The Look

You know when you look at someone and feel something like electricity flow between you? And you look away, feeling caught in some sort of time warp...

In junior high I always had a crush on the smart athletic girls. I practiced with these girls on the volleyball team and they were in my algebra and biology classes, and gym. I was (and continue to be) a dork when it comes to how to appropriately act around attractive women. There was one, Beth, that had a dirty, sexy, smart, athletic alure that could only mean trouble. Sure there was Susan and Stephanie, but Beth had something extra. Once in Biology class, she caught me looking out the window over her shoulder (staring at her) and she did the classy thing and winked at me. Emboldened by this I winked back... with both eyes! I dont think she laughed out loud, but the embarrassment felt like the whole room was laughing at me.

Well, in gym class we had a section of physical fitness where we could walk/run around the school, run stairs in the auditorium, bicycle out 15th street or other less taxing challenges. I took to riding bikes with the girls. Yes, the same group of athletes I shared other time with, so they had no fear of me. We would head out east of CJHS on 15th for 15-20 minutes, then turn around and sprint back to school to have time to shower and get to our next classes. One day we got caught in a rain storm and got back to the gym soaked to the bone. I lived in the country and rode the bus to school (and my dad was a fellow teacher), so I got to store my bike in the "lock-up" in the girls locker room. Normally it worked that I went in with the first group of girls that unlocked the door, put my bike away and walked out. No problem. Well, dripping wet, someone took pity on me and offered to get me a towel, which I accepted, not wanting to drip water all the way down the hall between the girls and boys locker rooms. When I turned to grab the towel, there was Beth, who had let me in the locker room calling "boy coming in", at the other end in her bra and panties, and we shared that brief look again. This time she flinched, gave out a squeal, tried to cover herself with her arms, and hopped out of my line of sight all in the time it took me to register what was going on. I turned on my heels and walked out and quickly an quietly as I could.

Now it was years before I got to see another girl in her underwear, but I did spend hours practicing winking, not wanting to get caught off guard again.