Chapter 16

4 p.m. Friday

"Something smells good," Andy said as he entered the apartment. He saw Regan and his mother sitting on the couch drinking iced tea.

"I bathed today," Camille said with a smirk.

"It's not even Sunday," Andy shot back. He put his backpack in the closet and gave first his mother and then Regan kisses on the cheek.

"Did you have any trouble with my directions?" Andy asked his mother.

"And who, exactly, do you think fed you before you could reach the burner knobs?" Camille asked. She had spent the past hour talking with Regan – and she found she liked the girl, possibly because the young woman appeared to believe that Camille created the water than Andy walked upon.

"To be honest, I assumed there was a food fairy that stopped by each day," Andy said, throwing a wink at Regan. "I mean, I can still taste that chicken and rice concoction you force fed me."

"Maybe you should brush your teeth more often," Regan chimed in. Andy shot her an incredulous look – and Camille raised her hand for a high five.

Regan could never imagine a conversation like this transpiring at her house. There would be bloodshed before the last syllable of the first joke. She turned to Andy with a big smile – only to find him shaking his head sadly. Her smile evaporated as she worried that she'd overstepped her bounds.

"An hour," he said sadly. "It's only taken an hour for her to corrupt you thoroughly. I had such high hopes for you, too."

"Behave yourself," Camille said. She had seen Regan's expression change. Andy appeared to recognize that what he'd said had been taking in the wrong way.

"I'm joking with you," he said as he leaned down and kissed Regan on the forehead. "It's only been recently that I've been able to hold my own against Mom. There is no way I battle two of you. I'll need to call in reinforcements."

He glanced at his mother.

"Is Evan coming for dinner?" he wondered. Camille blushed again and Andy's gaze intensified.

"We're going to a show tonight," Camille said. "I'm going to pick him up after we eat. He needs his rest."

"Oh, really?" Andy asked. "And just what time did you get home last night, Young Lady? Certainly too late to see your only son off to school this morning."

Camille's face got even redder.

"And what makes you think I came home at all?" she asked, hoping to regain the upper hand.

"Because I saw your car keys before I left this morning," Andy answered. "I noticed you didn't answer my question."

"It was late," Camille said, unsure of why she was responding to an interrogation from her 17-year-old son.

"I won't even ask why you were out so late," Andy said, winking again at Regan. Regan was barely paying attention. Her mind had started to race when Camille said she was going out after dinner.

The visit to the gynecologist had been a revelation for Regan. She almost jumped for joy when she found out she was protected immediately because she got the shot within seven days after the start of her period.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Andy asked. Once again, Regan turned scarlet and Camille finally understood the girl's earlier reaction. Andy blinked a couple times but changed the subject.

"I'm sure we'll find some trouble," he said. "What are you and Evan seeing?"

"I'm not sure," Camille said, glancing from Regan to Andy. "One of the theaters downtown is having a 90s retrospective. We're going to try to relive our glory days, I guess."

"Uh-huh," Andy said, shaking his head. "You just remember how your glory days ended."

"Andy!" Regan said.

"Actually, I was just going to remind him about how my glory days ended," Camille said. "And remind you that your dance is tomorrow night. If I have put the clues together correctly, you might be too sore to dance if you decide to take that step this evening."

Regan felt like a deer caught in the headlights. She couldn't believe that Camille had figured out what she wanted to do.

"Don't worry, Mom," Andy said.

"I'm not forbidding you or even trying to deter you," Camille said as she took Regan's hand. Part of it was to comfort the stricken girl – the other part was because Regan looked as though she was ready to bolt from the apartment. "I'm just pointing out something you might not have thought about. You're old enough to make that choice on your own. I trust Andy and I think you're far more responsible that you give yourself credit for. Just make sure the time is right and you're not rushing into something."

Regan closed her eyes for a moment and then nodded.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Camille told her. "But, to be honest, conversations like this are always awkward no matter how delicately someone tries to approach it. This is a big decision for a young woman. I'm sure you've thought of things endlessly for the past ... well, probably the past five or six years. I just wanted to make sure you've taken everything into consideration. That's all."

Regan sighed.

"This is the sort of conversation I should have had with my mom years ago," she said. "Maybe then I would have a better understanding of how I should feel. Right now? It's a burden. I'm probably the only person older than 13 at C-B who is still a virgin. I've listened to stories for the past five years. I just want to know what the fuss is about. I've heard the clinical explanation. I've heard secondhand stories. I've seen pictures and movies. It's just ... since we're being honest ... it's just that every time I think of Andy, I get this little flutter in my chest. If I'm within sight of him, I want to touch him. Then when I touch him, I just want to ... well, you know. I've never felt anything like this before. Sure, I was locked away in a convent for most of my life but I've been around boys a few times. As nice as Rico was, I didn't feel that way about him. When I think of other guys I know – or even some I don't know but see on TV or in the movies – I don't feel that way. But, right now, with Andy standing only a few feet away from me, I find I'm..."

"Aroused," Camille offered.

"I was going to say horny but that is good enough," Regan said with a giggle. "It was all I could do to keep from racing to the door to give him a kiss as soon as he walked in. When he kissed my cheek a few minutes ago, I wanted to grab his neck and kiss his lips. Sometimes, I feel as though, if I don't do this soon, I'm going to explode."

"I understand," Camille said. She noticed Andy had made a strategic retreat to the kitchen in order to check the lasagna. "Believe me, I understand all too well."

She glanced back to make sure Andy was still occupied. When she saw he was out of earshot, she leaned closer to Regan.

