Chapter 4

The next week drove me nuts. Emily was now officially my girlfriend. We held hands in the hallways, ate lunch together with Chelle and their pack of girls, and called each other every night on the phone. It was about Wednesday when Mom and Dad had 'the talk' over dinner. They realized that we were going to be having boyfriends and girlfriends. No being alone. Phone calls limited to five minutes. No week night dates. Curfew was eleven on Friday and Saturday. We had to let them know where we would be and we had to be there. At the end Chelle and I looked at each other, smiled, and asked, "Does that mean we can date?"

Mom and Dad shook their heads. Mom asked, "Is that all you heard?"

"No, no. We heard everything," I quickly confirmed.

The folks shared a look, "Yes, that means you can date."

"Can we be excused?" A nod and Chelle and I were gone running to our room to discuss this wonderful new development. We were sitting on our beds talking about it; when, how etc. when there was a knock. Dad opened the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," Chelle said.

He sat down on Chelle's bed. "I know you guys are excited."

Chelle practically leaped on him, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek. "Dad, you don't know how important this is."

"Yes, yes. I know how important it seems. I also know how important it really is. But first comes the Dad talk." Chelle smiled, but sat back on the bed. I tried to look serious. "We are trusting you two. You have to prove worthy of that trust. I know you two are mature for your age, but you don't have a lot of experience. That can get you into trouble. So, if you are out on a date and anything happens, or you just don't feel right, get out of there pronto. You can call us anytime, from anywhere and we'll come get you. Trust your instincts on trouble and stay away. Okay?"

We both nodded.

He patted Chelle on the knee, "But I still get final approval of boys."

"But Dad, that's not fair..."

He smiled, "Michelle, how many times have I said life isn't fair." He winked, softening the blow. "It's just a dad thing. You'll get used to it."

That made her smile. Dad kissed the top of her head and smiled at me. He shut the door behind as he left.

"Do you think Emily can date?" I asked.

"I don't know," she answered. She looked at the clock, too late to call. "We can ask tomorrow. This is so cool."

At school, Chelle and I told Emily the good news. She promised to ask her mom that afternoon. Emily called me that night. It was a go for dating. Now I had to wait for the weekend. Since none of us could drive, it wasn't going to be much of a date. We decided to go miniature golfing Friday night. Her mom took us and my dad agreed to come pick us up. But still, it was our first official be out alone together date. It was a long week.

Chelle looked a little down Friday afternoon. When I noticed how down she was I asked her, "You want to go along?"

Her head snapped up, her eyes were bright. Then they faded, "No."

"Why not? Emily won't mind," I said.

"Nope," she said. "It's your first real date. You should go with Emily."

I sat down on her bed. "Chelle..." I paused trying to look for the right thing to say.

Chelle looked up at me and laughed softly. "It's okay. I cooked this up and now I have to lie in it."

"That's a great metaphor," I said.

"Shut up and go out with Emily. Seriously, have fun," she said.

"How much fun can you have at miniature golf?" I asked with raised eyebrow.

"Go on, goof," she said, settling back onto her bed.

We actually did have fun. We played twice; the place had two different courses. Then, we got burgers and fries, sat and talked about school and people, then we hung out and played a few games even had our pictures taken at one of those photo booths. I think Emily wanted it as a memento of her first date.

I walked Emily up to her door while dad waited in the car, his head turned away. "My Dad's not watching," I said.

Emily looked at the car, then back. "My Dad's not watching." She looked up at me.

I took her in my arms and kissed her, just lips at first but it grew into a long passionate kiss. She had a dreamy look in her eyes when we parted. "Night."

"Yeah, night," she said as she slipped into the house.

Mrs. Durand was waiting up. She was about to ask her daughter how the date had been when she saw Emily float by, the dreamy look in her eyes telling her how the date had been. Mrs. Durand smiled, remembering a date so long ago...

Dad was golfing and Mom had a meeting that Saturday. Emily showed up right after mom left. I looked at Chelle. She shrugged. I knew somebody had set this up. Much too convenient.

Chelle led Emily to our room asking, "How was the date?" They closed the door in my face.

"Hey!"

Chelle opened it a crack, "Girl talk. Go make us some hot chocolate and we'll let you in."

Wounded, I headed to the kitchen and made the hot chocolate. When I came back and knocked, the girls deigned to let me into my room and accepted my offering. I waited for an explanation; none was forthcoming. After we finished with the drinks, Emily came over and sat next to me on my bed. I waited for Chelle to look away, or leave, or do something. Instead, she sat there, a piquant smile on her face. I knew I was being challenged. I turned to Emily, who looked up. Our lips met. Damn, but kissing is nice.