Observations on humans in a social situation (Part 1 of many)

Whereupon Juliet learns more about the Two Leggers, and that beer tastes nasty


"Hey, you made it! You didn't get lost did you?" Cal called out from his perch on the porch railing.

Juliet shook her head. In truth, she didn't get lost in San Francisco, even if trying to find places she had never been to before. Her Jamak never steered her wrong.

Cal jumped down on to the grass and met Juliet on the front lawn. He smiled warmly at the girl he had met at the pet store, Planet Animalia, several days ago. It was sheer whim that had caused him to invite her over to hangout.

"People have already arrived. Come on out back. We're BBQing."

Juliet fell into easy step with Cal as they wove their way from the front lawn to the gate that seperated the yard. The back yard had the vantage point of looking out across the Pacific Ocean, a view point that most people would have fought tooth and limb to have and cost a pretty penny in property taxes. Not that any of this was known to Juliet. She simply took in the smell of cooking meat, sea spray, and a spicy musk that she assumed was Cal's cologne. True to words, there were several people gathered around in a circle on lawn chairs and blankets.

"Hey everyone, this is Juliet. Juliet, this is..."

And Cal went through the introductions. Juliet had never been that great with names, but she could remember people by what they looked like, sounded like, and smelled like. She recognized the dark haired man that Cal worked with, who had his arm around the waist of a petite red head girl that waved in greeting to Juliet. Juliet raised a hand and waved back.

"Just find an empty place to sit," Cal remarked, "I'm hitting the kitchen. Want something to drink?"

Juliet nodded and then found a beach blanket to sprawl out on. She kicked off her sneakers, and wiggled her toes in the grass. Tim insisted she wear shoes, and while she could understand the logic behind it, she still missed the feeling of grass, dirt, and dew across her body.

"Here you go," Cal said, and handed Juliet a brown bottle, before sitting down next to her. The bottlecaps had already been taken off. Cal took a drink from his bottle, and Juliet watched him carefully, before taking a drink from hers. She instantly wrinkled her nose, turned her head to the side, and spit.

"Blech!"
"Oh god! I should have asked! You don't like beer?"

Juliet blinked a few times, her eyes watering up. She brushed the back of her hand across her face.

"Jesus, I'm sorry," Cal said, and took the bottle from her. "I'll go get you something else, okay?"
"You don't have to," Juliet began, but Cal had already jumped to his feet and bolted towards the kitchen.

Juliet heard a snicker to her left, and looked out of the corner of her eye. Two girls were standing close to where the food was being cooked, and kept sliding looks towards Juliet. Juliet would have flicked her tail in dismissal, had she had a tail in this form. Instead, she simply turned her head the other way, and watched how the others interacted.

"So, where did he find *you*?"

Juliet's ears perked up and she turned. The girls were standing close to her blanket. Juliet tried hard not to sneeze due to the overpowering smell of perfume emanating off of them. The ringleader tossed her brown hair over her shoulder.

"What?" Juliet asked nonchalantly.
"I asked where did Cal find you."
"A pet store," Juliet replied.

The brown haired girl exchanged a look with her blonde friend, and they began to laugh raucously. Juliet's brow furrowed. She knew she was being made fun of, but not sure why.

"Wow, isn't that something? Cal sure is scraping the bottom of the barrel."
"Are you his friend?" Juliet asked, staring up at the girls through dark eyelashes.
"What? Hell no."
"Then," Juliet said, and her words were tipped with anger bordering on the rage she kept deep inside, "You have no right to call him Cal. Only his friends call him that."

The brown haired girl opened her mouth as if to say something, but Juliet interuptted.

"And you're blocking my sunlight. Please move."

The girls stormed off, but not before a few nasty retorts were thrown at Juliet. She stretched languidly on her stomach, and went back to watching the others. Most were now either staring at her in fascination, or at the backs of the retreating girls. Dave raised a hand and gave her a thumbs up.

"Um, did I miss something?" Cal asked, returning with a red plastic cup that he extended towards Juliet.
"Nothing important. Two to be exact," Juliet replied, and took the cup. She stared at the bright red contents that swirled inside.
"Don't worry, it's not spiked. It's just fruit punch," Cal said, and then blushed. "Sorry it took so long, I had to find the pitcher."

Juliet took a drink, and immediately decided she liked the red drink. It was fruity tasting and it made her tongue tingle. She wiggled her toes.

"Heh, you like it?"
"Very much."
"You act like you've never had fruit punch before."
"I haven't," Juliet said, and drank some more, emptying her cup.
"Wow, you must have lived a sheltered life."

Juliet puzzled that phrase over, then responded, "No, I just haven't had a lot of hu-", she broke off, remembering what Tim had said about being careful what she said to people and how much she revealed about herself. She didn't like lying, but it wasn't really lying if she didn't mention it in the first place, right? "I haven't had a lot of different type of foods is all."

Cal smiled, and his blue eyes shone. "Well, you came to the right city. Frisco has a variety of food. You're not from around here though, are you?"
"Nuh uh," she replied, then quickly remembering something she had read in a magazine at the bookstore, she chimed in, "But I want to hear more about you!"

