Chapter 9

Her text said, ‘Just got out of school. What did you do today (besides me)? LOL’

I texted back, ‘Just thought about you all day.’

Cherry sent me a smiley face and a heart.

I sent back, ‘?4U ... You said 3 to 4 days away, right?’

‘?’ was her response.

I replied, ‘until you get your... ‘friend’’.

Understanding she texted, ‘Oh, yeah. Y?’

‘Because 3 days ago...!’

Instead of a text, my phone rang. Seeing it was her, I answered saying, “Hey...” Cherry’s voice had a smile to it as she said, “You are so crazy! Did you forget? Three days ago was my first time!”

Not understanding what her point was, I said, “What does that mean?”

She explained her logic, “You can’t get pregnant when it’s your first time!”

My heart sunk to have to tell her, “Cherry—babe—you absolutely CAN get pregnant your first time. It happens all of the time.”

Still neither convinced nor worried, she asked, “Are you sure?”

I said, “Yeah; I’m sure.”

Cherry thought for a moment before saying matter-of-fact, “Well, if I’m pregnant, I’m pregnant. And hopefully Mom will wait until after I have the baby before she kills me! Seriously, though: don’t worry about it for now. We’ll know in a few days and we’ll go from there. OK?”

I just said, “Ok,” not sure if she was simply putting on a brave face or if she was truly not worried. Either way, I admired her for her reaction.

Changing the subject, she asked, “Are you still coming to the game tonight?”

Almost laughing I said, “YEAH! Of course! I wouldn’t miss it.”

“The game starts at 7:00, but you can show up earlier if you want. It’s $5 to get in.”

I joked, “I think I can come up with that much cash on short notice. I’ll sell some of my stuff if I have to...”

“Funny guy ... Oh, here comes my Mom; I gotta go.”

We quickly said our ‘goodbyes’ and told each other ‘I Love you’ before ending the call. Once off of the phone, I was already anxious to see her again. Even though I knew it was too soon, I got ready for the game and left.

I parked roughly in the middle of the school parking lot. There were plenty of open spaces a lot closer to the gate ( I was one of the few cars in the lot), but I didn’t want my car to start catching the attention of Cherry’s Mom—I figured that by the time she came to get Cherry, the lot would be full and my car would ‘blend in’.

And just in case her Mom dropped her off, I stayed in the car so that I wouldn’t be standing out by the ticket stands when she drove by. Trying to make time pass quickly while sitting alone in a parked car is difficult, but it helps if you have a smart phone with a few stupid games on it.

Sometime later, the parking lot was about 20% full and I received a text from Cherry.

‘I’m @ school. When can you get here?’

I texted back, ‘I’ll be there in ... two hours ago!’

‘???? R U here?!’

I sent her a smiley face with a big grin, indicating ‘yes’.

She replied, ‘OMG! Where?!’

‘Right in the middle of the parking lot.’

‘I C U!’

Seemingly out of nowhere, I saw Cherry running the way only a girl can run when she is excited—more of a trotting, skipping run with her hands hooked together—towards me. I couldn’t contain my grin while I watched as her ponytail bounced and flew in the air rushing past and how her short uniform skirt mimicked her hair.

She didn’t even slow down as she got close to my car. Electing to use it to stop her momentum, my rock rocked to the side with a thud as Cherry attempted to tackle my car. I was still reaching for the door handle when Cherry beat me to it and opened my door.

She helped pull me out of the car and planted a firm kiss on me for a few seconds before she broke it to look around. She explained that “PDA” (Public Displays of Affection) was not allowed while in her uniform and she was making sure no one saw her.

We walked back in the direction she came from and sat on a bench to talk.

She said, “Last night and this morning was amazing. And I’m glad you fell asleep with me; that was so romantic.”

“YOU are amazing. And I was sure we were going to be busted when your Mom woke you up and wanted you to open the door. Nice cover story, by the way,” I said.

Cherry agreed and said, “UGH! That was SO embarrassing! I wasn’t even masturbating!”

I said, “No, but it was the perfect, acceptable explanation and she bought it.

Besides, it was better than telling the truth!”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t hear the conversation after I left you in my room!”

“I heard the first part of it ... You two were still talking about it on the way to the car,” I laughed.

She asked, “You think that’s funny? That conversation was still going as we sat here in the parking lot! She is STILL bringing it up!”

