Chapter 4: Winners and Losers

I had a hunch that Ginny was going to try and surprise me when she decided we would go all the way. I'd been patient because I was getting almost as much sex as anyone of my age could ever expect but just not the ultimate reward. She had not yet decided exactly what she was going to do with her future but she had accepted my help in getting her grades up and the first results appeared at Christmas.

"Look! Look, Hal!" she cried as she skidded to a stop in front of my locker.

I took the report card from her hand and opened it. The results were self-evident. She had improved in every class and had a number of written comments about her change for the better.

"Congratulations, Ginny," I smiled, putting my arm around her and giving her a nice kiss."

"Ahem, Mr. Berglund," came a distinctly adult male voice behind me. It was Mr. Samuelson, my math teacher.

"I'm sure you're aware of the prohibition on outward displays of affection on the school grounds," he pronounced.

"Yes, sir," I scrambled. "I was just rewarding Miss Fontaine for her excellent marks this semester, sir."

"I'm well aware of Miss Fontaine's improved scholastic standing. However, please refrain from outward displays that might be considered a violation of school policy."

"Yes, sir," I said, as he turned and walked away.

"Geez, Hal, I though he was going to give us a detention at least."

"Yeah. Well, he's a good guy. I think he knows how proud I am of you."

"Maybe, but the only guy I care about knowing is you. My folks are going to be so happy when I show them this."

"So, it was worth the effort then?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oh yeah. If I can keep this up I may just get a chance at a scholarship after all."

She did keep it up. By the end of the school year she was in the top ten percent in her classes and was getting all kinds of positive reinforcement from me, her parents, her teachers and even her friends. I was getting the lion's share of the reward though. By Christmas, I was no longer a virgin. Ginny had surprised me on Christmas Eve. She called it an early Christmas present. Some presents are way, way, better than others.

We were downstairs in my house and my parents were across the street visiting the neighbours as they usually did on Christmas Eve. They wouldn't be back until almost midnight when each of us, including Ginny, would open one present. In the meantime, Ginny and I were in our usual naked state applying our oral skills to bring each other satisfaction.

"It's time, Hal. I want you to make love to me tonight. I'm on the pill so you don't have to worry about condoms. You've been amazingly patient with me. I don't think any other guy could be a cool about my holding you off as long as I have. It just reminds me how special you are and tonight I want to reward you for that patience."

There wasn't anything I could say. I'd been waiting for this moment for months and now it was here. I didn't want to blow it but I knew the first time that I wouldn't last very long. We had talked about that but Ginny said it wouldn't bother her because the second and third time would be so much better. She was right.

The one thing about being young and fit is the ability to recover quickly from strenuous effort. We made love and held each other three times that evening. Each time was better than the one before. Ginny had orgasms each time because she had taught me just what would bring them about. I made sure I looked after her all three times.

We lay on the bed for a while afterwards, just holding each other and not talking. Some kissing and fondling but there didn't seem to be anything that needed to be said. It was everything I hoped it would be and, from Ginny's actions, I gather she was pleased as well. Not many guys could say the same thing about their first time.

It was just after 11 pm when I dragged myself out of the bed and into the bathroom. My parents would be home soon and I didn't want to embarrass either them or Ginny. I had a hunch my mother knew I was no longer a novice at personal relations with my girlfriend but I didn't really want to have her suspicions confirmed quite this vividly.

I was soaping myself in the shower when the curtain was pulled back and Ginny stepped in, joining me.

"I think it's a good idea to get the smell of sex off us," she said.

I hadn't even thought of that.

"I made the bed but the sheets will need washing soon. We left a couple of big wet spots," she giggled.

"No problem," I said. "I can look after that tomorrow or the next day when they're out."

Less than ten minutes later we were dressed and upstairs in the living room, a cola in hand and the TV tuned to an old black and white seasonal movie. I had my arm around Ginny and she was comfortably resting against me, every once in a while giving me a kiss. I was thinking that this was already the best Christmas ever.

