first dates and what happened once they reached the lobby.

With a teasing challenge, he had tugged at her hand and urged her to join him under the stairs for, "A real good night kiss."

While she tried to act reluctant, she was more than willing to try a little serious making out with Johnny. After all, he was four years older than she was and yet, for some reason, he seemed really interested in her.

"Well, just for a minute," she protested as she let him pull her into the semi-private spot. For the next few minutes, he kissed her with force and passion, crushing his lips against hers and running his tongue deep into her mouth. The only respite she got was when he slid his mouth across her neck while nibbling and sucking on her sensitive skin.

When Gwen felt his hand possess one of her breasts, she trembled with excitement. This had happened only twice before. The first time was with Sidney Bloomberg at a friend's summer party. They had made out for a few minutes during a ‘post office’ type kissing game.

While Gwen had no experience herself, she sensed that Sidney was a lousy kisser. But, he’d been so eager and so sweet, she hadn't immediately pushed his hand away when he tentatively placed it on one of her small, budding breasts. She was spared hurting his feelings by their being called back to the group. That fall Sidney entered a different school and soon dropped out of her life.

Unlike Sidney, Paul had seemed experienced and confident. Gwen would never forget meeting him at Ruth's party. A fantastic dancer, his long, thrilling good night kiss had been incredible. She also remembered how Paul asked for her number but never called and how crushed she’d felt when she admitted to herself that he never would.

Although she and Sidney had been naive and unsure of themselves, the feel of his inexpert hand squeezing her breast had sent shivers through her body. Paul had been a great kisser and seemed to know it all, including how, when, and where to touch her body. Only later, did she realize that this skill, plus his self-confidence, was about all there was to Paul Goldman.

What she felt that first time she made-out with Johnny had been different, very different. She had liked him from the moment they met. He seemed so cute and nice and was a pretty good dancer. So when he called the next day and asked her for a date, she quickly accepted, thrilled that this older guy wanted to be with her. Having someone like that interested in her was an incredible ego boost.

During that first date, Johnny hadn't seemed anything like Paul. Later, under the stairs, he sure hadn't acted anything like poor Sidney. Where Sidney had been almost apologetic and afraid of hurting her feelings, Johnny worked single-mindedly toward his goal. Even to the inexperienced Gwen, it was obvious that goal was her body.

When he started trying to unbutton her blouse, she knew it was time to call it quits. Twisting away from his hand, she said in the best no-nonsense voice she could muster, "Okay, Johnny. I think this good night kiss has gone far enough."

After a moment of embarrassed silence, they awkwardly disentangle. Once all buttons were back in order and her make-up retouched, she turned to him. The look on his face told her she wasn't the only one who felt a little awkward. "That was some good night kiss," was the only thing she could think to say.

With a grin, he replied, "Yeah, that was my special one. I reserve it only for special girls."

"And I suppose you've got lots of special girls.”

"Maybe," said Johnny, who she later learned hadn't been on a date in months before going out with her. "But right now there's this one girl who seems a little more special than all the rest."

With a pleased smile, she took his hand and led him out of the special spot. They climbed the stairs to her front door where they kissed almost chastely.

"Want to go out again, you know, like maybe next weekend?"

Gwen’s heart skipped a beat and her stomach knotted with excitement. It was a struggle to act casual. "Maybe, what do you want to do?"

Johnny smirked, "It's not WHAT I want to do-it's WHO I want to do. Let's just play it by ear. We could grab something to eat then catch a movie. After that, who knows, we might check out giving each other special good night kisses."

With a laugh, she pushed him toward the stairs. "You're an animal, but I guess I'll see you next week."

That had been four years ago, she thought as they walked up the stairs to her apartment. They might be spending more money on dates and making love instead of making out, but some things, such as Johnny, never seemed to change.

He was still using bravado to mask his insecurity, was out of work most of the time, horny all the time, irresponsible, and still living at home.

When they kissed good night, she got a whiff of Aqua Velva, and realized he hadn't even changed his brand of after-shave.

The familiar smell lingered as she watched him hurry down the stairs. Would he ever change? Would he ever grow up? And if he did, would it be now, or after they got married, or ever?

They’d dated for four years, and he was still a lot like the sweet, over-dressed, awkward guy she first met at Shirley's party. What troubled her was the growing realization that while he might be the same, she’d changed. She wasn't sure about the what, where, when or how of this change. But there was no doubt about the who. His name was Mark Cahill.

Still, Mark only liked her. Johnny’s love and fidelity were total. And despite her growing misgivings, she really did love him. What troubled her was no longer being sure how much she liked him, really liked, Johnny DeAngelo.