Chapter 4

The players have finished their warm-up and leaving the ice. “That’s him, that’s my brother Peter, number 14!” Abby shouted, pointing to him. Brad just caught a glance of him leaving the ice. Abby took the time to explain the math that Brad had trouble with, and he seemed to understand it better.

Brad took Abby’s right hand in his left, interlocking their fingers. She leaned her head on his left shoulder and sighed, “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Oh, nothing, I’m just content and happy, that’s all.”

“Same with me.”

“You know that the odds are against our relationship lasting until our twenties, let alone even getting married,” Abby said matter of factly.

“Did you really say those things to your Dad about us? That we’d be married someday with kids?”

“I’m afraid so. I even told Britney and Amber when you were at the Harbourview restaurant on Monday that I was going to marry you someday.”

“You could tell that early?”

“Just call it woman’s intuition. Believe it or not, in some African tribes, the daughter to be married is exchanged for cattle and goats as early as twelve years old and having children shortly after puberty. The more cattle and goats a father receives for his daughter raises his status in the tribe. And you said the same things to your Mom about us too?”

“Yes, you had this strange effect on me so fast.”

“Maybe we’ll be the exception to the rule and live a long and happy life together,” she sighed.

“I sure hope so.” he agreed.

“We haven’t even said any, ‘I love yous’ yet.”

“I honestly don’t know what falling in love or being in love feels like. But I do know that I’m intensely attracted to you, Abby. I touch your hand, and it feels like lightning or electricity striking me from head to toe. You are so incredibly beautiful and I find your intelligence is actually a turn on for me. You take pride in your appearance from your hair to your fingernails,” he complimented.

“For you, it’s harder to pin down. I mean you’re absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, but I also see a gentle side to you. When I see you at school, you don’t seem to hang around with one particular crowd.”

“I try to take people at face value and try to see the good in them, whether they’re a jock, a la de la girl, or a geek.”

“What do you mean by, la de la girl?”

“Ewe, look at me!” He made a face, “Girls that think they’re so above everyone else just because they have the looks or their parents are rich, you know, acting like super bitches.” Abby fit the one about looks but didn’t say anything.

“We both have career goals and seem to know what we want out of life,” she said.

“The next several months will be filled with the fun part of learning things about each other,” she mentioned.

“I agree, a lot of questions and answers.”

“One way to make our relationship last is to be able to give each other some space. What I mean by that is to go from not knowing each other to spending most every day together is quite a change in our lives. How can we balance being a couple without smothering each other,” Brad said.

“I get you, sort of too much of a good thing. We would be in such a rush to live our lives as a couple, we don’t take the time to be individuals,” Abby explained.

“Exactly.”

“I’ll admit it would be really difficult not to see you, to be with you every day.”

“I feel the same way already about you too, Abby.”

“Geesh Brad, I find you so easy to talk with,” Abby said, leaning her head on his shoulder again.

“And the same with you.”

“What worries me already is if we have to be apart for an extended period of time. What if you get drafted by a team that is far away, like Owen Sound or Sudbury?”

“I guess we’ll just have to tackle that situation if or when it arrives. And I’m thinking what if you end up going to college or university away from here too,” Brad confided.

“I know that even if we have to be apart for some time, for education or hockey, we’ll still end up getting married,” she predicted.

“You are something else, Abby. Somehow, I believe you. I would like to see our relationship be on an equal footing,” Brad started. “By that I mean we’d always walk side by side not one in front of the other.”

“I like that. I’ll try not to be such a nag, telling you what to do or where to go in front of your friends.”

“I would do the same for you,” he agreed.

“I’ll warn you Brad when I do get mad at you, I will give you the silent treatment even if the reason wasn’t your fault.”

“Thanks for the warning. And speaking of getting mad, I know there’ll be times when we’ll disagree on something and maybe have an argument. We need to know how to fight fair.”

“Even adults don’t know how to fight fair,” Abby commented.

“You’re right there. Let’s keep our disagreements to the topic at hand and not hurt each other. It’s so easy to be spiteful and call the other one names that you never meant to say but said anyways just to get even and hurt the other person,” Brad explained.

“Respecting the other’s opinion, even if you don’t agree with it,” she supported.

“Exactly.”

“One thing I have to confess to you Abby is, I couldn’t wait to see you walking down the halls at school. I didn’t think I’d have a chance to be with you since you’re likely the most popular girl at school.”

“I’m not that popular, I just have a lot of friends. And I have to confess, I’d steal glances at you in the halls too. I’d be smiling for you but look away or pretend to be talking to my girlfriends when you’d look over at me. I knew you were popular too and had a lot of friends, especially girls.”

“I guess they find me easy to talk to. I don’t put the moves on every girl I meet or know unlike a lot of guys.”

“I’m sure glad you and your Dad decided to come into the restaurant last Monday.”

“Same with me. For some reason, of all the restaurants I had to choose from, I picked yours without even knowing you worked there.”

“Speaking of girls, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure, you can ask me anything you want.”

“Do you happen to be gay?”

“What?” Brad whispered loudly. He leaned away from her, wrinkling his brow, then starting to laugh over her outrageous question. “Where the hell did you get that idea from?!”

“The rumour at school is that Steve Jackson is gay and that you hang around with him.”

“Yes, I do hang with him sometimes, so what? Oh, I get it. Since he’s thought to be gay, then any guy who is friends with him has to be gay also. First of all, Abby, let me tell you straight out, pardon the pun, I am completely straight. I am absolute, 100 percent, NOT gay.”

“Is Steve gay?”

“That’s a personal question you’ll have to ask him yourself.”

“Okay, I will.”

“Now let me turn the tables on you. I hear gossip and rumours also at school. I don’t bother spreading them around because I hate the lack of truthfulness to them. So I’ve heard a rumour about you, and I’ll ask you if it’s true or not, okay?”

“Okay,” Abby said, wondering what rumour could possibly be about her.

“Are you a lesbian?”

“What?” Abby exclaimed, pressing her left hand to her chest.

“Rumour has it that you, Britney and another chick, likely Amber, have sex together.”

“Oh ... my ... god!” She continued, knowing her secret was out there.

“I’ll be straight and honest with you Brad, I’m bisexual. At least, I think I am. I haven’t been with a boy ... yet,” Abby confessed, blushing at him. “Yes, I have sex with my girlfriends, Britney and Amber. The three of us have a sleepover at least once a month at one of our homes and sleep is the last thing we do, if you know what I mean.”

“I’ve dated boys the odd time and have let them feel my tits and kiss me, but that’s all. I would like very much to keep that relationship with my girlfriends going even with you as my boyfriend.”

“I don’t see why not. Mom has sex with other women and it doesn’t make Dad feel any less of a man. They think of it as an extension of their loving. It also eliminates all the jealousy that can happen when Dad fucks another woman or Mom fucks another guy.”

“So I wouldn’t feel threatened when you have sex with your girlfriends, I would consider it an extension of our relationship.”

“Then I would consider it an extension of our relationship if you fuck my girlfriends too or their boyfriends fuck me,” Abby said bluntly.