“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Okay, not that this date is going to go anywhere, but if it does you need to have condoms. Part of being in charge is the responsibility side. It’s not the woman’s responsibility for birth control. If you aren’t protecting her, you’re not man enough to be having sex. Going on a date unprepared is setting yourself up to fail. When the time comes, it’s very hard to stop in the heat of the moment. Don’t put yourself or her in that position.”
“Oh.”
I looked at him, confused, as he got up and left the room. Where the heck was I going to get condoms? A minute later, my big brother came to my rescue. He tossed two foil packs to me.
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem. If you’re going to be man enough to have sex, then you’re man enough to buy your own condoms. I expect you to get your own supply. I honestly don’t think things will go so far you’ll need them. I’ll leave the sex talk for later. No need for information overload.”
After my brother left, I thought I would never get to sleep. I was trying to remember everything he’d told me. How could one date be so complicated?
Chapter 5 – First Date
Friday September 6
The rest of the week was a blur. I went to class and then football practice until I was exhausted. When I got home, I studied and crashed. Then I got up and did it all again. I was nervous about Friday, but Greg and Cindy kept coaching me throughout the week. By Friday, I was ready to go.
I awoke Friday morning to the sunlight as it peeked around my bedroom curtains. My stomach started to knot up when I thought about today and the anticipated first date with Tina. The night before, Cindy had jumped onto video chat and I took my tablet to my closet so she could pick out my clothes.
She then took the time to walk me through how to do my hair. I wasn’t used to using hair products and she wasn’t happy with how I’d slipped on doing my hair each day. I tried to explain that at least three showers a day meant having to fix my hair each time. She gave me a look and I meekly decided to do as I was told. This morning I was up twenty minutes early to shower and do my hair. If the guys only knew, I would catch it all day long.
Greg gave me a ride to school and Cindy did a visual inspection when we arrived. We arranged to meet right before my date since Cindy knew I had PE and would need to do my hair again. I tried to decide if this was irritating or helpful. The sad truth was Cindy was so hot I enjoyed her fussing over me. It gave me an excuse to be around her.
Alan was a big pest all day because he wanted to know details about my plans for my date with Tina. I actually threatened to punch him if he didn’t stop. I guess he had sex on his mind 24/7 like almost every other fifteen-year-old boy. Alan was impressed I had one of our fellow freshmen going out on a date the second week of school. I guess I could see his point. I never dated much in middle school. I was confused as to how Alan knew so much about the date. I didn’t give out any details, and I knew Tami, Greg and Cindy wouldn’t tell either.
Apparently Tina had talked. I found it hard not to share with Jeff and Alan what Greg had told me. I probably would share with Tami, but we hadn’t had our talk yet. The one thing I always admired about Greg was he never shared personal stuff about someone else. With Tina blabbing to all her friends, I could see where Greg’s approach was better, and I wanted to follow his example. I noticed several girls had taken an interest in me once word got out. I liked the attention, but Greg cautioned me it wasn’t a good idea to do anything about those girls until I was done dating Tina. But I made mental note in case this date didn’t work out.
Finally, the end of school came. I dropped my books off at my locker, and went to the front entrance. Cindy found me before I went out.
“David, come here.”
She was like a mother hen as she fixed my hair and made sure I was presentable.
“Word is there are thirty freshman girls hanging out front to see you guys off on your date.”
Was she kidding me?
“You’re joking, right?”
“Nope, and that’s a good thing.”
“How can that be good?”
“It means they’ve taken notice.”
By ‘they,’ I assumed she meant the freshman girls. Ah, Greg had warned me, but I hadn’t believed him. If there was a crowd, I had to remember not to make a fool out of myself.
“Thanks for warning me.”
“Okay, you look ready. Go have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said, giving me a smug smile that begged for a comeback.
“Someday you’ll have to tell me what you wouldn’t do.”
I arched my eyebrows and her grin got bigger. I decided to beat a hasty retreat. She stuck her tongue out at me and just smiled.
The front entrance area was what made Lincoln High a historic landmark. It was originally designed to look like a park. The manicured green lawns and mature oak trees gave it the feel of serenity. The raised planted beds had nice walls, ideal to kick back and people-watch from. I noticed various freshman girls in groups of threes and fours all hanging around the entrance. Cindy’s estimate was a little low. There were at least fifty girls who waited for the show. I’d not seen this many girls in one place since school started. I saw that a couple of junior boys had figured it out and worked the crowd. The gossip network was in overdrive. I started to get a little pissed off. Greg said this part of the date was for show. Didn’t these girls have anything better to do?
I saw Tina come towards me. I remembered her mentioning she had math last period, which was across campus. She was accompanied by three of her friends who all checked me out and giggled. Tina scanned the crowd and got a smug look on her face. Well, that confirmed it. She was the one who had bragged about our date.
As she walked up, I noticed she wore a short skirt and a pink cashmere sweater. I appreciated she had shown off her nice legs as opposed to her normal jeans and t-shirt. She obviously was dressed to impress today. She saw me notice and gave me a wink.
When she got about six feet from me, she broke away from her friends. Her big smile reminded me of the cat that ate the canary. I was now officially pissed. I felt fifty-plus pair of eyes bore into my back. If Greg hadn’t warned me, I would have let my feelings show. I felt like a piece of meat surrounded by a pack of hungry dogs.
“Hi,” Tina greeted me.
I slid my arm around her waist, pulled her into me, and gave her a kiss. All conversation suddenly stopped. In the back of my mind, I was chastising myself for being an idiot, so I just continued to kiss her. At first, I felt her stiffen in surprise, but it wasn’t long before she actually kissed me back. Whoa, this girl was starting to turn me on. When our kiss stopped, her eyes fluttered open and I smiled at her.
“Hi. I’ve wanted to kiss you all day.”
I heard her breath catch in surprise. Her eyes were as big as saucers. Before she could respond, I grabbed her hand and started to walk off school grounds. I could hear the gaggle of girls explode into conversation as we walked away. Tina didn’t say a word, but she went with me. When we got about halfway down the block, I started to feel bad for her. I’d forgotten the big rule: don’t force yourself on a girl. The worst part was it was done in front of the biggest gossip network known to man, teenage girls. I pulled up short.
“Tina, I’m sorry I kissed you.”
“What?”