Chapter 2: First Date

Wendy had spent a lot of time getting ready for her first date. She’d had a long shower and washed her hair. She’d even managed to put on a little bit of make-up without her mum noticing; just a smear of pink lipstick and some eyeshadow. She’d ‘borrowed’ some of her mum’s perfume. As she didn’t want her mum to know what she had done Wendy actually used just the right amount and smelled nice and not doused in it.

It was what to wear that had troubled her the most. What should she wear for a date? She wanted to look fab and groovy but not too wild. Wendy worked on Saturdays in a hairdressers, washing hair, making tea, and cleaning up. All the money she earned went on clothes as she followed all the latest trends, therefore she had a lot of clothes to choose from. Eventually, she’d decided on a pair of red hotpants that showed not only her tan but her legs off to perfection, paired with a pale pink blouse and white knee-length boots. She’d styled her blonde hair loosely around her shoulders with an upturned flick at the sides, a bit like Lulu wore hers when it had been shorter.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Wendy saw that she looked cute, pretty and quite sexy. Wendy hoped James would like how she looked. She needn’t have worried. When she walked up to the entrance of the cinema where he was waiting, his eyes nearly jumped out of his head and he mouthed “Wow.” Making Wendy feel very special.

Wendy had been worried as she approached the cinema. What if James had changed his mind? What if he’d stood her up? That would be like such a downer and so embarrassing. As she turned the corner, her fears disappeared, James was waiting for her, and he looked so cool. He was wearing a pair of flared, purple, hip-hugger trousers, a paisley shirt in purple and orange and an orange kipper tie. Plus a Levi’s denim jacket.

Good, Wendy decided. She was a ‘Levi’s girl’ and didn’t like Wranglers; she’d have died if James had turned up to their date wearing Wranglers. She’d had a massive row with her mum a couple of years earlier when her mum had bought her a pair of Wrangler jeans and Wendy had point-blank refused to even try them on. Stamping her feet and acting like a spoiled little girl who hadn’t got her own way.

They were arguing when her dad said, “Will you two be quiet, what’s all the fuss about? They’re only a pair of bloody jeans.” Both Wendy and her mum stopped arguing and turned to look at him as if he’d gone insane. That was the last time he made any comment about fashion to the pair of them, even though he wasn’t happy about the length of Wendy’s skirts as they got shorter and shorter, but as he looked at her friends, he saw that they were all dressed the same way. That argument had told Wendy’s mum that she was growing up, had a mind of her own, and a very definite fashion identity.

Loath to waste money and acknowledging that Wendy would never wear them, Wendy’s mother took the jeans back to the shop and managed to get a refund, but she refused to give in and buy Wendy the Levi’s she wanted, telling her that in future she would have to buy her own clothes apart from school uniform. That’s when Wendy managed to get herself the Saturday job.

James went to get their tickets and was going to splash out on the more expensive circle seats when Wendy stopped him, saying, “No, the stalls are okay, and it’s cheaper. That means you can buy me an ice cream in the interval as well.”

As they entered the foyer, Wendy insisted on paying for some sweets for them both. If James got the same amount of pocket money as she did, she knew he wouldn’t have much to spend, and although she wanted to be treated on her first date, she didn’t want to make James spend all his money on her, not just yet.

Wendy went to walk down the aisle to the middle of the stalls, but James grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her into the back row, heading for the corner seats. Wendy didn’t resist too much, just playfully showing enough reluctance as she knew what he had in mind going to sit where they were.

The lights had hardly had time to dim when Wendy sensed James’ arm slipping around the back of her seat, then his hand was resting on her shoulder with just the slightest pressure moving her towards him. Wendy allowed James to pull her closer, liking the way he was taking control and turned her face towards him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Wendy went to playfully say.

That’s when she received her first-ever kiss.

James moved his face closer to Wendy and pressed his lips against hers. Wendy held still, not sure what to do. The feel of James’ lips pressing against her own was nice, but there must be something more.

Their lips stayed pressed together for a few moments, both of them unsure what to do, and secretly surprised that they had kissed so quickly. James eventually broke the contact, and Wendy smiled at him. Even in the dark, she could see the hesitancy in his eyes despite him having taken such a bold lead. James was unsure what to do next, or if Wendy had even liked him kissing her. Well, she hadn’t pushed him away or run screaming from the cinema, so he bent in and kissed her again. This time with a little bit more passion. Wendy eased herself closer, and then something gross happened. She felt James’ lips part and his tongue pressed forward, forcing her own lips open as he pushed his tongue inside her mouth.

At first, Wendy was repulsed and freaked out and went to pull away, but James had moved his hand so that it was cupping the back of her head stopping her. Then as James’ tongue flicked against hers she responded. This was nice, she decided. As her own tongue began to play with James’ Wendy sighed into his open mouth. So this was what proper kissing was like, Wendy thought, as a shiver ran through her.

They parted for a second time as they both gasped for breath and stared into one another’s eyes. Electricity crackled between them as they came to terms that they were snogging. This time it was Wendy who instigated kissing again. As soon as their lips re-met, her tongue pushed urgently into James’ mouth and roamed around it. The pair continued to kiss, their tongues playing and fighting for the whole of the supporting film, only pulling apart when the house lights went up again. Wendy looked around and saw that all the people around them in the back row of the cinema were couples who looked as though they had been doing exactly as they had. She giggled to herself at the idea. Snogging central, and she was in the middle of it! She felt very grown-up, as most of the other couples seemed to be quite a bit older than her and James.