We didn't get to spend as much time with each other as I would have liked over the summer before our senior year. I had a job working with a local newspaper, learning both the journalism and publishing end of the business. Mr. Chevrier had helped me when I let him know I was planning on studying journalism at college when I finished high school. He knew the owner of the paper and suggested a summer internship. I was granted an interview and hired, although the pay was very small. I didn't care. I was getting the chance to learn about the business.

I can recall my feeling of elation when my first story was published. It was a two column piece on a music festival held out in the country. I must have spent three or four hours with those few words but my boss seemed pleased with it and it led to more opportunities that summer. I carefully clipped out each one and pasted them in a scrapbook. It was a beginning.

Ginny was in seventh heaven, it seemed. Once again, Mr. Chevrier had helped. He found her a job in the stables, feeding and grooming the horses, cleaning the stalls, and walking the horses from the stable to the corral or pasture so they could graze. It also paid very little but she would have done it for nothing. If she wasn't riding with Mr. Chevrier to the ranch she was borrowing her mother's car to get to work.

By now, you must have gathered that Marcel Chevrier had taken a special interest in me and then Ginny. He had gone out of his way to help us, first with the riding, then with introductions to people who would give us jobs in the area that interested us both. He was a special man and I talked to my parents and Ginny's as well about what we could do to thank him for his help.

We knew that he was seeing the lady that owned the ranch. He seemed to be up there almost every day so it was no inconvenience for him to give us a ride when it was needed. Just the same, it took the collective brainpower of both the Berglund and Fontaine families to come up with something appropriate.

By now, the two sets of parents had met each other and, wonder of wonders, they got along really well. In fact, they were going out and doing things together. I guess they approved of Ginny and I being together although they never said anything one way or the other.

It was my father who came up with the answer. He had won a trip for two to Quebec City and three nights in the Chateau Frontenac. It was an elegant old stone hotel on the bluffs above the St. Lawrence River and the "Old Town." It seemed the perfect gift for a man who had gone out of his way to help us and all six of us went to his house to present him with it.

"I'm overwhelmed," he said after Ginny and I had presented him with the envelope. "You didn't need to do this. I was happy to help you youngsters. You are what I hope will be the next generation of leaders in this country. And I'm also pleased that your parents are with you today. They deserve a lot of credit for raising two very fine young people."

"That's very nice of you to say, Mr. Chevrier," Ginny's father said. "We're pretty proud of them too but you've been a special friend and we wanted to thank you for that."

We sat in his living room for a while, talking about our plans after school. Ginny was now committed to entering a veterinary technician course, possibly in Vermont, while I was intending to apply to Algonquin College in Ottawa. It meant we would be separated and I wasn't looking forward to that.

I was pretty sure I wanted to make Ginny my life partner. I was convinced I was in love with her and I only hoped that she was in love with me. We seemed so good together. We had grown closer in the past year and seldom had any disagreement about anything. We were both seventeen but when we graduated from college we would be in our early twenties and ready for the real world and a life together. Or so I thought.

If there was any doubt in my mind, it would be the separation when were went to college. She would be exposed to a lot of young men who I knew would be anxious to get to know her. Would she be able to resist? Would she want to? After all, she wasn't a virgin when we first met so maybe it was unrealistic to expect her to wait several years for me. I tried to put this worry out of my mind. After all, it was a year in the future and a lot could happen between now and then.

We picked up where we left off when we returned to school for our senior year. We were as close as any two young people could be. We studied together, had lunch together, spent the weekends together and, of course, made love together. I had grown up quite a bit in the past year, not just emotionally but physically as well. I was now six-foot-one and one-hundred-eighty pounds. I had grown into the fully developed man that my mother and Ginny predicted. My days of being the class dweeb seemed a long time ago.

Ginny had changed too. She was much more serious about her studies. She had a goal and she was clearly committed to earning the best marks she could to achieve that goal. It was fun to watch her succeed. At first, she surprised herself but later she came to expect it. She pushed herself to do better and I was dragged along for the ride. As a consequence, my grades improved as well. As it turned out, that was both a blessing and a curse.