Love Story: Amber & Larry

Chapter 2: The Very First Date

I know not exactly a good title to lead you into our story more but it is important to separate from the previous chapter. It was towards the end of Summer, a long Summer at that, and I had no one to hang out with or anything. Out of the blue, it dawned on me that I never asked Larry out for the years we were talking though he never asked me out either, not sure why on that. Anyways, I took the plunge at the end of July, middle of the week to call his Dad's house, and surprisingly he answered, it was him, I was so shocked and I had to quit giggling. Because most of the time when I called it was his Dad. That call meant so much to me too that afternoon or evening it gave me a real sense that it would be it, I would have a chance at settling down with a guy that I really liked.

After having my giggles settle down and actually talking to him. I had asked Larry out, I wanted to be able to see where we would go from just being friends. He really was my only friend that I could talk to. I remember being so nervous about asking him out too because at that time it was supposed to be boys asking girls as the mantra went. Thankfully, he agreed, then he asked where I wanted to go. I didn't have a direct answer because I never went on an actual date with anyone besides JoeL and it was mostly to the movies or hang with his groups, it was all I knew. The last thing I wanted was to go to a movie, but there wasn't much else to do on the weekends besides bowling or skating. We decided for that weekend to watch I,Robot if you have never seen it, don't worry it is an unpopular Will Smith movie though it is Sci-Fi/Fantasy type.

This is where the turn of events happens.

Impatiently waiting for that Saturday couldn't come fast enough. I kept imagining a good date and getting another one after. It was all sorted out in my head too. I imagined my life with him, being his wife, and having a couple of kids together. This was before I became a freshman at fifteen going on sixteen. I wasn't exactly close to his age but I did remember asking him his age when he revealed that he turned nineteen the month prior, I didn't think about our age gap at all. I did tell my mom that I believed he was eighteen or nineteen, she shrugged it off that evening, not too concerned and it went smooth sailing at that point.

Saturday had arrived. I got myself dressed up to meet him in a blouse, blue jeans, and shoes, nothing too special, spritz on some perfume then it was off to Crystal River Mall to meet the man of my dreams. Once me, my parents, and my two younger siblings were around, we walked around the mall to find him because I forgot to mention where we were supposed to meet, which should have been the food court since it was the center of the mall. This mall was only one story too. I say it was because it is torn down and no longer exists. I had no idea what he looked like or what he wore as we walked around the mall to find him because I guessed he would look like his brother Bryan. That is all I went by. As I was talking to my sister who had doubts that he would show up and I would get stood up, he called my name, I had to look for the source and once our eyes met that was it. My god did I melt. I said his name back to him and we greeted each other with a hand shake since we didn't know how to approach one another. He looked so good in his buttoned flannel shirt, tight blue jeans, and boots. He also had the same tan as his brother which made my heart skip.

He paid for the movie for me and my younger siblings that night. He was such a gentleman, I couldn't believe it. He bought us drinks and snacks too. He let me guide us to our seats too. I didn't hold his hand during the movie, I was too nervous and my sister would have told on me because he was an adult. It was a good movie but the best part was we were able to talk about it before meeting my parents outside the theater since they had dinner together while waiting on us kids. I gave him a hug and told him, "Don't forget about me." Feeling his arms wrapped around me, I never forgot that either. It was the best date I had with any boy at that point. The reason I told him not to forget about me was because I was hoping for a second date and to see him again, what happened next is where I didn't know why, why it happened. To this day, I still believe my sister is behind it as I will explain much later. My dad was okay with me and Larry, my mom on the other hand asked him his age and told him if he ever came around me again the law would be called. I didn't know, I honestly didn't. As I mentioned, it was only a date, we didn't do anything and he knew I was a minor. I went home with my parents with hopes for a second date that never came. I didn't call him again, I didn't do anything to fix the situation. I was only fifteen and didn't understand why he never came back. I thought that it was my fault or he didn't like me that way. My life was never the same after that.