Over and Over – #fridayflash #amwriting

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I just realized that I haven’t posted any “true” romance in quite some time. So here’s one inspired by [what I believe] is a beautiful romantic song – Crimson and Clover, (video at end of story).

Over and Over is rated PG according to my standards.

Over and Over, by Deanna Schrayer

Cole slammed the door of his Camaro and leaned against the car. “Some star quarterback I am”, he thought, “couldn’t complete a pass tonight if my life depended on it.”  He unrolled his t-shirt sleeve, retrieved the pack of cigarettes and squinted his right eye shut as he lit one. The spark of the match illuminated the dark around him, revealing nothing. This is why he came here, under the bridge. It was full of life, yet free of life, giving him the space he needed to breathe.

He couldn’t get a moment’s peace at home, what with his dad pushing him to choose a college, and all the coaches coming by to visit. Maybe after tonight’s performance they’d leave him alone for a while. The music of the creek bubbling over the smooth stones relaxed him.

A twig snapped. 

Cole startled. “Who’s there?” He looked around but saw no one. 

The crunchy fall leaves rustled.

Still, Cole saw no one. He moved only his eyes as he scanned the brush for movement. Slowly a form began to take shape, as if the night itself was coming alive. “Hello?” he tried again.

A girl stepped from the shadows. “I heard your car.” The moonlight shone on her dark hair, which was the only feature outside of her comely silhouette he could see. 

 “Where did you come from?”

“I, um, I went for a walk after the game, and, um….it’s peaceful down here.” She stepped further out and Cole saw it was the new girl at school. She’d just joined the cheerleading team a week ago and he hadn’t had a chance to introduce himself. “I’m Penny,” She proffered her hand.

“Cole, Cole Motsinger.” He tossed his cigarette and took her hand. It was freezing.

“I know,” she laughed, tucking a curl behind her ear, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh yea?” his voice was a bit higher than he preferred. He cleared his throat.

“Yea, I hear you’re a pretty good player.” She smiled and raised her eyebrows.     

“Ha!” he startled himself with his cackle, “You wouldn’t have thought that if you watched the game tonight.”

“I did watch it.”

“Oh yea.” God, I’m such an idiot, Cole thought.

“Well you didn’t have much of a chance to show how good you are, what with no one on the line blocking for you. You had no one to throw the ball to.”

A girl who knows football?  Cole took a step closer and saw she was wearing her cheerleading uniform, but no sweater. “Aren’t you cold? It’s barely forty degrees out here.”

“Yea, a little bit I guess.”

“Do you want to sit in the car?”

She looked at him with a more discerning eye then, sizing him up.

“Don’t worry, I won’t bite.” Cole smiled and Penny felt dizzy. He walked around to the passenger side, “Come on, get in.” He held the door open for her, then walked around the front of the car and slid in the driver’s seat. He rubbed his hands together, and started the engine. “It’ll just take a minute to warm up. Here.” He reached in the back seat and got his jacket, put it around her shoulders.

“Thanks.” She gathered the rough leather around herself and tried not to visibly inhale the musky scent of sweat and desperation that was him.

They stared at one another, each taking the other in, both feeling the charge of the heat now pouring through the vents. Cole cleared his throat and forced himself against his door, “So, you’re new, right?  At school I mean.”

“Yea, we just moved here a couple of weeks ago, from Florida.”

“Florida? You’re from the beach?”

Penny barely stopped herself from laughing. “No, we lived in the middle of Florida, nowhere near a beach.”

“Oh.”

Cole could see Penny a bit better now, thanks to the moonlight shining through the windshield. She had thick, jet black hair and skin so white he couldn’t help but wonder how she’d kept it that way, considering she’d lived in Florida. He was staring at her eyes, trying to decide if they were green or blue, when she cleared her throat and looked away. Cole felt too warm now and turned the heat down.

“So, um, Penny…” he couldn’t believe he was lost for words. He was never lost for words. He glanced around, as if in search of someone to pull him out of this awkwardness. His eyes landed on the radio and he secretly chastised himself for not thinking of it before, “Do you like music?”

Penny lit up brighter than the moon that had escaped the clouds completely. He saw that her eyes were blue, very blue. “Oh, yes, I love music. Well, as long as it isn’t The Doors. There’s just something creepy about that guy, what’s his name, the lead singer?”

Cole loved The Doors, “Jim Morrison?”

“Yea, that’s him. He’s just weird, you know?”

“Yea, he is kind of strange I guess. Well,” Cole reached to turn on the radio, “hopefully the radio’s playing something else right now.”

They were. The quivering tones of Crimson and Clover, by Tommy James and The Shondells, surrounded them and Penny jumped in her seat, “Oh, I love Tommy James!” Realizing her enthusiasm, she amended that, “and The Shondells. They’re really good.”

 “Yea, they’re all right I guess.” Cole tapped his fingers on his knees, noticed he was getting carried away and used his other hand to stop the tapping.

My, my such a sweet thing

Penny touched her warm hand to his.

I wanna do everything

What a beautiful feeling

Cole’s heart stopped beating.

Crimson and clover

They moved closer together.

Over and over

He squeezed her hand.

Over and over

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Over and over

Crimson and clover

Their lips met.

Over and over

Jolts of static electricity flashed through the night

Over and over….

*****

Crimson and Clover, by Tommy James and The Shondells – although I’m adding the video so you can listen to the song, I couldn’t help but notice how oddly beautiful the video itself is. I hope you enjoy!

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