It’s really hard being a boy at fifteen. Not yet a man but light-years from childhood. No money to speak of – the occasional weekend shift at McDonalds barely keeps me in gum. No car, too much homework and worse – no regular girlfriend and that’s what I want to talk to you about.

Sure, a few of the girls in my class are cool. Sandra has a good head on her shoulders but that’s the problem, I hear she gives pretty good head too. Jackie’s all innocence – least that’s the image she likes to put across. It’s kind of a problem now though, after they caught her sitting in a teacher’s car last week with his hand in her panties. It didn’t work out that great for Mr. Brayshaw either. They suspended him from duty pending the Police investigation. That leaves Jade. Pretty as all hell, definitely the right credentials ... simply the fact you need to take a ticket and wait for your number to be called.

Life’s can certainly bitch-slap you at times!

Not all doom and gloom though. Just two weeks ago a new family moved into the duplex alongside us. I think the father must work for a limo-service as there’s always a different stretch out the front of their place most nights. They have two kids ... a boy about my age and a girl who I discovered recently is nineteen and who goes to college. Her name is Rachel.

Rachel – Just mentioning that name is all it takes! The whole of last week, I laid awake nights thinking about her ... to be honest, I did more than think - wondering how I might get up the nerve to talk to her, maybe ask her to hang with me some time. It always came back to the same reality. “Get real kid, she’s a college girl pushing twenty. Like she’s gonna have any interest in a skinny dude next door almost five years her junior.”

I figured also she must have a regular boyfriend, not that I had seen anyone rock up to their driveway in an Impreza or a Kia K5 Stinger the past couple of weeks.

Whatever, last Sunday morning I was sitting there on my bed as usual, having my psyche shredded, able to see quite clearly into Rachel’s bedroom just across the way, as she dressed slowly, fully unaware of the fact anyone could see through that sheer curtaining.

Something about the way she wriggled into those little panties, sliding them up over her bottom so neatly before reaching down to retrieve her bra from the bed covers, made my mouth dry up – not so, other parts of my body.

Coming to the conclusion I had nothing much to lose, I dressed myself, then went downstairs and outside to the small deck where I liked to study. Sure enough, Rachel walked out of their back-door with an armful of washing not half an hour later.

“Hi Rachel,” I called out, “Helping your mom again?”

“Yeah,” she said, “Everyone’s gone out to my Aunt’s place. I was supposed to be studying for my mid-term exams ... but looks like I’ll be cleaning the house up instead.”

“Want any help?” I asked somewhat hopefully. For a moment she looked up at me questioningly. I had been expecting her to say “Yeah right!”

“Know how to handle a vacuum?” she called out smiling.

Well as it happened, vacuuming is my forte.

“Sure I said, be right over.” I almost tossed my assignment notes over the patio in my haste to exit the house.

“How come you’re home alone?” she asked almost shyly, opening the door to me.

I made up some bullshit about their having to go visit a sick member of the family. I figured that sounded better than telling her my dad had knocked back one too many Mojitos at a cousin’s place last night, and was sleeping it off till the afternoon.

God really wasn’t helping my cause either. Dressed as she almost was in the shortest of plain blue miniskirts, plus a top that revealed enough let’s say to have any guy dreaming about the main course. Rachel I don’t think was even aware of how she looked. Maybe she figured I was way too young to be rated a ‘threat.’

Even so, watching as she bent over to retrieve a newspaper that had fallen off the lounge-room table had my complete attention. Not the news headlines of course, but rather that achingly hot view of those cute yellow panties I had seen her pulling on just an hour or so earlier.

I wondered momentarily if she realized the consequences of her action but at the point she turned to me and said “You can start in this room if you like” indicating with her head the vacuum across the hallway, I could see she was blissfully unaware of anything amiss.

“Oh, sure,” I replied glancing downwards and hoping nothing was showing that might give her cause to giggle.

For the next thirty minutes or so, I vacuumed the house stupid while Rachel straightened up the place and did stuff in the kitchen. She was still taking plates out of the dishwasher when I sat myself down at the breakfast nook having returned the vacuum to the hall cupboard. Again I was treated to multiple up-skirt previews that none of my friends would believe even if I told them.

I had to do something or die trying!

“Rachel,” I called to her

“Yeah?” she replied, straightening up and wiping down the counter.

“You’re gonna hate me for saying this ... but did you know I can sometimes see you when you get up in the mornings ... like across from my window?”

Now that got her full attention. She blushed a little, then regaining some self-control, fixed me with an ice-cool expression – almost a smirk.

“Really Michael? she inquired “And what exactly can you see?” That certainly put the ball back in my court.

“Oh nothing really,” I lied. Just you getting dressed sometimes.” I had to glance away from her.

“You sure that’s all Michael?” She was teasing me now – no doubt about it. “You haven’t seen me undressing for bed or anything like that.

“No way,” I replied ... wishing now that I had been more vigilant. “Only ever seen you in the mornings Rachel.”

She was silent for a moment. “So you have seen me after my shower ... putting my bra and panties on maybe.” She added as an afterthought.

I was squirming with embarrassment. “Well yeah ... once or twice I suppose.”

“Look at me Michael,” she said. I glanced up at her obediently.

“Did you like what you saw?” she whispered.

“I g-guess,” I replied, “Like what guy wouldn’t, to be honest Rachel?”

I wondered if a plate was headed my way.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked, seemingly changing the subject and coming over to the breakfast nook where she sat down opposite me.

Now I was forced to avert my eyes from her very noticeable cleavage.

“I’m fifteen in case you’ve forgotten Rach,” I answered. “My best friend right now is my Nintendo Switch.”.

She said nothing for several seconds, just sitting there looking at me like I was in need of a hand-out.

“You’re really very sweet,” she said, smiling directly at me. “Are you a virgin still?”

I had been wondering the same about her but this really wasn’t the time to ask.

“Yeah,” I muttered, glancing back down at the floor tiles. “No great opportunity to be anything else,”

“Would you like to kiss me?” she asked after a few more moments’ silence.

“Are you serious?” I said to her. “You’d let me kiss you?”