Part 3: Wednesday Daytime

Chapter Eleven

Jared

I woke up Wednesday morning, and quickly got dressed, as I was running a wee bit late. That's probably a good thing, because, even fully clothed, Tina kept grabbing my ass all through breakfast.

This was going to take a little getting used to.

Anyhow, I walked to school. Coming down Robin Road, which runs along the football field, I approached the path that goes to the school building, and I got a nice surprise. Amanda was there waiting for me.

"Hey, you!" she called.

"Hi," I said. "This is a nice surprise."

"I got here a little early, and didn't want to face the voyeurs without you."

"I'm glad." We started walking, and she took my hand again. This was the first time we had walked hand-in-hand together while fully clothed. I found out it didn't make a bit of difference.

"Are you OK with what happened yesterday?"

"Mostly, yeah," she said. "Jared, we have to talk. At lunch. We have to have a conversation."

"OK," I said, not without some trepidation.

"Don't worry-this will be a good talk." She beamed at me. That helped. Just then, we rounded the corner behind the school, and emerged at our entrance. Time for the Grand Unveiling yet again. The usual crowd was gathered.

"Oh, look, they're holding hands! Isn't that sweet!" It was Maggie, of course.

"Jesus, Maggie, you never followed me around this much before I was getting naked," Amanda teased her.

"Listen, girl, it is not you that I am here to see!" Dammit, she was making me blush again. Anyhow, she went on. "Are you two going to undress each other again?"

"I wouldn't mind that at all," Amanda piped up, surprising me. "Does anyone else mind? We're supposed to let you do whatever you want, after all."

"No, it was great yesterday," someone piped up. "Yeah," someone else agreed. There was general approval. Amanda looked at me, and I nodded.

"I want to go first again," she said. I nodded again, and she went for it. And boy did she take her time. We were kind of early, but the crowd started gathering in a hurry. Whole busloads pulled up, and came over to watch the show. Amanda slowly took my shirt off, and ran her hands up and down my chest, playing with the (admittedly sparse) hair. I was wearing pants today, with a belt, and she undid the belt and slipped my pants down as slow as can be. Next came the underwear. I was hard as a rock long before she got to that, so, when they went down, she was greeted with a very awake Mister Happy. She grabbed it. And, then, she really shocked me-she kissed the head!

To the raucous applause of the crowd, she stood up, still holding on to my dick, and said, "Your turn." I didn't know if I could top that, but I sure was going to try. She was wearing a pull-over top today, with just a few buttons in the front. I undid them, and slipped it over her head, with her still holding onto my dick. She had to let go as I reached down to unzip her skirt, and it fell to the ground as she stepped out of it. "Do the panties now," she whispered in my ear. "Do the bra last." I did as she asked, and crouched down to slip off her panties-blue today-and stood up to get at her bra. She grabbed my dick again, and leaned in very close as I reached behind her. She was panting, and looking up at me as I undid her bra. It fell to the ground. She looked up at me, still holding on to my dick, a gleam in her eye, still panting. This was almost more intense than what had happened yesterday in Bio. Damn, but I wanted to kiss her. Public Displays of Affection were frowned on at school-grabbing a naked guy's dick was somehow OK, but a kiss wasn't. You figure it out.

The crowd cheered and hollered at the show, and-as usual-surrounded us. The ol' poke and prod. Amanda grabbed my hand and we made our way through. I was horny as hell. I was also a little bit more in love with this girl every second.

We got to English, and Mr. Tomasi asked if I needed relief. I did, actually-so I said so. He asked me if I needed help. I said yes, and a few hands shot up. I almost picked Amanda. Amanda clearly expected me to pick her. At the last minute, I decided I couldn't, and picked someone else.

When I got back to my seat, Amanda looked at me. "I would've done that for you, you know."

"I know you would've," I told her, "but I couldn't. I just couldn't. I didn't feel right putting you in that position when I couldn't return the favor."

"I wouldn't have minded," she said.

" I would have minded. I can't do that to you. It's not right." She beamed at me. Heck, it was just what I felt.

Things proceeded normally-well, normal for this week-until lunchtime. I grabbed a table, and Amanda quickly joined me.

"I've got a question for you," she asked right away. "You remember mentioning a crush of yours to me?" I nodded. "You still got a thing for her?"

