Ruby

'I have a blanket in the back,' he whispered. 'We can spread it out and lie out here under the stars and . . .'

And what? I thought finally. Grope and pet each other until there was no turning back? Suddenly, Daphne's furious face flashed before me and her words resounded: '. . . They look for girls who are more promiscuous, more obliging . . . Whether it is true or not, Cajun girls have reputations.'

'No, Beau. We're going too fast and too far, I can't . . .' I cried.

'We'll just sprawl out and be more comfortable,' he proposed, keeping his lips close to my ear.

'It would be more than that and you know it, Beau Andreas.'

'Come on, Ruby. You've done this before, haven't you?' he said with a sharpness that cut into my heart.

'Never, Beau. Not like you think,' I replied with indignation. My tone made him regret his accusation, but he wasn't easily dissuaded.

'Then let me be the first, Ruby. I want to be your first. Please,' he pleaded.

'Beau . . .'

He continued moving his lips over my breasts, urging and encouraging me with his fingers, his touch, his tongue, and hot breath, but I firmed up my resistance, a resistance fueled by the memory of Daphne's accusations and expectations. I would not fit the image of the Cajun girl they wanted me to be. I would not give any of them the satisfaction.

'What's wrong, Ruby? Don't you like me?' Beau moaned when I pulled myself back and held my dress against my bosom.

'I do, Beau. I like you a lot, but I don't want to do this now. I don't want to do what everyone expects I would do. . . even you,' I added.

Beau sat back abruptly, his frustration quickly turning into anger.

'You led me to believe you really liked me,' he said.

'I do, Beau, but why can't we stop when I ask you to stop? Why can't we just—'

'Just torment each other?' he asked caustically. 'Is that what you did with your boyfriends in the bayou?'

'I didn't have boyfriends. Not like you think,' I said. He was silent for a moment. Then he took a deep breath.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply you had dozens of boyfriends.'

I put my hand on his shoulder. 'Can't we get to know each other a little more, Beau?'

'Yes, of course. That's what I want. But there's no better way than making love,' he offered, turning back to me. He sounded so convincing. A part of me wanted to be convinced, but I kept that part under tight wraps, locked behind a door. 'You're not going to tell me now you just want to be good friends, are you?' he added with obvious sarcasm when I continued to resist.

'No, Beau. I am attracted to you. I would be a liar to say otherwise,' I confessed.

'So?'

'So let's not rush into anything and make me regret it,' I added. Those words seemed to stop him cold. He froze in the space between us for a moment and then sat back. I began to fasten my bra.

Suddenly, he laughed.

'What?' I asked.

'The first time I took Gisselle out here, she jumped me and not vice versa,' he said, starting the engine. 'I guess you two really are very, very different.'

'I guess we are,' I said.

'As my grandfather would say, viva la difference,' he replied, and laughed again, but I wasn't sure if he meant he liked Gisselle's behavior better or he liked mine.

'All right, Ruby,' he said, driving us out of the marsh-lands, 'I'll take your advice and believe what you predicted about me.'

'Which is?'

'If I really want to do something,' he said, 'I will. Eventually.' In the glow from the light of oncoming cars, I saw him smiling.

He was so handsome; I did like him; I did want him, but I was glad I had resisted and remained true to myself and not to the image others had of me.

When we arrived at the house, he escorted me to the door and then turned me to him to kiss me good night.

'I'll come by tomorrow afternoon and we can rehearse some of our lines, okay?' he said.

'I'd like that. I had a wonderful time, Beau. Thank you.' He laughed.

'Why do you laugh at everything I say?' I demanded.

'I can't help it. I keep thinking of Gisselle. She would expect me to thank her for permitting me to spend a small fortune on dinner. I'm not laughing at you,' he added. 'I'm just . . . so surprised by everything you do and say.'

'Do you like that, Beau?' I met his blue eyes and felt the heat that sprang up from my heart, hoping for the right answer.

'I think I do. I think I really do,' he said, as if first realizing it himself, and then he kissed me again before