Chapter 96: Exploration

Thursday, May 20, 1982

Megan caught me just at the end of class. “Um ... hey.”

“Hey! How’re you?”

“Great! Got a few minutes?”

“Sure, no problem. Outside?”

“That’d be good.”

We headed to a bench and sat. “So, what’s up?”

“Two things. First, I thought about it. I wouldn’t say ‘a lot’, because that implies it was a hard decision. It really wasn’t. I talked to Calvin and we’re going out once school’s out. Our first date will be lunch at the mall on the 29th. I ... well, so far I really like him. He’s just ... well, a good guy. You know, with his father a big star, I didn’t know, but he’s so down-to-earth.”

“Awesome!”

“So ... I think ... well. I really thought we’d maybe ... um. Date a bit more. But, maybe not?” She blushed a fair bit. “I want to. I mean it.” She giggled. “But now I feel weird about it, like ... why would I try to rush something when I’m dating someone else in a week? I mean, if you weren’t with Jasmine, I’d be all over asking you out. But so would a dozen girls.” She stopped me from speaking. “I mean it. At least a dozen, probably more. It’s done wonders for my stock that I actually went out with you!” She grinned and giggled.

“I’m glad about that. And I think you’re doing the right thing. I’d have been more than happy to go out with you again, but it had to be something you wanted, too. We already overachieved on Sadie Hawkins, after all.”

“Did we ever! Asking you out was the best decision ever. Mom and Dad are fine with me seeing Calvin. Um ... you know. But they wouldn’t have been fine with me dating anyone if it wasn’t for how you handled things. I mean, it’s lunch at the mall, but it’s a date. And ... well, of course they’re going to want to meet him if we go beyond lunch in public places, but ... well, you know me. The old me? They’d be right to think I might be a doormat. Not anymore!”

“I’m thrilled for you. I hope it goes well with Calvin. I hope you have a great summer, too.”

“Thanks!” She leaned in and hugged me, then gave me a quick peck on the lips. “I’m glad you understand. I think ... I think I’ll always wonder, a little, what might’ve been. But that’s okay.”

I nodded. “There’s always a what-might-have-been. To anything. Imagine the what-might-have-been if you hadn’t chosen Debate. Or I hadn’t. Or if Meg was like Sue’s old coach. Or if I was a jerk.” She giggled and blushed at that. “Or your parents had held you back a year since you’re so close to the age cutoff. Anything. Life’s full of that; you can’t worry about them.”

She pretended to growl. “I would’ve killed them if they held me back, and they know it!” Then she grinned. “You’re right, though. You can’t worry about ‘what might’ve been’. What is, is what matters. And, well ... I’m really glad we’re friends, not regretting maybe not being something more.”

“Me, too. That’s the most important part of this; that we’re friends and stay friends. Unless something changes, we’ll spend a lot of time together over the next two years. Just as friends, but that’s a big thing.”

“It’s the best!”

We hugged, then she gave me another peck on the cheek. “See you tomorrow!”

Angie came up behind me. “So? Guessing no more dates, from the body language.”

“No more dates. She’s going out with Calvin as soon as school’s out.”

“Cool! I don’t know him that well, but I like him, and he’s got a reputation as a good guy. Points to Megan for deciding to not chase anything more.”

“Yeah. She needed to make that decision. I’d have had to make a tough decision if she asked.”

“Seriously? She’s hot! And it wouldn’t be cheating.”

“That’s not the issue. We made that new rule — that we can’t do something if we think it’ll be bad for the other person. And I’d have had serious worries that it’d be bad for Megan. And that’d suck, because turning her down would also be bad for her. So, how would I decide? Most likely on the basis that you can always do something later but you can’t undo what you’ve done. But either way, it could go wrong.”

She nodded. “Yeah. That’s a good rule, but it can make its own trouble.”

“I’m happy for her. And, like I told her, we’ll be close friends for years, if all goes well. That’s what matters, not one night of fun in bed.”

She giggled. “Admittedly, it’s easier for you to say that when you know you’ve got plenty of people interested in nights of fun in bed.”

“It helps, yes. Oink.”

She bopped my shoulder playfully. “C’mon, brother pig. Let’s get to Dance and Movement.”

“I’m almost not sore anymore. Thankfully!”

Our Dance and Movement teacher wanted to hear all about the show. Hearing that it went well seemed to make her very happy. That we weren’t dropping out? Even better.

Friday, May 21, 1982

Jessica met me with a hug and a kiss, getting there just before Jasmine’s hug and kiss. “Date night!” she said, grinning.

“Any requests?”

“‘Surprise me’ has been working well. We’ll stick with that. Unless you want me to pick?”

“I’ll flip that on its end.” She looked curious. “I want you to pick if you want to. Unless you want to pick, I’ll pick something.”

“Ooh. Interesting. I’ll tell you what. You pick this time, I’ll pick next time. I promise, no ridiculously expensive steakhouses. Middle-class high-school kid fare.”

“Sounds good to me.”

She gave Jasmine a hug. “Thanks for letting me borrow your guy. I’m not sure I could be so sharing, if it was the other way around.”

Jasmine smiled. “It works for us, and I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

“I am!”

Jessica met me in our usual meeting place. Yes, it was still odd that Jessica and I had a ‘usual meeting place’. She grinned. “Gossip-tweaking time.” She took my hand as we walked to the parking lot.

“I’m not sure if that’s funny or mean.”