Well, this was a curious discussion. "Yes, more so than ever," I admitted.

"Well, you know what? You should do something about it. Now's the time. I need to tell you, you have impressed everyone here with how you've dealt with The Program. Even the guys-though some of them are jealous at what you've got dangling..."

"Oh Jesus," I interjected.

"No, really," she continued, "some might be jealous, but all think you've got guts. And half the girls in this school want to get in your pants-or lack thereof-something fierce. I know you've got a confidence problem, but now's the time. You know your confidence has grown this week."

"Yes, it has. But I don't know if it's that much," I admitted.

"Trust me. You need to do this, and you need to do it now. You'll never find out if you don't find out now. Is she here?" I nodded. "Fine. Just walk up to her, and ask her out for dinner. Tonight-don't waste any time. Go for it. Trust me on this one, Jared."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, I do."

I was shocked I was even considering it. Here she was, giving me a Good Buddy pep talk, and she had no idea we were talking about her. But, you know what? She was right. I had gotten closer to the girl of my dreams than I had ever thought possible-and, in just a few days, unless I did something about it, it was going to be over. She was going to go back to her world, and I was going to go back to mine. Mine would be better-and I think hers would, too-but they'd be separate.

What was worse, taking a chance or living with that knowing I'd not taken the chance? After what had happened in Bio yesterday? Or after school? Or even this morning?

I couldn't live with myself, knowing what I now knew.

"You know what? You're right. You're absolutely right."

"Good. You're gonna do it?"

"I'm gonna do it. Right now." Whereupon I took a deep breath, looked into her eyes, and just said it. "Amanda, will you go out to dinner with me tonight?"

Chapter Twelve

Amanda

I was completely, utterly, shocked.

I had started this little conversation to get the subject of the lingering crush out of the way. When I realized it wasn't out of the way, I thought I had blown it. So, I put the mask on, of course. Good ol' Amanda, doing the Buddy thing, pumping my Buddy up. What else could I do? Except pray the mysterious crush would turn him down. But I thought I had lost.

And then I found out differently. I had no idea.

I said the only thing I could come up with. "Me? You've been talking about ME?"

"Yeah," he admitted.

"How long?"

"Oh, since seventh grade."

Seventh grade?!?!? Oh my Jesus. And then the horrible truth dawned on me. "Jared, you can't possibly still feel that way."

"Why not?" he asked, confused.

"Because you know the truth! For four years, you've had a crush on an illusion! A fake, a fraud, a girl who hides behind anything she can get her hands on!"

"Let me ask you a question," he said. "When you cried on my shoulder yesterday, was that a fake?"

"No. Not even a little bit," I admitted, very softly.

"And what I saw in your eyes during it? And that kiss yesterday afternoon, were those fakes?"

"No."

"Look, long-distance crushes are by nature based on illusions," he pointed out. "But I always knew what you were," he said with a lopsided little grin. "You're sweet, you're kind, you're fun to be with. The only thing you were faking was you were hiding your vulnerability. I figured that out yesterday morning, when I undressed you. You're a lot more vulnerable than you let on. I don't mind that, you know. It makes you a lot less intimidating."

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"You think I'm not? You think this is easy for me? I'd be half-ready to piss my pants, if I were wearing any. You remember. You remember what we went through yesterday. And now you know how I've felt about you, right all along. Do you realize what that meant to me?"

My world came crashing down all around me. Because I did know. I did know. It wasn't just sex, it was me. How the hell did he manage to go through with it? And there I was, leading him through the woods, naked, and giving him the kiss to end all kisses. I looked at him. I was crying a little, I know I was. And he was just kind of grinning at me. "Jared," I said in a low, shaky voice, "you are the bravest person I've ever had the pleasure to know. "

"No, I'm not that brave," he argued.

"Yeah. Yeah, you are." I straightened up, dried my eyes, and smiled at him. Not the mask smile. Nope, this was a different smile, one just for him. "So, where are you taking me to dinner?"

He smiled back. It lit up my little corner of the world. I also do believe I saw a big sigh of relief! "Do you like The Mariner?"

The Mariner was a seafood restaurant. It was a shack-had all the ambience of a backyard barbecue with a roof stuck on top-but the food was fantastic. "I love The Mariner," I said truthfully. "That'd be great. What time? I have cheerleading, I get home around four."