"You okay? You haven't even said so much as 'good morning' to me, and it's 12:15 now," Danny said, taking a seat across from her at the lunch table. It wasn't like his girlfriend not to come up to him in the mornings and give him that huge smile he loved so much.
Bless his heart, she thought, a small smile coming to her face. "I'm just tired." It wasn't a lie- she was tired. But that wasn't why she was avoiding him. She was avoiding him because he got turned on while they were kissing. She felt it, and she liked it. She was appalled at herself.
"Because of your parents, huh?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I've been at my Nonna's house since Friday. It's better there, but... you know."
"Yeah," he really didn't, but he wanted to be supportive and there for her. "Do you want to come over after school? After some homework, we could just... talk."
Talking. Talking is what we did last time. Talking led to kissing, and kissing led to you getting turned on. And that led to dreams.
"I think I'd actually like to go home today. If that's okay with you."
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be okay?"
Her brain seemed to short circuit. "Uh..." She couldn't think of her reasons; she couldn't even think of an excuse. Thankfully for her, though, Danny had a short attention span.
"I brought you cookies today," he took the cookies out of his lunch bag. "I made sure there were extra chocolate chips in there, since you love chocolate so much.... I hope they don't give you Zits."
She took the cookies then held his hand. She looked into his beautiful hazel eyes, "thank you."
"You're welcome. Do you like any other sweets? Maybe I can get a baking book from the library- or wherever it is people sell or lend them out- and ask my Mom to make it."
"The brownies and cookies are perfect."
**********
Linda looked at the girls, her heart pounding. "Can I ask you girls something private?"
"What's up?" Cherry wondered, looking up from her notebook.
"It's about dating-"
"Ooh," chorused the girls.
"Gimme specifics, girl," Simone encouraged the blonde.
"This doesn't go beyond here, agreed?"
They nodded in agreement, all morning promises of keeping the secret.
"A few days ago, Danny invited me over to his house to do homework-"
"But he had more than homework on his mind," Ally guessed.
"It was my fault, really it was. We started kissing, like really kissing, like making out, and," she sighed. She hadn't told anyone this, not even her grandmother or her best friend.
"He got turned on," Simone filled in, connecting the dots.
Linda nodded.
"First time feeling it?" Cherry raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. Linda was a sweet girl- but extremely naïve.
She nodded again, "yeah."
"He didn't try anything though? 'Cause an an ex of his, I have the rights to kick his ass," Ally offered.
"No, he would never do that."
"Mhmm," the girls agreed, not believing her.
"He wouldn't! He apologized... and we stopped, and after that I left."
"So what's your problem? It seems to me like you solved it."
Linda looked down at her grey stockings. She pulled on the hem of her skirt self-consciously. "I'm... pretty sure that I don't want sex, but... it's, um... What if I'm making a mistake? What if I'm missing out?"
"Sex with Reagan? Oh you're definitely missing out."
Linda frowns— maybe befriending Ally wasn't the best idea.
"Not helping, Ally," Cherry looked to the redhead. "Ultimately it's your choice."
"When did you decide?"
"I met him at camp, he was working there. His name was Chris."
"And?"
"And that was it. After that summer, I never saw him again."
Linda frowned again, turning to Ally— who's advice would probably not be the best. She realized that too late though.
"Long story short, it was the wrong guy. But you're gonna have to go through a lot of frogs before you find your prince."
"You want my advice?" Simone asked, continuing when Linda nodded. "You should wait. Wait until you're one hundred percent ready. And if that's on your honeymoon, then that's your choice."
"I know I joke about it a lot, but Simone's right," Ally agreed. "If anyone makes fun of you for that, then they don't deserve you."
"You're a very nice girl, Linda, but very naïve. And that's okay. If you want it that way, then you need to hold on to that as long as you can. If Reagan tries to change that, then he doesn't deserve you." Cherry stood and sat next to Linda, putting a supportive arm around her.
"And we will definitely kick his ass," Ally smiled as the other girls nodded.
"Thanks, girls," Linda smiled, feeling a little better.
********
"Cupcakes."
Danny looked at her, "for what?"
"You asked me what other types of sweets I like. Cupcakes. Chocolate or otherwise. And scones and danishes. Cheese danishes are amazing."
"Cupcakes, scones, and danishes. Got it." He smiled at her as they headed to their next class. "One question though."
"Yeah?"
"What's a scone?"
She laughed out loud, "oh, Danny, I love you." The words were out before she could stop them.
He stopped, making her stop, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Gosh, she loved it when he did that. "I love you too."
"I think I've changed my mind. About coming over. I want to come over, and do homework. And... talk."
He smiled, "good. I like talking with you. I like hearing your thoughts. They're smart."
She blushed profusely, "get to class, Reagan."
"Only of you come with me."
She'd go with him anywhere.
********
October 20, 1996
"You know what? I'm glad we waited." Linda said as she traced nonsensical patterns on her husband's chest. She was pressed against him, his arm around her, and it felt so... safe, so right.
"Oh yeah?"
"Mhmm. It felt right. I think I would have felt... wrong if we did it in high school."
"I admire you, Linda... Mrs. Reagan," Danny kissed her cheek and she smiled and blushed. "You stuck to your principals, and didn't fold to the peer pressure and societal norms. It takes a strong person to do that."
She propped herself on her elbow, looking at him with a smile on her face. "Kiss your wife and say that again."
"I'm proud of you for sticking to your guns," he kissed her, lowering her to the mattress.
You definitely made the right choice, Linda. 100 percent.