“Yes,” she said, grinning. “Both of those. Everything’s genuine, but I’m having more fun than I expected messing with people. And I expected quite a bit of fun!”

I opened the car door for her and helped her in. Nicely, not with my hand on her ass. That would’ve been too much gossip. Also impolite, but I was pretty sure she would take it in the spirit it was meant.

She settled in as I went around and climbed in. “Any last-minute requests?”

“Nope. Surprise time!”

I headed out, intentionally taking a circuitous route to our destination. I doubted that would fool her, but perhaps? She wasn’t letting on, not directly.

“Interesting choice of neighborhoods. I believe, again, you’re aiming somewhere no previous date would’ve dared.” She was looking at all the signs in Spanish. I figured it was safer to assume she was fluent.

“Probably.”

She giggled. “Well, you’ll likely wind up someplace spy-free. Or, mostly. A couple of kids I know live on this side of the tracks. It’s possible to get into Memorial even so. Not common, but the district will make exceptions.”

I nodded. “Occasionally, yeah.”

“Sports, mostly, but not just that.”

“Sports is its own world and gets all sorts of rules bent.”

She laughed. “Or altogether ignored, yes. And, for all that, we’re still iffy.”

“It’s hard to compete with much larger schools, or those whose students have more limited opportunities to make it big. Or both.”

“Yeah. If Memorial was the size it was in the 1960s we’d do a lot better, just based on the numbers.”

“Say, if they closed Spring Branch High and zoned all the kids here, then pick the top half of the kids, the football team would be much better.”

“Much, yeah.”

They had, in fact, closed Spring Branch not long after this, but they distributed the kids to three high schools. It made almost no difference to the sports teams, since other districts kept building larger high schools with huge populations to draw from.

I rounded a corner, went a couple blocks, then pulled into a parking lot. Jessica looked up. “So, I tell you we’re not going all the way, and you decide we should try Pho King anyway?”

“Nothing wrong with Pho King on a date. As friends of mine and I agree, it’s fun for the whole family.”

She laughed. Quite a bit. “I suspect this whole outing has been to set up that line. And it was worth it; it’s a great line. I know you’ve been here, though that’s because my spies have reported its name from conversations; you’d know they hadn’t been here, I bet. I’ve never been here. Pho, yes. Here? No.”

“You already told me that, I think.”

That got a blush, then even more laughter. “Damn. So I did, I suppose. C’mon. Let’s get hot and wet and tasty.”

I hopped out and went around to help her out. Still no hand on her ass. We held hands going in.

We both ordered small soups. Angie would have to miss out on leftovers this time. Then we played the same conversation waiting game we’d played before. I won, again. The odds were that she was letting me win, but that’s fine.

“No one does that.” She grinned. “Okay, fine. Let’s start with my declaration about waiting. You seemed ... unsurprised.”

I shrugged. “I hadn’t considered it that deeply. It’s certainly ... well. I imagine many people would guess that someone who’s dated quite a few handsome, hunky, virile guys might have succumbed to their advances, but I try not to think about people like that. And it’s certainly none of my business, except that, now that you’ve mentioned it, then it is, a bit. I know there’s a message there, but the message isn’t ‘Jessica is a good girl’, because I never thought you weren’t. And it’s not ‘Those guys are schmucks’, because you wouldn’t say that. It could be ‘Here’s some juicy gossip; let’s see if you spill it.’ But, by this point, while you’d be hurt and disappointed if I did spill it, I don’t think you’re probing for that.”

“Interesting so far. Is there more?” She was smirking a bit.

“Of course.” That got a giggle. “It’d be wrong to say you could have anyone you wanted. You could, but you’d have to want them more than you want everything else, which you don’t. The guys you can have aren’t a perfect fit. So, keeping it off the table makes sense. Whether I might or not be a fit under other circumstances is irrelevant, since I’m loyal to Jasmine and that right there stops me from being a complete fit. So keeping it off the table still makes sense. That said ... I’m going to assume you’re not immune from teenage hormones. Anything I say about that might get me labeled a pig...” That got another of her cute snorts and a grin. “ ... but I’m going to guess you haven’t entirely gone without, which means them but without the home run, or yourself, or a girlfriend. My guess is all three. Could be wrong.”

She chuckled. “Only a few of them, but yes. Myself, yes. Girlfriend ... also yes.”

“Oink.”

That got another snort. “You totally guessed!”

“Of course I did. But that’s not the point. The point is that you wanted me to guess. Or to know.”

“Why would I do that?”

“My best guess is Sheila. You’re considering the possibilities and you wanted me to know that.”

She blinked. “I ... well. Damn! Okay. Maybe. You’re ahead of me now. I actually just wanted to tease you. Oink, like you said.”

I shrugged, smiling, wiggling my eyebrows. Which got a giggle. “Several of my best friends are lesbian. My girlfriend and several other close female friends are bisexual. I can oink a lot. Yes, you’re ... you...” I wiggled my eyebrows again. “ ... but still ... plenty of oink. Obviously, I could be cynical and say you’re still seeing if I’ll blab the juicy gossip...” She blushed considerably. “ ... but, no. You know I won’t. You’d smack it down and I’d look like a fool to absolutely everyone. Sure, my friends would believe I was honest. I’d still look like a fool. So, not that. So I’m assuming you wanted me to know, at some level. Maybe related to Sheila, maybe just being honest. I don’t know.”