The week went by rather slowly for Cheyenne. By the time Friday came, she was all worn out and tired. She brought a cup of tea with her in her Mason jar and downed it right after her last test. She was glad it was over. She thought her brain was going to explode after all those numbers. They were giving her a literal headache. It didn't help that she was also getting mentally ready for that evening when her mom's boyfriend would meet William. She had that gut feeling something was going to make her mad.

Then, just to tease William, Cheyenne had spent the week in t-shirts and flip-flops with her hair up and no makeup so when she got dressed up tonight, William wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off of her. The school day ended and Cheyenne rushed home as fast as she could. First, she needed to rejuvenate herself. She had had a long week and she was going to be up late, so she crawled in her bed, set her alarm to wake her up in an hour and a half, and fell asleep.

She jumped up when her alarm went off. She rushed to the bathroom and showered quickly. She hopped out of the shower, French braided her hair, and blow-dried her braided hair upside-down do her hair would have some lift to it. Cheyenne crossed the hall to her room and grabbed her cut off denim shorts, black cowboy boots, and her black leather jacket. The surprise she had for William was a light blue floral corset top that made her chest look bigger than it was. She put on the chain with William's class ring and it drew more attention to her bust line. Cheyenne put on her makeup and took her hair out of its braid. It fell over her shoulders in voluminous waves. Cheyenne looked like a model on the cover of a magazine and she smelled like freshly picked raspberries.

Cheyenne was putting in her gold chandelier earrings when heard the doorbell ring. She knew that it was Mike. Cheyenne told William to be ten minutes late as Mike was always fifteen minutes early. She was going to stay up in her room until William got there. She grabbed her large satchel and packed for overnight just in case she went home with William. She stuffed in her overnight toothbrush, deodorant, and mouthwash. She also packed her Jack Daniel's t-shirt and camo shorts.

She heard the loud sound of a motorcycle roar down the street. She heard Mike say something about people making too much noise. Cheyenne just chuckled. She peeked out her window and she felt her stomach do a flip. William was in a white t-shirt tight enough to show off his chest muscles, his black cowboy hat, and... black cowboy boots! He'd even gone a week without shaving so his full beard was starting to grow in.

She ran to the top of the stairs so she could watch Mike's reaction to William. He reacted much the way she thought he would. He opened the door and looked at William in disgust, and said, "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong house," and he shut the door in William's face. William just rang the doorbell again. Cheyenne could tell by the way he was ringing continually, he was enjoying messing with this guy. Cheyenne had to do everything she could to not burst out laughing. Eventually, Mike threw open the door again.

"I'm here for dinner with Cheyenne and Sarah," said William politely.

Mike looked like his eyes were going to bulge out of his head. Cheyenne found this amusing. Mike had known her for two weeks, and he thought he had a say in her life. This was aggravating, but tonight, with William, it was time to make his true colors come out. The hope was that her mother would see what a jerk he really was, and dump him. William walked into the house, going around Mike, whose face currently shared a resemblance to a prune.

Cheyenne walked slowly down the steps, keeping her eyes on William as she descended. He saw her and his jaw hit the floor. She could see his chest rise and fall as his breathing got harder. Cheyenne approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into her so he could smell the raspberry she was wearing. She could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest. That was the reaction she wanted.

"Cheyenne Brooks," said Mike firmly. "What gave you the idea you could dress like that?"

Cheyenne was startled, but she didn't jump away from William. Instead, she turned to face Mike slowly, keeping one hand on her fiancé.

"The fact that I'm going to the senior bonfire rally with William and this leather is going to make it harder for me to catch fire."

"I never gave you permission to go," he said sternly.

"I don't answer to you," retorted Cheyenne, making Mike turn red with anger. "Besides, tonight was planned before you even met me."

When Mike spoke, it was with a determined calm. "Be that as it may, I do not appreciate being lied to."

"What exactly am I being accused of lying about, may I ask?"

"Him," Mike said pointing at William. "This - boy... There's no way he's an honor student. Look at him! Leather and redneck shoes."

"I'm sorry," said William sarcastically. "Does my appearance offend you?" 

Cheyenne had to fight back laughter. William did sarcasm very well. It was something he had picked up from Cheyenne.

"Greatly." He turned around as Sarah came around the corner.

"Oh, I see you've met William," said Sarah, showing no aversion to her daughter's outfit. "William, Cheyenne, could you please set the table?" Cheyenne nodded, and she and William headed to the kitchen.

"See what I mean?" asked Cheyenne quietly once they had the privacy of being in another room.

"Yes," said William. Then he looked down at her outfit. "And yes!"

"You can touch all you want later," Cheyenne teased.

"Dammit, Chey," he moaned quietly.

Sarah and Mike came in and Mike sat down across from Cheyenne. William sat at the end of the table while Sarah sat at the head.

"So, boy," said Mike, "what are your plans for the future? I suppose you plan on making a living stealing cars? Or are drugs more your thing?"

"Neither, actually," said William in a polite manner, but Cheyenne saw the vein in his neck pulsing which told her that he was getting angry. "I've been accepted into the local community college where I'll do four years before transferring to UC Davis."

"Are you sure your grades are good enough?"

"With a 3.75 GPA, I'm pretty sure. I'm working part-time at my parents' machine shop, so I've got enough money in my savings to pay for whatever my scholarship won't cover."

Mike didn't seem impressed. Cheyenne glanced at her mom. Sarah was staring at Mike with her eyes glazed over and a smile on her face. She was so lost in her daydreaming; she wasn't paying attention to anything going on. So far, her plan wasn't working as she'd hoped.

