She sounded pissed. Oh crud, that did not come out right. I saw a flash in her eyes that scared me.
“Oops, I meant I’m sorry I kissed you without asking your permission.”
“Oh.”
I could see her face go from ‘What the heck are you thinking?’ to ‘stupid boy.’ I can live with ‘stupid boy.’ I’d been in that personal doghouse many a time with Tami.
“Tina, I want you to know no means no. If at any time you’re not comfortable with anything, do not hesitate to tell me. I want you to know you’re in control of how fast or how slow we go.”
“David, can I tell you something?”
I just nodded.
“I asked around about you and I know you’re a good guy. Peggy, Lily and Tami have all talked to me. I was a little nervous when you first asked me out, but everyone says you have a good heart. When you kissed me, I just wasn’t expecting it. To be honest, if you’d asked I’d’ve said yes.”
Two things hit me. The first was that my female friends had talked to my date. Was that a good thing or not? Second, I felt much better knowing she didn’t think I was some guy on the make. It was time to change the subject. Greg said to get your date to talk about things that interest them. I looked at her.
“You look very nice.”
This seemed to bring her back.
“Thank you.”
I was still worried about how she felt about me laying one on her in front of her peers. It was hard to be a teenage girl, and I figured my little display would be seen in one of two ways. I prayed I hadn’t made it hard on her. I needed to feel this out a little and see what she thought.
“I think we gave your friends a little show back there.”
She laughed.
“Yes, I guess we did.”
At least she didn’t seem mad. I could tell something was weighing on her mind.
“I’d bet they’re all jealous you’re going out today.”
“I think so. Several of them didn’t believe you asked me on a date.”
Teenage girls can be mean. It sounded like she’d fought a gallant battle all week. I could tell I was close to what was bothering her.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
She looked down. She was as nervous about this date as I was. I pulled her chin up so she could look me in the eyes. She looked so vulnerable I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her until everything was all right.
“Tina, you’re a gorgeous young woman and I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else right now,” I said.
The scary part was it was true. She was cute and had the right balance of looks and innocence. Was she drop-dead gorgeous like Cindy or Peggy? No, but I could see myself falling for her. I like breasts like every other guy, but this girl had my weakness, a cute butt. Throw in a little vulnerability and the male ego will pull out the old white-knight routine.
I saw her eyes fill with tears and she buried her face in my chest. Great! I pulled her into my arms and felt her shoulders shake. What the heck? Greg didn’t tell me what to do when this happened. I should remember to bring a hanky next time. Note to self: be prepared. I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug. I’m sure if you make your date cry in the first fifteen minutes it can’t be a good thing. One thing I’d learned was it was better to be there for a girl when she was crying than it was to try to talk to her, so I gently rocked her in my arms. I tried to make her feel safe and cared for. When she stopped crying, she looked at me sheepishly.
“I’m sorry for that.”
“So why did they think you didn’t have a date?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I guess they were being mean to me like they always are. I’ve been the quiet one in the group. I’m always the last one to do anything, so when I told them I had a date they didn’t buy it. Then, when they found out it was you, they told me you were out of my league. I don’t think they like it that I’m the first one to have a high school date, especially with a guy like you.”
I was shocked. I wasn’t out of anyone’s league. She had just described me. I always had been the wallflower who blended in. I started to like her even more. I gave her a smile.
“Are you ready for some ice cream?”
I could feel her relax in my arms, and it was a remarkable sight as she smiled at me. I could feel her gather her confidence.
“Yes, I would love some.”
It was a short walk to the ice cream parlor. When we got to Jerry’s we found it was a mistake. There were at least twenty people we knew. Our date was good for business. On a Friday afternoon, at this time, there would normally be three to five customers. I saw Alan and Jeff seated in a booth. The gossip network had disclosed the location of our date. Alan waved at us to try to get our attention. Hell if I was going to spend my first high school date talking to them. Tina stiffened and I turned to her.
“You want to skip this and take a walk in the park?”
She looked relieved.
“Please, I don’t think I could face them.”
As we turned to leave, I smiled at her.
“Did you let it slip what we were doing tonight?”
She gave me a sheepish grin.
“Yes, I guess I did.”
I winked at her.
“Note to self: don’t tell them where the date is going to be.”
We spent an hour getting to know each other and wandered through the park hand-in-hand. She was very shy at first, but as time went by, she became a little chatterbox. She had two little sisters and a dog. The more I talked to her, the more I got the impression she was a good girl and very much a follower. I would have to be careful not to push her into things she didn’t really want to do. I’m not sure she would stand up to me. Once she started to open up, I found she had a sharp wit that caught me off guard. She was a lot of fun. She was smart, and when I caught her smile, I found I had fallen under her spell.
The park was one of our town’s highlights. There were ten miles of walking and bike trails. It had different athletic venues ranging from softball and soccer to a public pool. I had grown up in this park, since my dad worked for Parks and Recreation. I enjoyed pointing out landmarks and interesting sections. One of my favorite locations was the duck pond. It was a little off the beaten path. The calm weather made the pond look like a reflecting pool. We both went silent as we took in the sight. I steered her towards the bridge that led to a small island in the middle of the pond. I stopped with the pretense of looking at the ducks. I glanced over and saw that she was happy. I found I wanted to kiss her.
I turned to her.
“I’m going to kiss you again,” I said.
I paused and she tilted her head to me. She drew to within scant inches of me and I inhaled the intoxicating scent of her perfume. I took the tilt of her head as permission, leaned in, and gave her a kiss. The first one was a nice tentative one, but she was having none of that. She slid her hand behind my right ear and pulled me into a sizzling kiss. It took me by surprise and my eyes popped wide open and looked at her. She wasn’t in Cindy’s league, but she made up for her inexperience with enthusiasm. I started to get lost in the moment. I could feel my passion ramp up. She had a decided effect on me. She was a quick study and gave as much as she got. As we kissed, her technique improved. When we parted from each other, she responded by wrapping her arms around my neck as she pulled me back to her lips. I remembered Greg’s instructions and my hands found her hips. When I parted my lips and the tip of my tongue caressed her lips, she jerked back.
I figured I would play on her inexperience.
“Don’t you like my kisses?”
“No, I mean, yes, I do. You just caught me by surprise again,” she said. “I think I like your surprises.”
She was flushed and breathing a little harder than normal. I was learning to recognize the signs of desire. I wanted to do more than give her sweet kisses. I pushed those thoughts out of my head and just focused on being in the moment, and kissed her. Without the anticipation of pushing things forward, I found our kiss to be more passionate. In the back of my mind, I knew we were exposed on the bridge. I broke our kiss and she all but panted. There was a fire in her eyes that spoke of a need that surprised me.