I said, “Oh my god, I’m sorry. But you have to admit it is kind of funny.”

Cherry elbowed me and offered, “Why don’t you spend tomorrow talking to your Dad about jerking off and come tell me how funny it is, funny guy!”

I laughed and said, “Yeah, I see your point. I’m really sorry.”

Cherry said, “It’s ok: Mom just thinks I’m flicking my bean now.”

“Flicking your bean?” I asked having never heard that particular phrase to describe it.

“Yeah, you know: double clicking the mouse; petting the kitten; Jill off...”

Before she could continue, I cut her off and said, “Oh, I get it—I just never heard that one before. ‘Jill off’; that’s a good one, too.”

Cherry was silent for a few moments before she put her head on my shoulder and asked reflectively, “Why am I so comfortable with you, David? I can say anything to you and I’m not even a little embarrassed.”

I said, “It’s probably the same reason I’m so comfortable with you: Love—plain and simple.”

Agreeing, she nodded her head against my shoulder and said, “Yeah, that’s why.”

We sat in silence for a while, just enjoying being close to each other. Then she broke the silence.

“What are you thinking about right now?”

I said, “I was just thinking about how much I’m enjoying this moment with you. I’m just as happy doing this as I was last night and this morning. What were thinking about?”

She replied, “I was thinking about what you said earlier—about if I might be pregnant.”

I thought for a second and asked, “Are you worried?”

She said, “No ... A little maybe ... Yes. I don’t know.”

I said, “It’s ok: I understand. I’m the same way. There are some things that I’m worried about, too. But whatever happens, just know that I’m going to be right there with you; I won’t leave you. Ok?”

Cherry nodded her head saying, “I know.” After a few more moments of thought, she added, “I just thought I’d be a little older when I would have my first baby.”

“I think you are getting ahead of yourself, Babe. We don’t even know if you are pregnant or if you COULD be. Couples often have to have sex multiple times a day for days on end to get pregnant. It’s actually kind or rare to conceive after a single encounter.”

Cherry said, “Really?”

“Sure,” I said. “You ever hear of a couple that tells people that they are trying to have a baby? Well that’s what they are doing: having a lot of sex every day until they succeed.”

Cherry seemed to reluctantly buy what I was selling her. I felt bad for bending the truth to such an extreme to her, but I didn’t want her to worry.

A few moments later, Cherry stood and pulled me up with her. She took my hand and said that she wanted to show me around her school. Of course, I went with her and she gave me the ‘grand tour’; pointing out where her classes were and she showed me her locker. Thoughts of pregnancy and babies seemed to have vanished from her head. She had a spring to her step and her voice was her usual cheery tone.

We made our way back towards the front of the school and she could tell by the level of activity outside that she needed to make her way to the field. I got in line at the ticket stands and she grabbed my hand and pulled me with her.

Before I realized what she was doing, she told the guy collecting tickets ‘he’s with me’ and he waved me in. Cherry saw the look of disbelief on my face and she just smiled and winked at me.

I said, “Wow! It really pays to have a hot girlfriend in a cute cheer leading uniform!” Cherry smiled again and I added, “It paid $5 in this case...” That comment earned me a swift punch in the arm! But it was worth the bruise that was sure to result.

The rest of the team was already setting up their area and Cherry went to join them while I took a spot along the fence near them. They had a little meeting and I presumed they were going over routine schedule changes or something. But for all I knew, they were talking about the latest Hollywood gossip.

As the clock got closer to 7:00, the stadium (which only covered the length of one side of the field) filled to capacity and there were almost as many spectators on the grounds around the field as in the stands. The marching band played a lively cadence as they marched to the end of the field and the football team began making their way to the field.

Cherry and the rest of the cheerleaders held up a large paper banner on the field that had a football player sporting the opposing team’s colors in the ‘set’ position. The banner (of course) called for ‘our’ team to tear the visitors to shreds. The game announcer introduced the football team and they tore through the banner in a symbolic gesture of what they hoped to accomplish that night.

Cherry’s squad took position in front of the capacity crowd and started their opening cheer. They had everyone alternately shouting the home team’s colors of ‘red’ and ‘white’ and soon the spectators were electrified ( I was, anyway).

The game started and I barely noticed; focused on my sexy girlfriend. The squad would pay attention to the game for a few minutes before turning back to the stadium to lead them in giving oral support of the players on field.

