Chapter 1

If my parents have told me once, they’ve told me a million times ... yeah, you know the rest. “Don’t slam the door!” It’s usually pop hollering at me as I race through the house heading for the front door. “Don’t slam the damn door!” Regardless of how it’s said, I know slamming the front door in our domicile is heavily frowned upon.

I try to respect their wishes, but let’s be honest, I forget sometimes. However, this time as I slammed the door, I felt I had every right in the world to slam the front door. Not only that door, also every other door in the house and perhaps the car doors too just for good measure. The reason for my anger? Dad had just informed the family that the house was going to be put up for sale and we were going to move to a new city. School had just ended for vacation and my summer was ruined as well. Without my knowing it, my whole vacation had now been planned. I was going to spend it packing and preparing to move. Thinking things over, I wanted to go back in the house and slam the door again; but I also knew if I gave into whims like that, I’d never see the ripe old age of 17.

I was aware dad was looking for a new job, but it had never occurred to me that it meant we might move. Some company had offered dad a new job and it meant we were going to move to Minneapolis.

Minneapolis!

Hells bells, I even had to look up how to spell the damn thing. I had two years of high school left, and now we’re going to move. The best two years of my entire school experience were ahead of me, and I was going to miss out. Not to mention I was up for the varsity football and baseball teams. It was so unfair. You know, when you’re 16, a lot of life seems unfair. Right now, I felt life really sucked!

I headed out to the garage and pulled my bicycle off the rack. At this point I was so pissed I didn’t even tell my parents where I was going. I knew I needed to leave before I ended up saying something really stupid and having both of them so angry there would be no way to recover. Since I was so hurt and angry, I didn’t take any time to make a plan, or have a specific destination in mind. I was just going to ride around.

Even though I have my driver’s license, I knew there was no point in asking if I could take the family car. There was no way they were going to let me use the car just so I could go riding around. And the ramifications of taking the family car without asking was something I didn’t ever want to contemplate. Anyway, I decided it was better being on my bicycle since I really wasn’t paying much attention to things and driving when you are not paying attention is not a good idea. To top it all off, for some reason it seemed that my eyes were watering, and it made it difficult to see. I knew it couldn’t be tears ‘cause 16 is too old to cry.

I cruised past my best friend’s house and because he was still up at the lake visiting his grandparents, there was no need to stop. With no destination in mind, I wandered aimlessly around town. By the time I started to pay attention to my location, I was riding through the “ritzy” part of town. Coming around a corner, I saw a moving van parked in front of what used to be the house of the past president of dad’s bank. I’d gone to school with their son, but he was two years ahead of me and we didn’t say much to each other. The other issue was I was part of the jock crowd, and he ran with the wealthier kids, the elite crowd ... and never shall the twain meet. Shortly after he graduated, his father moved to a nice position down in LA. As I peddled up the street, I wondered, “How come pop can’t find a job in LA ... instead of igloo land?” The only thing I really knew about Minneapolis was it was cold in the winter, like really cold.

I ask you, how sexy can a chick be when she is 10 layers deep in long johns and a parka?

I came around the side of the moving van and I observed a cute girl who appeared around my age starting to pick a box off the back. From the way she struggled, it appeared it was a heavy box. Because the box appeared heavy for her, I stopped, jumped off my bike, and offered to carry the box. When she turned to look at me, it was a good thing I wasn’t carrying the box. I would have dropped it for sure. She was beautiful. No, I mean gorgeous. No, I mean ... well, at sixteen years of age I do not possess the words to do her justice.

At first when I popped out of nowhere, she was startled. When our eyes met, she smiled at me. In that moment, I was blown away. This young woman was a LA ten. That is to say, she was a genuine ten+. I have no idea how heavy the box was, and I didn’t care, I just knew I would carry it to the ends of the earth. All she had to do was ask.

As it turned out, the box really was heavy. It was a good idea I stopped and offered to carry it for her, because I doubt if she’d have been able to carry it very far. She asked me to carry it upstairs, and into a room I assumed was hers due to the color, and the furniture. She showed me where to set the box down, and I was grateful when I could finally set it down. It’s a guy thing, it was important she didn’t know how heavy the box was, even for me. It had been a bit difficult for me to carry but she couldn’t know. I mean, there is such a thing as being cool!

After I put the box where she wanted it, she came up to me, looked up at me, put out her hand, and said, “Hi, my name is Mandy. We just moved from Boston. You’re the first person I’ve met from here. What’s your name?”