"And what about you, young lady? Dressed like that the best job you could get is a stripper or a street corner prostitute."

Cheyenne felt herself getting mad. She didn't think there was anything wrong with her outfit. Her mother had even helped her pick it out. Sarah made sure there wasn't too much cleavage, and that her shorts weren't Daisy Dukes. She decided it would be best to roll with it though instead of fighting back.

"Yep," Cheyenne said brightly. "And I'll make a damn good one, too."

William nearly choked on his tea. Mike stared at her. Sarah was still oblivious.

"Your mom said you were a good girl," said Mike. "Good grades and a good boyfriend. She never said you were a whore who dated trailer trash."

Both Cheyenne and William got to their feet immediately. Cheyenne saw William clench his fists, but she grabbed his wrist and pulled him to her. Cheyenne grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Mom," said Cheyenne as calmly as she could. "MOM!" Sarah came out of her daze and looked up. "William and I are leaving. We don't want to be late and it's going to be difficult to find a good parking spot if we don't leave now."

"Okay," said Sarah. "Have fun you two. I'll see you in the morning, Cheyenne. Are you guys still going to the midnight movie?"

"Yeah," said William. "We're going with a few friends and Maggie said she'd be upset if Cheyenne couldn't be there."

"See you tomorrow, then. Love you, Cheyenne." Sarah gave her daughter a big hug. "Watch after my daughter William."

"I promise," William said.

"Love you, Mom," Cheyenne said before she closed the front door behind her. "I thought you were going to punch him in the face," she added to William once they got to the motorcycle. Cheyenne loved this bike. It was a 1964 Harley-Davidson that belonged to William's father.

"I was," said William. "I'm glad you stopped me. I didn't feel like causing trouble in front of your mom, but he crossed the line when he called you a whore." He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "So, are you ready?"

"Very!"

William handed her a helmet and helped her make sure that it fit properly. He put his on and swung his leg over the bike. Cheyenne fastened the strap under her chin, hopped on the bike behind William, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He started the bike just as Mike came running out of the house, waving his arms angrily. William took off before Mike could reach them, leaving him standing purple-faced on the lawn.

Cheyenne held onto William as he drove up to the Calaveras hills. She was just wondering how far they were going when she saw a glow off to the right. William turned and Cheyenne laid eyes on the biggest bonfire she'd ever seen. It had to have been at least ten feet high. William found a small spot for the bike and parked. Cheyenne followed his lead and took off her helmet, shook her head, and dismounted the bike. She took off her jacket and put it in her bag.

"You're determined to drive me nuts aren't you," said William looking at her top.

"That may or may not be true," Cheyenne said with a mischievous grin.

He took her by the hand and headed to the fire where most of the senior class was already there. Some of them were sitting on hay bales, others were standing in groups, and a few of them were over by the snack vendor. Cheyenne felt like she was back in her small town. Cheyenne found a few of the senior girls she knew, and hung out with them for a while, while William hung out with the guys. No one seemed to mind that there was a freshman at the senior rally. Not since she was William's girlfriend.

Someone turned on the music and the party really got started. Many of the single guys wanted to dance with Cheyenne, though they all made it a point to ask William first. Cheyenne politely danced with everyone that approached, while William kept a protective eye out. There was one student in a power wheelchair that couldn't walk, but he wanted to dance with Cheyenne. She put her arms under his arms and lifted him out of his seat. She supported his weight as she rotated on the spot. When the song was over she carefully returned him back to his chair and kissed him on the cheek. As he wheeled away with a smile, William came up behind her with a can of root beer.

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"Thanks," said Cheyenne. "Why was I dancing with guys who don't know me? I didn't want to be rude and say no. You're not upset are you?"

"No, they all asked me if they could," said William. "I think less out of respect and more out of fear that I'd knock them out cold if they didn't."

"You were watching them, weren't you," Cheyenne said knowingly. William nodded and Cheyenne smiled brightly. "Well, I'm going to make the assumption that the reason I don't get people hitting on me is because they're afraid of you."

"Pretty much. I do have a reputation, you know." He smiled down at Cheyenne. "May I have the next dance?" asked William.

"Certainly," Cheyenne replied with a sweet smile. "I was waiting for you to ask."

The two of them danced the rest of the night away. Cheyenne had her hands on his shoulders. William had his hands on her hips. They swayed to the music, standing only a couple of inches apart with his forehead resting on hers. No one interrupted them, but several people watched the two sway back and forth. No one outside of their families and close friends had seen William's soft side. But there he was with Cheyenne, their silhouettes appearing black against the fire behind them. All anyone could see was the outline of William's tall, muscular stature, with his cowboy hat and boots swaying tenderly with Cheyenne's small, petite frame.

William pulled Cheyenne so close, he could smell the raspberry perfume Cheyenne was wearing and he was becoming intoxicated by it. Cheyenne was feeling that way with William's cologne. She could feel him slowly spacing out. She decided they needed to leave soon before William was unable to drive safely.

She waited patiently as a few people left before she started saying goodbye. William was on the motorcycle, and ready to go when Cheyenne got there. She knew what he wanted because she wanted it too. So instead of turning left, towards the city, William turned right and drove up to the lake. He took the bike down a narrow side road and parked beside a large tree, hiding the bike and themselves from view. Cheyenne got off and grabbed her bag. She took out an old sheet and laid it on the ground. William couldn't wait anymore.

"You know what you smell like?"

"Is it a bad smell?"

"No," said William. "You smell like a raspberry bonfire."

Cheyenne smiled and crashed her lips into his.