"I spent last night holding hands with a man I've loved since I was your age," she whispered. "If he would have asked, I would have spent the night with him – and we might have both regretted it this morning. Evan and I are in the same spot as you and Andy. We're getting to know each. We're not the people we used to be. Just like Andy isn't as perfect as you've painted him to be."

"I know he's not perfect," Regan interjected, whispering along with Camille. "I just think he's perfect for me."

Both women heard the oven door close and they turned to look into the kitchen. Andy was puttering around, content to let his mother deal with the situation.

"He might be," Camille admitted. "But you need to make certain. Sex is fun. I'm not going to lie to you. I can also tell you that I've missed it a lot in the past few years. I've had sex with people since Evan went back to England. It was fun but that's all it was – a diversion. There was no real emotional attachment so it was always lacking something. I'm not saying that you're not emotionally attracted to Andy. He's your white knight. I understand it. He rescued you from a terrible situation – and from the mundane life your parents forced on you. From what you've told me, he's also the first person to ever elicit any sort of sexual response from you. By the way, he left that part out of the story. I'm just saying there is nothing wrong with waiting until you're sure."

Regan nodded. But in her head, she was positive that the man in the kitchen would be the person she spent the rest of her life with.

7 p.m. Friday

"You behave yourself tonight," Camille told her son before she departed.

"I was about to tell you the same thing," Andy said. Camille smiled but Andy took her shoulders as she turned away. "I'm serious. I know that you still have feelings for Evan. I also know he still has feelings for you. But you need to understand that the boy and girl who fell in love twenty years ago are not the same as the two middle-aged adults who found each other again."

"Andy!" Camille said.

"Mom!" Andy replied in the same voice. "I'm telling you this for his sake as much as yours. If you are not interested in pursuing this past the next few days, you need to let him know. I finally understand how lonely you've been. I also think he's been as lonely as you. I want you to think about the consequences before you walk into a situation you're not prepared for and he's not prepared for."

Camille looked up at the face of her son – a face eerily similar to his father's. She saw the same earnest expression she had seen on Evan's face so many years before. He was worried about her.

"I have been thinking about things," Camille said with a nod. "Now, I'm supposed to be the parent here. You're not supposed to worry about me."

"That's not going to stop me," Andy said. "I've been worrying about you since I was old enough to know someone besides me existed in this world. I love you and I want you to be happy. If Evan makes you happy, I'll adjust to that. I just don't want you to rush into something because I'm leaving in a few weeks. OK?"

Regan watched as Camille hugged Andy tightly. She smiled when she saw Andy kiss his mother on the top of the head – just as he'd done to her so many times. When Camille let go of Andy, Regan walked over and gave Camille another hug.

"Thank you for being so nice to me," Regan said. "I was really worried about meeting you. I shouldn't have been. You're just like Andy told me you'd be. I hope we'll get to spend a lot more time together in the future."

"I'm sure we will," Camille said. "You're just like Andy said you'd be, too. I've very happy that you and Andy are dating."

"Me, too," Regan giggled.

"You're going to be late," Andy said.

"Don't wait up," Camille said with a wink.

"We won't!" Regan chimed in. Camille rolled her eyes and headed out the door as Andy shook his head.

Regan practically jumped on him as soon as the door was closed. She kissed him fiercely, slipping her tongue between his lips and pressing her body against him tightly.

"I have wanted to do that since you walked in!" she said when she came up for air.

"You should have," Andy said with a smile. "I thought I was losing my charm."

"Bull," Regan said, her eyes sparkling.

"So, really, what do you want to do tonight?" Andy asked.

"Oh, I think what I want to do and what we're going to are pretty far apart," Regan said with a blush.

"I just think we need to spend more time together before we do that," Andy said.

"I guess I agree," Regan admitted. "I'm not happy about it but I guess your mom is right. I want to be able to dance tomorrow night."

"Paul's classes ended today," Andy said. "Elizabeth said they would probably be going out to a party tonight. What time do you have to be home?"

"I don't have a curfew," Regan said, rolling her eyes. "Mom said she trusted us to make good decisions."

"Silly woman," Andy said.

"That's what I thought," Regan agreed. "Get this: She also offered to rent us a suite tomorrow night. I told her we'd want to change clothes before we go to the after-party. She said that made sense and she told me that we might as well do it at the hotel as come back to the house."

"Do it?" Andy asked with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't as proficient as Camille but Regan laughed anyway.

"You have a dirty mind," she said. "But, yes, I'm almost positive she meant change clothes. Who knows though? Don't you think Elizabeth would rather be 'doing it' with Paul instead of playing babysitter to us tonight?"

"Probably," Andy said. "But it ain't likely to happen. Her parents are pretty strict and Paul has a brother and a sister at home. They would have a better chance of 'doing it' at a party than anywhere else."

Regan nodded and narrowed her eyes.

"I could have Mom get the suite and they could use it tomorrow night," she said. "It would give them some alone time. It will also give us someplace to be if we want some time away from the others. The suites there have at least two bedrooms. It won't be much different than a dorm."

Andy tilted his head. Again, it was similar to Camille's mannerism but it needed work.

"I didn't see the women's dorms at Stanford but the guy's dorms do not have two bedrooms," Andy pointed out. "Unless you don't mind an audience, that is pretty well out of the question unless your roommate is gone."

"I know that!" Regan said. "Besides, I might like an audience."

She stuck her tongue out at Andy.

"Besides, we're going to have Chris and Ruth with us," Andy reminded her. Regan snapped her fingers and pointed at him.

"I was supposed to tell you that Ruth and Chris will be joining us at the house for dinner tomorrow night," she said with embarrassment.