Chapter 4

As usual the next morning I drove around to the other side of the block and waited for Holly. She only took a minute and she was climbing into the car next to me and we headed off to school.

“Well, come on, how’d it go?”

“Well, if you want to know, yes. I did go out with Linda again last night. And everything went fine.”

We chatted a bit and I told her I was making progress on the storyline I had worked out. I told her some of my ideas until I got to school and went to our classes. The rest of the day went on as usual, but when I got to my last class I took a seat next to Keith.

We chatted about the campaign I was working on, and I dropped hints it would involve a city adventure when the class started. We then sat through the class and when the final bell rang for the day we headed out to the quad. We waved at Holly as she passed by with her flag in her hand heading to drill team practice. That is when I got an idea in my head.

“What do ya think of Holly there? She’s pretty hot, ain’t she?” I said as an opening.

“Oh shit yeah, she is” Keith replied. “You’re lucky to be seeing somebody like her, there’s no reason to beg me for compliments on your girl though, dude.”

At that I had to sit back and blink a few times. “My girl? Whatta ya mean dude?”

“Well, the two of you are always together. You drive her to the games, you drive her to and from school, I know the two of you went out to see Dark Crystal the other night. Heck, everybody knows you two have been dating since before school started.”

“Dude, I don’t know where you got your information, but Holly and I aren’t dating. Sure she is my best friend, but we are only that. Friends. We went out a couple of times, but realized we were nothing but friends. I hang out with her because I like her and she’s my friend. I am actually seeing somebody else.”

“Whoa dude, really? I mean, I thought you two were like an item or something. You mean you ain’t?”

“Nope, just friends. And as far as I know, she’s not seeing anybody. At least if she was she never said anything to me about it. Yes, we did date for a few weeks, but that ended over a month ago.”

He then tried pumping me for information on who I was seeing. I told him she went to another school, and it was a Val I had met at Skate! right after I moved to town.

“Dude, wait a minute. If you met her back in June, why were you dating Holly last month?”

“Well, Linda and I did not actually start dating until this last weekend. We hung out and skated all night long, and made out a bit before I dropped her off at home. But neither of us remembered to get each other’s number, so lost contact. She happened to sit next to us when we were at the movie the other night, and we have been together since.”

“Wow, that’s like so rad dude, good for you! Ya get very far yet?”

I just looked at him and said “Don’t ask no questions, I won’t tell no lies. There is one thing you should know about me. I never talk about my love life. I know when I have a good thing, and the fastest way to screw that up is to brag about it. I’ll just say she is cute, cuddly, and one hell of a kisser and leave it at that.”

He laughed, and said that was a good policy he was going to have to remember in the future. I know in the past we had exchanged a few “stories”, and I do not know how much of mine he believed, and I did not believe most of his. He had bragged on banging Paula, the Senior Class President from the prior year. But knowing she was the Class President, Valedictorian, and Head Cheerleader I rather doubted she even knew he as a Sophomore had even existed. I never met her but her picture was still up in the main hallway, and she was a really cute looking Mexican girl. But the head cheerleader and Class President giving a Sophomore a blowjob behind the gym? No way. I told him some generalities about Kim and he had seen her picture, I think the fact that I had dated an Indian impressed him more than the fact that she and I had been intimate.

Californians! It took several minutes of explaining the first time for him to understand I was talking about an actual Indian Indian, not the kind from Asia. It was only after seeing her picture that he fully understood I think.

We headed over and watched Holly and the rest of the girls’ practice, and had a good time comparing the various attributes of the different girls on the team. I carefully kept commenting on Holly’s legs and how great they looked, and he seemed to notice her more than the others after that. We talked about the upcoming Halloween Dance, and we each wondered if the other would be going.

“Dude, bring your new girlfriend, I’d like to meet her.”

“Well, you are assuming three things here. First, that she would want to come to mine instead of my wanting to go to her school dance. Secondly, for you to meet her at the dance you would have to be there yourself.”

He looked at me for a moment, then came back as I expected with “That’s two, what’s the third?”

“That I even want her to meet you, of course. She already met Holly, the last thing I want her to think is that all of my friends are D&D geeks.”

