Chapter 4

Sara, and all her prophetic wisdom, was right. I slept in Saturday morning and missed my coffee date with Mom. The problem was I didn’t even get a good night’s sleep. I tossed and turned for what felt like hours thinking about Mary.

Needless to say, I wasn’t in the best mood over the weekend. Mom noticed, Sara noticed, and even my dad noticed. No one asked me for any details and just gave me space. I was pretty sure Sara had explained the situation. That bothered me and gave me some sense of relief at the same time. Monday morning, Mom finally let her curiosity get the better of her.

“Good morning,” Mom offered me the steaming mug of coffee as I plopped down on the couch next to her. “Sleep okay?”

“Better,” I answered.

“That’s good. Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“What did Sara tell you?” I asked over the lip on my mug.

“Just that something happened between you and Mary.”

My shoulders slumped and I let out a heavy sigh as I leaned back on the couch.

“Did you two get in a fight?”

“No.”

“Can you tell me what did happen?”

“She didn’t call,” I answered. “She was supposed to call on Friday night, but she never did.”

“Did you try to call her?”

“No, I thought she might call me this weekend to tell me something happened. She didn’t though, Mom.”

“Call her tonight and see what happened,” Mom reached over and grabbed my thigh. It wasn’t a sexual or playful touch, but a comforting one that I appreciated. “Don’t let your imagination think the worst. It’s probably something simple and she just couldn’t call, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. You’re probably right that something just came up.”

I lowered the mug into my lap and rested my head on the back of the couch looking up at the ceiling.

“You know you can talk to me or your dad about this stuff,” Mom offered me a sympathetic smile.

I nodded.

“Good. Now, is there anything else going on? Besides what happened with Mary?”

“No, everything else is good. I still don’t like school though.”

“I didn’t like school either when I was growing up.”

“That’s what Grandpa and Grandma need to build next at camp, a school.”

“Ha!” Mom barked a laugh and immediately covered her mouth.

I grinned.

I felt better after that. I was still worried and more than a little angry that Mary didn’t call, but it felt good to smile and make Mom laugh like that.

The two of us sat there together on the couch watching the sun slowly breach the horizon, officially starting the new day. Neither of us made a move to pleasure ourselves or each other. This morning wasn’t that type of morning. Usually there was a charge to the air as we sat on the couch. A sexual tension, a need that was almost physical. Today however, it was just nice to sit there together.

The rest of the week was back to the normal routine. I talked to Mary on Monday; she was the one that called me! I was just picking up the phone when it started ringing and it was Mary. I couldn’t believe it. It’s like we were reading each other’s minds.

She apologized over and over that she didn’t call me. She was wrapped up in some homework assignment that was due on Monday, today. We finished our half hour talk with me agreeing to call her on Friday night.

On Wednesday, things got interesting after school.

“Hey, Sam,” came a soft female voice behind me.

“Holy shit!” I jumped, startled.

The books I had just tried to stack on the shelf of my locker came crashing down to the floor in a series of loud thuds as I spun around to see who had snuck up on me.

“Hey, umm...”

The girl in front of me was beautiful. She was wearing a little sundress that both hid and accentuated her. Her chest was full, round and I could clearly see her cleavage where the front of the dress dropped down. Her eyes sparkled with mirth, and she was smirking at me.

“You don’t recognize me?”

I took a second to really look at the girl in front of me. I knew those eyes, that smirk, the way she cocked her head to the side slightly and flared out a hip to one side.

“Laura?” I asked softly, hesitantly.

Her smirk turned into a broad, bright smile as she nodded.

“Laura, wow!” My eyes scanned her from head to toe again, slowly.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Laura giggled. “You really grew up this summer.”

“I umm, thanks?” I replied, my cheeks heating. “So did you.”

“Grew up?” Laura gave me an accusing look. “No, I didn’t, but you did. If anything, I shrunk, just in all the right places.”

Laura winked devilishly and my knees started to shake.

