Sophia has never been so anxious in her life. Even as she lies in her memory foam bed, she can’t stay still. Her fingers and toes twitch in anticipation and her whole body feels warm. She’s been waiting for hours, trying to stay calm in her bed while her whole body is fighting it. Under the sheets and over her body is her favorite -and Noah’s-outfit. The red fabric wraps tightly around her waist, and scoops up towards her neck in a strappy fashion, the back of the shirt is non-existent, maybe that’s why he likes it so much, or maybe its because it makes it look like she actually has breasts. Then, she sees it, under the crack of her door the last light in the house goes out. Her room is pitch black, not even the moon peeks through her heavily curtained windows. She counts in her head to 120, two minutes, and the coast will be clear. She’s been planning this night for ages, calculating how long her parents take to retire to bed, timing the minutes until the first of her father’s snores crash through the house, and in this moment she hears the sweet sound of deep sleep. Her father’s snore signals her release from the bed.
Her body springs from the bed and she tosses the sheets to the side. It only takes a few moments to execute her perfectly rehearsed plan. She pulls open her window as she slips on her shoes at the same time. Slowly she sticks one converse covered foot onto the shingled roof, only a few inches below. From there she swings the rest of her body out of the window, carefully leaning over to shut the window, while leaving enough room for her fingers to squeeze under for when she returns. She smiles at the perfect exit and takes a deep breath as she turns for her next part of the plan.
She picked this room in the house for one reason, not the size of the room, or the color, but the fact that just outside the window was a full grown tree, one that she learned to climb up and down. The cool summer air blows on her face as she pokes her head out of the house. She sets one foot on the first branch and hears a creak from the wood, protesting her weight and repeated attempts on the same branch. Leaves caress her face as she climbs lower, reminding her that fall will start soon, with her senior year coming up fast. She steps down quickly, lightly hanging on the roof for support as she gets closer to the ground.
Once her feet are back on solid ground she sighs, relieved she made it out of the house. Now, her heart races in excitement. She quickly makes her way to the side of the house where her bike waits, she swings her leg over the bicycle seat and quickly pedals away from her home. She looks back and sees her house fade from sight, smiling as the wind whips her hair from her face. Her legs pump fast, too excited to wait much longer. Street lights don’t exist in this part of town, but darkness was never one of her fears.
She turned down the familiar corner of the neighborhood and finally saw the light escaping from his curtained windows. Noah’s black curtains blocked the light from coming in, but not so much coming out. She rolled up his driveway and jumped off the bike like she had done so many times before. She pushed the bike the rest of the way to the side of the house where his room was. Usually his window would be open. Usually he would be watching for her. Usually he helped her up to his room. After dating for this long you would think he would be consistent, especially on their one year anniversary. Sophia had been planning this night for weeks, she picked her best outfit, she snuck out of the house, and she knew what was going to happen tonight. She felt like she was ready to give herself fully to Noah, her parents wouldn’t approve of their seventeen year old daughter losing her virginity, but Sophia loves Noah. She wants to give him this, and her parents don’t even have to know. She will be 18 soon enough, and then they won’t control her.
She looks up at Noah’s window one last time before deciding to just climb up to it, only slightly upset he hasn’t held up his part of the plan. Her excitement makes her scale up the tree quickly, which which results in precariously placed footing as she gets closer to his window. Her eyes look over the roof and into his room, she climbs up to it and taps on the glass three times. She hasn’t ever had to tap or knock before. It’s always been open. She looks down at her outfit, then smiles, proud of herself for making this decision. She loves Noah, and want’s to let him know. Finally the curtains open, Noah’s face goes from solemn to surprised in .2 seconds, he opens the window slowly.