She said the sentences so they ran together without taking a breath. I answered, “Bill.” One word! That was all I could come up with given the circumstances. I was dumbstruck with her beauty. Her eyes were an amazing shade of blue, and her dark brown hair drawn back in a ponytail. For some reason, I’ve always liked ponytails. She was wearing short-shorts, which displayed her cute butt to perfection, and a short-sleeved blouse with the tails tied under small, but nice sized breasts. Her smile was warm, and when she would grin at me, it seemed that her face would just light up. She had a cute nose, and I thought her face was exquisite.

I just stood there like a dumb ass staring at her. I was speechless. Finally, Mandy frowned as she spoke, “Is there something wrong? Are you OK?”

I tried to pull it all together and give her more than another one-word answer. “Yeah. Sure. I’m sorry. The point is I just didn’t’ expect to meet somebody like you ... I mean, as cute as you.” At that point, I though the best thing to say was, “I’m speechless.”

She grinned at me as her hand reached out and a finger touched my cheek. I was positive if I checked in the mirror, I’d find I had blisters on my cheek. “Thanks,” Mandy looked down, and I thought I heard her murmur, “You’re kinda cute too.”

I was positive I didn’t hear her correctly. Had she really said she thought I was cute? I have a reasonably good body from playing sports, but I wish I were a little taller than my current six feet. I got my curly hair from mom’s side of the family, and it is a real pain to try to keep it combed. My eyes are a weird color somewhere between a green, brown, and blue. I’ve heard that I’m handsome, but that was from my parents, and everybody knows they don’t know shit about what a guy should look like. Besides, they have to tell me I’m handsome ‘cause that’s part of their job.

I wanted to stick around, so I asked if there were any more boxes I could help with. She grinned at me as she reached out, took my hand, and dragged me back down the stairs. For the next couple of hours I was turned into a pack mule. I helped Mandy with her boxes going to her room while the moving people handled the rest of the stuff on the van. I met Mandy’s mother in-between trips on the stairs, and she told me her father was still back in Boston taking care of whatever he had to take care of.

Mandy’s mother is what’s called a MILF. If you don’t know what that means the first three letters stand for “Mothers I’d Love.” Actually, to say it correctly, I think it should say MILTF ... the T stands for “to” by the way. Her hair was darker than Mandy’s, and I could see where Mandy’s eye color came from. Mrs. Burke had a great figure for an older woman even though she had it all covered up with a baggy sweatshirt and pants.

When she asked me my name, I told her, and as we shook hands, she told me her name was Francis Burke. I politely told Mrs. Burke it was nice to meet her, and she informed me she wanted to meet the mother of such a sweet boy who would spend his morning helping strangers move. There was no point in trying to explain to her that I’d do just about anything Mandy asked me to do.

I think it was like the second or third trip going up the stairs after I met Mrs. Burke when the coin finally dropped. Her last name was Burke! I asked Mandy “Is your father related to anybody out at the new Burke Manufacturing plant?”

“Yeah, Walter Burke is my father.” In that instant, I saw every one of my fantasies come crashing down. Burke Manufacturing is a big deal ... a very big deal. Our town had been trying for some time to convince Mr. Burke to move his factory to our town when it was learned he wanted to find a new location. The new plant meant lots and lots of new jobs to the community, and for the next few years, the city fathers saw nothing but prosperity for our town. If Walter Burke was her father, she was not going to settle for a peon like me. I was sure she had boyfriends who had their own cars and would take her to dinner at the country club, not a kid who had to borrow the family car just to take her to McDonalds. I was bummed, but I tried not to let Mandy see it.

About mid-afternoon, I decided I should at least check in with home, so I went out to my bike, and retrieved my cell phone from a pouch I have on the handlebars. I’d turned it off and when I powered up my phone, I saw I’d missed three calls. When I called home, mom answered. There were no pleasantries; she went right to the point. “Where have you been and where are you?” She snapped.

“Hi mom.”

“Don’t you ‘hi mom’ me young man. I asked you a question.”

There was no doubt ... I was in deep shit. “I’m over at the old bank president’s house.”

There was a pause and then she continued, “I thought it was sold and was empty. What were you doing over there?” Even though I could tell she was upset with me by the tone in her voice, she also was puzzled why I was at the bank president’s old place.

“It just sold, and some people from Boston are moving in. I was helping move boxes.”

“What took you so long to check in? We became worried. Anyway, dad wants you to come home now.” Mom’s voice had mellowed a bit, but not much.