We had a laugh at that, and he said he might be at the dance. I don’t think he realized I saw him glance at Holly as he said so. So we chatted for a bit longer until the girls left the field. He then said goodbye and headed home as I went and waited by the girl’s locker room for Holly to get out.

When we were on the way home, I mentioned that I had no idea what the school policy here was for dates at school dances that were not students. Holly thought for a moment, then answered “Well, I know that last year at the Christmas Dance that Jennifer brought along her boyfriend who was in college. So I know they don’t have to be students. Why, are you thinking of asking Linda?”

“Well of course I am, I’m not going to go to a dance without her. I’m just not sure if she would rather have me go to one at her school instead of coming here to ours.”

She paused at that for a moment, and shook her head. “Nah, from what I understand, she’d probably rather go to ours than have you go to hers.” I was just about to pull in front of her house when she said that, and I glanced over at her for a moment before continuing on down the street. “Where ya going dude? Like, you like totally missed my house!”

“We need to talk for a bit first, if that’s OK.”

Holly nodded as I drove over to a small neighborhood park and pulled in. I shut off the car and looked over at her, “OK, what do you mean ‘From what you understand’? Surely you do not know her that well from just spending a few hours with her.”

Holly sighed, then turned to face me and said “OK, I guess you need to know this. I did not mean to let it slip like this though. You know my brother goes to Van Nuys Junior, right? I also know that is where Linda goes. The other night I remembered my brother used to date a girl from there last year and asked him about her. He kind of clammed up, but he kind of told me in a round-about way that he had dated her a couple a times last year. And that she was known at the school as an ‘easy lay’. So if I was her, I would probably not want to be seen at her school with an older guy.”

“Shit!” I said.

Such a friend, Holly put her hand on top of mine and said softly “Pete, I was not sure how to tell you this, but it was something you needed to know. I found out yesterday, and was not sure how to tell you that the girl you think you might be in love with seems to be the community pump for the school.”

At that I remembered our first date and actually started laughing. “Oh Holly, in a way you got that completely right, and completely wrong.”

I then went into a little more detail about our dates. About Linda confessing to me she was the “School Handjob Queen” because it got her dates, but kept her cherry intact. And that I knew about this, and even that she had told me she had been with “over 10” guys in that way. But that she was definitely a virgin, and the farthest she had ever gone with a guy was me. “Heck, I was the first one to even touch her she said without her pushing their hand away, and I believe her. Wait, forget I ever said that!”

Holly took a deep breath, let it out, and shook her head sadly. “You know, I think I actually believe that. I remember what guys were like back then and still are. The first guy I kissed, two days later was telling his buddies I gave him a blowjob. I dumped him like a hot potato. The next guy I dated for maybe a month, the farthest we went was his hand under my shirt. We broke up after I learned he told his buddies he popped my cherry. So yeah, I believe it when she tells ya she only went so far, but the guys all say something different. Guys are such pigs!”

“Hey, not all of us are pigs I will have you know! You have an idea how far we have gone, but you and only you. All I told Keith earlier is that we had made out and fooled around a little bit. He has no business knowing anything else.”

“I saw you talking to Keith earlier up in the bleachers. What all did you two talk about?” she asked, trying to sound disinterested and failing.

“Well, he was shocked when I told him we weren’t dating.”

“What? He thought we were dating?” Holly said, incredulous.

“Yep, finally got him to understand we are just best friends, that I was actually seeing somebody else. I only told him I had met her right after I moved here, and we only started dating this weekend when I ran into her again. I said that you and I only hung out and went to movies and the like cause we were best friends, and lived right behind each other. And as far as I knew you weren’t seeing anybody.”

“Wow,” was all she said to that.

“And when he said he wanted to meet Linda, I told him I might bring her to the dance. But the only way he would see her is if he got a date and went to the dance himself. So I’m going to take your advice as an expert on how girls think, and ask her to the school dance in two weeks. Hopefully, she’ll say yes. But if she wants me to go to hers also or instead, I will do that. As much as I love having a hot girl as my best friend, I am more concerned with keeping my girlfriend happy.”

That got me a warm smile, and she leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Pete, it’s such a shame we’re just friends. The more I know you the more you seem like a perfect boyfriend.”

“Naw, I ain’t perfect” I told her. “Otherwise, I would not be trying so hard to make time with a girl in Junior High.” I laughed, expecting her to join in. But she did not, Holly just stared at me.

