Fork 2

“So now that you’ve got super powers, do you think you’ll talk to Freddie?” Elyssa asked, again, on the ride to school.

“I did last time,” I told her.

She shook her head. “Oh, right. So this is...?”

“Number two,” I declared. “Look, Elyssa, I need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to be cold to Freddie, okay? Like, go out of your way for it.”

She frowned. “Why? I don’t want to be mean.”

“I know, but ... He won’t give me the time of day if he thinks he’s got a chance with you. Maybe if you push him away, there will be more room for me?”

She glanced at my bracelet before answering. “Whatever you need, Gretch.”

I definitely couldn’t concentrate in Algebra this time, and when Social Studies came around, I kicked myself for not remembering to look up the answers to the test. I did the best I could. In P.E. I daydreamed about hot guys again.

Elyssa suggested that I go to the party without her, but I figured it would be better if she were there, actively snubbing Freddie. She tried to dress unattractively, but she still looked like a supermodel.

Freddie and I actually sort of bonded over his complaints about how Elyssa was treating him. That’s how it started, anyway. And I sort of let it slip that she planned to not have sex until college. But then we found other stuff to talk about. We actually liked a lot of the same movies and music. He said he’d always liked redheads.

We took a walk around the pool and stopped to look at the waterfall. I don’t know how I found the courage, but I moved real close to him and rested my head on his chest. Then, he lifted my chin with his finger and he kissed me. My first kiss! While we were kissing he even put his hand on my boob. I whispered that he could go under my shirt if he wanted, and so he did. That was so intense! It wasn’t the actual boob-touching that shocked me - I still had my bra on after all - but just feeling his hand sliding up the skin of my belly and ribs overloaded my brain. This was a boy, actually touching me!

William’s parents started flashing the lights and rounding kids up: it was time to go home. I told Elyssa everything on the drive back to her house, and she was super excited for me.

“So are you done now? You’ve figured out how to talk to Freddie,” Elyssa suggested.

“Not just yet - I can do it better.” I pressed the reset button.