“Oh, settle down, I was just messing with you. I did lose some weight though. What do you think?” Laura gave me a little spin to prove it.

“You look amazing!”

“Thanks, Sam. So, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure.”

“Are you going to Homecoming Friday night?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t going to the football game or the dance, I had a phone date with Mary.

“Would you go with me?” Laura asked.

“You mean, go to the dance ... with you?” I asked, stunned.

“And the football game, but yeah.”

“Laura, I have a girlfriend,” I started to explain.

“Oh, I know, we’d go just as friends. You, me, Sara, and Scott.”

“As friends?”

“Yeah, I know all about your girlfriend, remember? Call her and tell her that we are going as friends. I don’t have a date and didn’t want to go alone. If she’s cool with it, we can go. If not, it’s okay.”

“Okay, sure. I’ll call her tonight and let you know tomorrow.”

“Great! So, want a ride home? Sara’s going to hang out with Scott after school.”

“Sure, I guess. Let me put this stuff back in my locker first.”

Laura dropped me off at home after school. We talked a little on the way but not about anything exciting. She asked how the year was going, which teachers I had, that sort of thing. Luckily, I didn’t have a lot of time to say anything other than the answers to her questions. When I got out of the car, I told her I would let her know what I found out in the morning and to come and find me at my locker. We said our goodbyes and off she went. It wasn’t until she was down the street that I realized my heart was racing in my chest.

I wasn’t planning to say anything to anyone until after I had talked to Mary. Sara, my beautiful and manipulative sister, thought it would be wise to announce it at dinner.

“So, did you tell Mom and Dad you got asked to Homecoming?” Sara asked, teasingly.

“Wait a minute,” Mom announced. “What happened?”

She was leaning forward, her eyes flashing between me and Sara, suddenly incredibly interested in what my sister had just said.

I didn’t say anything.

“A girl asked Sam to Homecoming. A senior.”

“A senior?” Dad asked, giving me a little grin.

“What’s her name?” Mom asked.

“It’s not that big of a deal...” I sighed and explained.

“She thinks it’s a big deal!” Sara responded.

“Since you seem to know who it is, why don’t you tell us. Sam doesn’t look like he is willing or able to at the moment.” Dad said.

“My friend, Laura,” Sara answered with a smile.

“Doesn’t Laura have a boyfriend?” Mom asked.

“No, they broke up last summer. She thinks Sam is cute. Always has but when she saw him in the halls and how much he has grown, she really likes him.”

Dad started chuckling and I wanted to hide under the table. Mom just beamed a proud smile in my direction.

“I have a girlfriend,” I said. “I need to talk to Mary first and see if she would be okay with me going with Laura.”

“What if Mary says it’s okay?” Mom asked. “Are you going to go?”

I shrugged.

“Oh, come on,” Sara complained. “You have too!”

“And why is that?” Dad questioned her seriously.

“Because, if he doesn’t then Laura won’t go. Scott and I were going to go on a double date with her and Sam.”

“Well, I think if Mary says okay, then you should go,” Mom announced. “I think you would have fun.”

“If he agrees, then he needs a new suit.” Dad said.

“Oh, shoot, I hadn’t even thought of that!” Mom exclaimed. “Can we even get one that fast? One that fits?”

“We could go down to the Men’s Wearhouse. They might be able to get him measured and make a couple of quick alterations.”

“That’s a great idea!” Mom replied. “You two can go tomorrow unless I need to take him?”

“I’ll let you know if I can get out of the office early. If not, you’re going to have to go.”

It’s like I didn’t even have a say in it anymore. I just sat there and ate what was left of my dinner as they continued to discuss what I was going to wear at Homecoming.

After dinner, Sara and I cleaned up the table, washed the dishes, and put everything away.

“You going to call Mary now?” Sara asked as she wiped off the counter.

“Yeah, but that wasn’t very cool, you know?”

“I’m sorry, I got a little excited.”