our last summer. (e.m)

fourteen: the first time for everything.

what would a woman be without her sisterhood?
i hope i'll never have to find out.
nancy giggles girlishly by my side as i tell her about the night i spent with eddie.
i am more appreciative of my femininity now than i've ever been before.
"oh, my god!"
she squeals as i collapse into nothing but laughter.
my cheeks hurt from how hard i'm smiling,
my skin is hot with a blush,
but it feels good after so long being deprived;
of having the opposite by being malnourished under eddie's absence.
all i can think about now is how,
even after all that's happened between us,
eddie munson is who i woke up this to this very morning.
i admired him as he slept soundly in my arms,
wearing the look of total absolution from his burdens.
even if for a few hours,
knowing he was at peace was a beautiful sight.
i kissed his cheek while soft snores escaped from his slightly parted lips.
we'd finally overcome the only obstacle keeping us apart,
and how euphoric it is.
what is preventing us from now falling deeper into each other?
besides the obvious threat of the summers end,
though neither of us are willing to think about that so soon.
why ruin the bliss?
"that's so good to hear, y/n. i'm glad it all worked out."
i give her a smile then nudge her leg with my own beneath the table.
"wouldn't have happened without your help."
"what are friends for?"
at this thought,
i prod at nancy to ask,
"so...what's going on with johnny boy?"
nancy takes a few stabs at her melting ice cream then sighs out,
"i don't know. i'm worried we've just...plateaued."
"well, have you tried to, you know, spice it up?"
nancy gapes at me then playfully smacks my arm at the question.
"y/n l/n!"
"oh, gross, nancy. not that kind of spice it up. i just meant that maybe it would do you two some good to, like, go on a spontaneous road trip. or-or rent out a motel for the night so y'all can be alone."
nancy snickers then mimics me,
"y'all."
i roll my eyes and it's enough to make her giggle.
"i'm teasing. but maybe you're right. something to revamp our relationship. we've both been so busy, i guess we fell flat."
"but it doesn't have to be that way. there's always time for fun. it's summer time!"
i throw my balled up napkin at her right as the shops bell rings to signal someone's entering.
"eddie?"
nancy turns her head at my calling to see the one and only,
eddie munson,
walking into the shop her and i currently occupy.
he breaks into a smile but it falters when he sees nancy.
i wave him over as to say,
it's okay.
she knows.
he responds by sliding into the seat beside me.
"thanks for hijacking my date."
nancy's tone is full of sarcasm,
but her smile is genuine.
"wish i could say i was sorry, fancy nancy."
"mhm."
i snicker at their banter then turn to ask,
"what are you doing here?"
as i slide the rest of my ice cream to him.
though he's trying to inconspicuously eye it,
he's failing miserably.
he grins up at me like i've read his mind then says,
"i wanted to ask you something."
"okay...what's up?"
eddie takes a few bites of the melted ice cream then whispers,
"i was wondering if you'd like to, you know, come-come over tonight."
nancy pretends she's not listening by looking out of the window,
but i can see the same surprise flash in her eyes that flashes in mine.
"to your place?"
"well, duh."
despite his attempts to joke,
the tension that collects in the creases of his smile is not to be mistaken.
he's nervous in asking me of this.
he is not only asking me to visit his home,
but to step inside his word.
the world i was left unaccounted for,
the world anew i might never know otherwise.
"i can't think of a better way to spend my night,"
i tell him with a reassuring smile,
pressing a gentle, quick kiss to his cheek.
"i'll be there."
eddie blushes under my kiss and my excitement to see him in his sacred space.
though eddie and i have yet to discuss the bounds of our newfound relationship,
we find that our hands are yearning to find one another again;
what we've begun in the night now has no ending to it.
he snakes a hand around my waist to keep me close and finds satisfaction in the way my breathing hitches under his touch.
"see you later. don't miss me too much."
"i won't, believe me."
eddie pretends like he's convinced by nodding his head with a look of feigned understanding.
"bye, nancy."
he waves goodbye by twitching his fingers then leaves me with one last parting gesture,
just until the nightfall.
he smooths the back of his fingers down my cheek,
all while wearing the most ravishing smile,
then he's gone.
"my, god!"
nancy says as she fans herself off in a moments joke.
"stop!"
i plead through a giggle as i rest my sweltering cheek onto the cool table.
"it's been ten years and you can't even last thirty seconds in public anymore?"
i pick my head back up to give nancy a warning stare,
though it does no good when the smile on my lips is wide and bright.
"it's different now. that's all."
"i see that."
the knowing grins are exchanged before nancy and i collapse into our laughter.
we soon collect our belongings and head out into the hawkins heat,
where our skin immediately thaws out under this beaming sun.
"are you excited for tonight?"
nancy asks me as we begin our stroll through the town.
"yeah. i'm glad he's opening up some."
"looks like he won't be the only one opening up tonight,"
nancy mumbles beneath her breath.
understanding the innuendo,
i look to her with wide eyes and gasp,
"nancy wheeler!"
she titters into the palms of her hands then defends herself with,
"what! why else would he invite you to his house?"
"because we always meet at mine! and-and he's meeting me halfway."
nancy raises her eyebrows as she sings,
"okay, whatever you say, clover."
a blush crawls up from my chest and embeds itself into the skin of my cheeks.
could nancy be telling the truth?
is eddie planning a night of whirlwind seduction?
i can't help but to bring a hand to my throat at the thought.
"you have nothing to worry about. if you don't want to do it tonight, just tell him. he wouldn't make you do anything you wouldn't want to do."
"it's not that. i just...i've never, you know."
nancy faces me head on to echo,
"you've never?"
"no! and that's not a big deal either, okay?"
i say with a pointed finger to her.
"i mean, i've just graduated, for christ's sake!"
nancy hides a smile behind her hand then removes it when she begins speaking,
"no, totally. everyone goes at their own pace. i'm just surprised, is all."
"why?"
"i don't know. i thought maybe you would've found some southern cowboy to let have your virginity."
the word covers me crimson,
all in embarrassment.
"ugh. this is mortifying."
"not at all! look, this whole "being a virgin is embarrassing" thing is nothing more than a ploy used by little boys so that they can shame you into having sex with them. it's yours to keep or yours to give. you decide."
nancy wraps an arm around my shoulder then brings me into her side.
"and if you happen to decide on eddie munson, i'll be waiting by the phone."
i pretend to push her away but make no effort to genuinely break us apart.
this bonding that i have missed out on is beginning to make me feel warm from the inside out.
nancy wheeler,
my best friend.