“Do I have to come home right now? I am sorta busy.” I pleaded.

“Dad wants you home now.” The snap was returning in her voice.

“Mom,” I continued to plead.

“What part of ‘now’ didn’t you understand?” Her voice was back to the tone of voice she had when I first called. “NOW! Do you understand me mister? Now!” The last word gave me notice she was in no mood to argue.

“Yes ma’am, I’m on my way.” I replied sheepishly.

Mandy came up to my bike, and her face looked sad. “Do you really have to go?”

“Yeah. I guess I’m in trouble for not checking in before now.” I looked down at the ground, embarrassed Mandy found out I was still very much at my parent’s beck-and-call.

She put her hand on my arm, and told me, “I wish you didn’t have to leave.” She gave me her cute grin.

“Really?” Her comment surprised me. Mandy nodded her head, and her ponytail bobbed up and down. I continued, “Not as sorry as I am. Perhaps I can see you again?” My voice trailed off. I had to admit, I really didn’t expect she would want to see me again. This young lady was way out of my league.

“Do you really want to see me again?” The surprise obvious in her voice.

Her surprise surprised me, and I blurted out, “Are you serious? Why would you ask that?” I couldn’t believe she would possibly think I would not want to see her again.

“Well, you are very handsome, and ... well, I um,” I felt so shocked that this beautiful girl would be interested in somebody like me. Mandy glanced down, and when she spoke, she looked at me through hair hanging over her eyes. “I don’t think I’m very good-looking and you can do...”

“What?” I abruptly interrupted her.

She seemed a bit startled by the way I spouted off. She looked down as she told me, “I think my eyes are a weird color, my hair is usually frizzy, and I’m flat chested.” Her last comment made her cheeks turn red.

Without thinking, the words just burst out of my mouth, “Your body is great; really sexy, and I don’t think you’re flat chested. I think you’re...” Then realizing what I’d just said, and where the conversation was going, I stopped, and I also turned beet red.

Mandy looked up at me through her bangs, “So, you’ve been checking me out?” Thankfully, she winked at me letting me know she was teasing me.

I figured since her station in life was so far above mine, I had nothing to lose by being honest with her. “Oh yeah.”

“And?”

“Like I said, your body is perfect. It just so happens I love ponytails, your eyes are really cool, and you are far from flat chested. If I were a betting man, I’d bet you’ll be one of the sexiest girls at the high school this year. I just can’t believe you said you were sorry I had to leave.”

She looked at the ground for a moment, and then looked me in the eye, “I’d like to see you again, and I think you’re nice.” She paused for a moment as if she was trying to decide if she wanted to ask me something. Finally, she asked, “Do you ever sneak out at night?” Mandy reached out and took my hand. “Sometimes I like to sneak out and walk around by myself. I feel if I don’t walk around outside, sometimes I’m going to go crazy. I love mom and dad, but they are so overprotective. Anyway, will you sneak out tonight, and we can walk around together?” I was sure my head was bobbing up and down so fast it was going to fall off. Mandy continued, “How about we meet at the park down at the end of the block?” She pointed towards Howard Denny Park down at the end of her street. “Can you be there by 10:30 tonight?”

This was a first. No girl had ever asked me out before. And for sure, no girl had ever asked me to sneak out and meet her somewhere. I wanted Mandy to know I’d be there unless I had problems at home. “If I’m not there, it’s ‘cause I wasn’t able to sneak out of the house. Otherwise, I’ll be there. Promise!”

Mandy leaned forward and kissed my cheek. Her kiss actually started to give me a “chub.” That was a first. Not my first chub, but it was the first time just a peck on the cheek started to wake things up. “I can hardly wait,” she whispered. She glanced down and noticed my cell phone still in my hand. She reached out and took it from me. Quickly she punched in some of the buttons, and as she handed the phone back to me, she grinned at me. “That’s my cell number. Do you text?” I nodded my head yes. “What’s yours?” After giving her my number, I climbed on my bike. Since I knew I was already late, I didn’t want to push my parents any further than I already had and I quickly headed for home.

I don’t remember the ride back home. All I remember was Mandy giving me one more quick kiss on my cheek, a gentle squeeze of my hand, and telling me she’d see me later in the park. Suddenly I realized I was pulling into our garage without any clue how I got there.

I put my bike away but made sure it would be easy to reach tonight if I could sneak out. When I walked into the kitchen I hear mom yell from upstairs, “Bill, is that you?”