“You know, at that age and even now, most of us prefer older guys because they are so much more mature. You’re a perfect example why. Whereas most guys would be bragging about how far they got and even claiming they went farther, you are obviously trying to do the exact opposite. That shows you’re not thinking about yourself or your reputation, but hers. And that you are seriously thinking of bringing her to our dance, that is actually kind of ballsy. A lot of people may not understand you dating somebody who is only 14.”

I just shook my head at that. “You know Crystal, she is on the drill team with you. She’s only 14. And that Noel kid, he’s what, 13? There are several who are only 14 at school. Like me, she will be 18 when she graduates, while almost half of the student body will only be 17.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But if she goes, tell her to wear a costume that makes her look older. That way they may not realize she is going to Van Nuys Junior.” I reached out and gave her a hug, and thanked her for the advice. Starting the car I took her home, once again talking about the developing campaign,

I called Linda that night after dinner, and we chatted for about an hour before we said our good-nights. I then went out to the living room to talk with my father.

We had gotten even closer since my mother died, and I kept few real secrets from him. I had told him after meeting Linda at Skate! I had met a girl, but it was just a one-time meeting. Now I told him that I had not only seen her again, we had been dating the last few nights. “What does Holly think of this?” was his first question. Apparently, my father was also under the impression Holly and I were still dating.

Once that little bit was settled, he asked why I had lost contact with her for 3 months and had not seen her at school. Sure it is a bigger school than before, but surely we would have bumped into each other at some time between then and now.

“Well dad, that’s the thing. She doesn’t go to my school.” Deep Breath. “She goes to Van Nuys Junior High, she’s 14.”

He looked at me for almost a minute, saying nothing. Then he closed his eyes for a moment and softly said “You probably did not know this, but your mother was 14 when we started dating, and I was 16. At that time there was no Junior High in town, just two Elementary schools and a High School. Elementary was grades one through seven, grades eight and up were in the High School. I first met your mom when she was a Pre-Freshman or “Prefrosh”, and we started dating in our Freshman and Junior years.

“After I graduated I joined the Army. That was during Vietnam, and I decided I would rather enlist for two years and get my pick of jobs rather than get drafted and have one shoved down my throat. So that’s how I became a Radar Technician, and your mom and I kept in touch the entire time. I finished my two years a little bit after she graduated, and 3 months before I got out I went home on leave and we got married.”

I was a bit stunned. I had known a bit about my parents from before I was born, and their wedding picture had my dad in his uniform as a Corporal. But I had no idea they had been dating so long, or so young. They had apparently been a steady item at about the age I was when I first kissed a girl, and remained that way until she died 19 years later. Wow, way to go mom and dad!

“So obviously I have no problem with you dating a girlfriend two years younger. Just remember though Pete, she is two years younger than you are. So I do not ever want to hear of you taking advantage of her! And I would like to meet her at least sometime before the end of the year.”

We talked a bit more, and he actually made me a proposal. If I would keep my grades above a B (not a problem, I had been an A student since 5th grade) he would increase my allowance to $50 a week. “And if you want to take, ah, Linda someplace special like Magic Mountain, let me know and I can give you some more for that. And let me know how much the dance and costume is, and I will cover that too. We are not rich, but I can at least make sure your social life does not suffer.”

I gave him a big hug for that. I know he still missed mom, and this was the longest and most personal conversation we have had about her since she died. We then talked about baseball a bit. He was still pissed his Dodger’s had been knocked out of the series, I was still pissed the Angels had let Nolan Ryan go and said that was why they got knocked out of the playoffs.

Eventually we went to bed, and I dreamed of my little black haired cutie with breasts like cones with gumdrop nipples at the tips. If not for the workout the nights before I surely would have woken up with sticky underwear.

The next day was much the same, and when I talked with Linda on the phone I asked if we could get together for a bit the next day after school and she said yes. So as soon as class ended I got in my car and drove over to her house.

Her mom was not home, but I finally got to meet her little sister, Mandy. The three of us talked in the living room and I ignored the looks the two kept exchanging. Finally Mandy excused herself to go to her room and study, and Linda and I spent several minutes kissing. I was able to restrain myself to keeping my hands on her waist, but this did little to keep Linda from pressing her small breasts or hips against me.