Finally

Chapter 4

I can feel my face getting warm as Mr C comes in the classroom. My mind is in another place as he teaches us useless math things we'll never need in the future, my heart soaring higher than it ever has before. At the end of class, I feel..magical.

"April, wait up!" Thomas calls.

I stop walking. A smile is permanently plastered on my face.

"Gee, you walk fast. Why you smilin'?" He asks once he catches up.

"Oh, nothing." I say, my voice floating smoothly with the words I speak.

Thomas walks me all the way to my locker, then he walks me outside. "Can I drive you home, April?" He offers.

"Sure." I gladly accept.

He leads me to his car and he opens the passenger door side. Once I climb in, (hoping he doesn't notice the lean of the car under my weight), he closes the door. He scurries over to his side and gets in.

"Nice car," I say.

"Thanks. It's my pride and joy," he says. Then he looks straight at me. "Well, one of them."

I giggle. "Do you need directions or.." I trail off. I look out my window to see Rose and her crew heading towards us.

She knocks on the window, and I roll it down. "Hey, losers. Aw, that's cute, you guys are lovers now!" She says. "I came to give you this, April. I saw you drop it when you were walking down the hallway. Bye besties!" She stuffs something through the window, and I gasp.

She has handed me a large box of condoms. My face turns beet red as she laughs and walks away with her friends. "Thomas it's not what it looks like..this isn't even mine.." I try to talk but I get choked up by tears.

"April, it's alright. Hey where are you-" He says, but I'm already out of the car.

Tears are rolling down my face as I walk away quickly. I hear him get out of the car and run to me.

"April." He puts his hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. "It's okay, don't cry." He pulls me towards him and he embraces me.

I begin to cry even harder. I hear him shushing me and cooing things in my ear, but this isn't from Rose. It's from Josh, it's the one thing I wanted to do after he did what he did. But I couldn't, because my parents would ask. They'd be pissed, they'd probably kick me out. I couldn't let that happen.

"April, it's okay." He says for the nth time in my ear. He pulls away. "C'mon, we're going somewhere."

We get in his car and he drives out of the parking lot. I stuff the condoms in my bag, planning to dispose of them wherever we happen to go.

We arrive at a small park. There's a playground, restrooms, and off to one side there's a bench looking out to the water. He pulls me towards the small bench, and I let him. We sit down, and he looks at me.

"What happened?" He asks.

I shake my head. "Just one of the many things she does." I reply flatly.

We sit there in silence for another minute. "April," he says, breaking the silence. "Look at me." He instructs.

I turn my head towards him. I look directly into his blue eyes, and I smile. His eyes engulf me in a warmth that could comfort anyone. Then, time slows.

He breaks the space between us, crashing his lips on mine. He scoots towards me until there's no space between us. The kiss isn't what it was with Josh, it's patient. It's respectful in a way. It's not hungry nor weird, it's beautiful.

I'm taken aback at first, then I let him kiss me. I don't deepen it, afraid that he'll stop. Then, he pulls away. "Come with me," he whispers. We go to his car and he opens the back door. I climb in, and he does as well. He closes the door behind me.

He kisses me again, but this time he catches me laying down. His knees are on the outsides of my legs, not on them but on the seat.

I put my fingers in his hair, brushing through it. It's soft, and it feels good. My other hand is sort of just dangling to the side, so I put it on the back of his neck. My kissing experience is not the best, from what I've gotten before. But this, this is my first real kiss.

He pulls away. "I've wanted to do that since we met." He whispers. He climbs to the front, and I climb to the passenger side. He pulls out of the lot and begins to drive.

Once we arrive at my house, I'm shocked to see the lawn scattered with police cars. My parents stand on the porch, holding each other while a cop questions them. They spot the car, and their eyes fill with fury.