Cal laughed. "No you don't."
"Sure I do!"
"It's pretty boring."
Juliet propped her head on her hands and looked up at him. "If I get bored, I will tell you."
Cal laughed again and stretched his legs out in front of him. "Honest, aren't you?"
"Most of the time."

Over the course of the afternoon, Juliet learned quite a lot about Cal. She learned more by watching his body language (such as the way he would nervously tuck his hair behind his ears every few minutes while talking to her), but she tried very hard to listen to what he was saying, knowing it was important to be a good listener. Over a lunch of bbqed ribs, twice baked potatoes, fresh tossed salad, and drinks, she learned that Cal was an artist, that he grew up in Northen California, and that he still slept with a stuffed bear given to him as a child.

The party members dwindled as the evening wore on. Dave and his girlfriend (who Juliet learned was called Emma) were the last ones to leave, patting Cal on the shoulder as they walked off towards their car.

"Can we go for a walk down there?" Juliet asked, pointing down towards the beach below.
"What, right now?"
"Sure! It will be fun."
"I don't know. The tide has come up," Cal said reluctantly.
"Oh, don't be such a scareddy cat!" Juliet said, and took him by the hand to drag him off.

Cal didn't say anything as they made their way down toward the beach. Then again, he was being led by a rather pretty girl that he realized he *really* liked, and who was currently holding his hand. They wound their way amongst sea weed and drift wood, until Juliet found a rock outcropping. Cal released her hand, ready to give her a boost up, when she made a scamper up that looked flawless. She reached out her hand towards him, and easily helped the young man on to the rock. They stretched out on the rock side by side, staring out towards the sea.

"Um, Juliet, can I ask you something?"
Juliet turned away from looking at the ocean to stare Cal in the eyes. "What?"
"Can I kiss you?"

And before she had a chance to blink, he had leaned in close and very softly placed his lips against hers. Juliet, who had never been kissed, unless you counted being cleaned by her mother and siblings, sat dumbfounded.

When the kiss was broken, Cal opened his eyes to find Juliet shivering, with her eyes half open.

"Oh hell. You're probably freezing. Here," he said and shrugged off his over shirt, wrapping it around Juliet's shoulders. When he was done, his arm remained around her shoulders. He glanced over towards Juliet's who was now staring at the ocean wide eyes.

"Juliet? Are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine."
"I mean, I'm sorry for being so bold and all, but..."
"No, it was fine. Better than fine," she blurted, and turned away from staring at the ocean to look down at her feet.
"Wait, are you blushing?"
"No."
"Oh my god. You are, aren't you?"

Juliet casually looked the other way.

"I know I'm not a horrible kisser and all..."
"It's not that," Juliet said softly.
"Wait," Cal said slowly, and then he turned her to look at him. He placed a hand under her chin and lifted it until they were looking eye to eye. "You've never kissed anyone before, have you?"

Juliet gnawed on her lower lip and shook her head.

"Wow. I mean, that's, you know, just wow."
"We should be going back. The water is rising."
"Huh? Oh, right," he replied and slid down off the rock. He reached up his hands, cupped Juliet around the waist, and lifted her down to the sand. Juliet wrapped the shirt closer around her as they walked back up the trail leading to the backyard.

"You know, it's getting pretty late," Cal remarked, once they had stepped inside the house and he had shut the door behind them.
"I should probably start walking home."
"You walk home? How far is the walk?"
"Across the bridge."
"Which bridge?" Cal asked dubiously.
"The big red one called Golden Gate."
"Oh no. Hell, no," Cal said, and he put a hand on her shoulder.

Juliet looked up puzzled at the young man. He stared down at her with concern etched around his face.

"Don't you have anyone to call to pick you up?"
"Why would I? I walk most everywhere."
"Well, you're not walking home right now."
"Why not?"
"Because I like you," Cal said in a rush, and then realized it was the honest truth. He *did* like this girl, as weird as she was. "I like you quite a bit, and I wouldn't be a gentleman if I just let you walk somewhere and risk getting hurt. Look, you can have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch. I'd drive you home, but I've been drinking. I can take you home in the morning. That okay with you?"

Juliet mulled that over, then nodded. Cal went to the closet to take out a sleeping bag and an extra pillow to make a bed up for himself. He then showed Juliet to his room. She glanced around, getting a sense of who this man was by the way he lived.

"I have extra pajama bottoms if you need them."
"I usually sleep naked," Juliet replied, carefully folding Cal's overshirt on to the top of his dresser.

Cal blinked, and tried hard not to think of that image, but it was already branded into his mind. "Well, um, okay. Bathroom is down the hall, first door on your right."
"Okay. Thank you."
Cal smiled, brushed Juliet's bangs out of her face, and kissed her on the forehead. "You're welcome. Sleep well."

Hours later, Juliet walked softly on the balls of her feet out to the living room. The sky was beginning to turn yellow, pink and blue on the horizon. Cal lay on the couch, limbs akimbo, softly snoring. Juliet sat down on the throw rug near the couch, feet tucked up under chin. Despite what she had said earlier, she had opted for the pajama bottoms. She reached out and brushed a sandy blonde lock of hair out of the man's face, which caused him to stir lightly in his sleep. She let her hand fall back on top of her knees, and kept her silent vigil of watching the man as he slept, unaware of the girl he was dreaming about sitting next to him.