I was mesmerized by Cherry as she cheered; her genuine smile, bright eyes, and level of energy were almost incomprehensible. She would shoot a glance over to me and smile periodically, perhaps just pleased that I was watching her and not the game. The guy standing next to me apparently noticed that I was focused on Cherry.

He nudged me and said, “Forget it, dude.”

I looked at him for a moment before returning my gaze to Cherry and said, “Forget what?”

He elaborated, “You’re staring at the redhead, aren’t you?” It wasn’t a question as much as it was a statement.

I said, “I’m looking at an angel on Earth.”

He said, “Well, do yourself a favor and look away. A girl that hot—you’d have to be a millionaire to snag her.”

I didn’t want to burst his bubble and said, “I’m far from being a millionaire, but hey, you never know.”

“Trust me,” he said, “you don’t have a chance.”

I was enjoying this little conversation and decided to mess with him a bit.

I said, “I think I might have a chance; as much chance as anyone else.”

He scoffed, “Yeah, just like you have a chance of winning the lottery! If she even talked to you, you’d be smart to go buy a ticket!”

I said, “I’ll bet you the price of a lottery ticket that I can get her to come over here and talk to me before this game is over.”

The guy nearly choked on the toothpick in his mouth and said, “Oh, you’re on! I’ve been coming to all of these games and she never talks to any guys.”

We shook hands on the unfair bet and he said, “You just made a sucker’s bet, buddy.” He was right about it being a sucker’s bet; he was just wrong about which of us was the sucker.

A few minutes later, the stadium roared to life and I looked up just in time to see one of our receivers catch the ball in the end zone to score a touchdown.

The guy next to me said, “OH! Watch this!” But I saw nothing unusual before he said, “Oh, she didn’t do it. That’s odd.”

Not knowing what he was talking about, I said, “What?”

He said, “Normally she does this ‘thing’ when we get a touchdown. I can’t describe it but it is pretty killer.”

I looked over at Cherry and she had a slightly worried look on her face and the other girl’s were talking to her. It looked like she was reassuring them and they were one by one giving her some space.

Then the guy I made the bet with said, “Maybe she’s not feeling well. She’s holding her stomach.”

The moment he said that, I knew what was on her mind. She was worried about doing something that might jeopardize her possible pregnancy. It was only then that I realized she had been holding her stomach in idle moments since she took the field. Like an idiot, I’d thought she was simply adjusting her uniform before.

The guy next to me said he’d be back after he went to use the bathroom and while he was gone, I motioned to Cherry to ask if she was ‘ok’. She ran over to me to see what I wanted to say.

I asked, “Are you ok?”

She said, “Yeah, why?”

I explained, “Well, the guy that was here a minute ago said you weren’t doing something that you normally do when they score. And I saw you holding your stomach, so...”

Cherry said, “No, I’m fine. I just don’t want to ... risk anything. You know?”

I motioned for her to come closer and I whispered in her ear, “Babe: you don’t have to worry about that. If it’s true, it’s nothing more than a single, fertilized cell. You can’t hurt it by anything you could do out there—believe me—it is safe!”

She asked, “Are you sure? What if—”

I said, “I’m 100% positive. You could go racing dirt bikes over large rocks and not hurt anything at this stage!”

She said, “Ok; if you are sure,” and turned to rejoin her squad.

Before she got far, I called her back and said, “Do me a favor? When the guy that was here before comes back, pretend we are strangers and play hard to get with me but then give me your number before the game is over?”

Cherry looked at me strangely for a second and asked rhetorically, “What HAVE you two been talking about?”

As she turned to skip back to the rest of the squad, I said, “Thanks, Babe! Love you!”

She turned around and stopped at the same time and puckered her lips at me before joining her friends. Two minutes later, my ‘buddy’ was back.

“Did I miss anything?” he asked.

I lied and said, “Nope; not a thing.”

After our little talk, Cherry’s self consciousness seemed to vanish entirely. She was no longer holding her stomach, at least. About ten minutes later, any question I may have had about where her mind was melted when our team scored again. I was looking towards the end zone to see who scored when the guy next to me said, “Oh! There she goes!”

I turned my attention immediately back to where Cherry had been, only to find she was running at full speed towards the end zone. I knew instantly that, in a race, there was NO chance of me keeping up with her! I had no idea what she was doing, but I didn’t have to wait long to find out.