First Love

by Melissa Johns

  “There it is.”

  I laughed softly.

  “Now, I told my mom you were the perfect gentleman last night, should I change my opinion?” I looked into his eyes.

  “If only you knew what I was thinking,” He smirked, “Your opinion would have changed fast.”

  I laughed again.

  “Want to go outside?”

  “Sure,” he said, getting up from the table.

  We headed out the side door to bypass all the adults. We started to walk across the lawn and into the open garage.

  I sat on the stool and watched him look around. He came back over to me, standing in front of me.

  “So, did you think about me last night?” I asked him.

  “Yes, all night long.”

  I blushed again, looking up into his eyes, “Me too.”

  “You really don’t know how beautiful you are, do you?”

  I didn’t say anything, I couldn’t think of the right words.

  “When you showed up at the game yesterday, with that outfit on, I thought I was crazy for asking you out. You were clearly out of my league.”

  I laughed, “Out of your league, are you serious?”

  “Yeah, you looked so hot.”

  I smirked at him, “Well, I’m not going to argue with you.”

  He smirked at me, “See, and that only makes you sexier.”

  I had to remember that my grandparents were just in the house. I had to behave myself, “Well, there is one thing you haven’t done yet and I’m wondering if it’s because I’m not looking as hot today.”

  He smirked down at me again, “You would look hot in a garbage bag, Emily. But I think I know what you are referring to.”

  He leaned down to me as his lips gently touched mine. It was so gentle at first; it barely felt like he was there. Then I sighed again as he pulled away, “You have got to stop doing that or you will drive me crazy.”

  “I’m sorry, I promise to behave myself.”

  He leaned down again with a little more pressure, touching his lips to mine.

  I heard the front door open and hopped off the stool quickly.

  I heard him chuckle as I came out of the garage with Eric close behind.

  “You guys leaving already?” I asked my grandparents as they got to the car.

  “Yes, thanks for breakfast, it’s always wonderful to see you,” my Grandmother said as she kissed my cheek, “And Eric, a pleasure to meet such a nice boy.”

  “The pleasure is all mine,” Eric said shaking my Grandfather’s hand.

  We watched as they pulled out of the driveway. I walked Eric over to his bike, “So, did you finish your English essay for tomorrow yet?” I asked him.

  “Almost, I started it but my mind was distracted.”

  I laughed, “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah, but I will try my best when I get home.”

  I smiled, “Well, I will see you tomorrow.”

  “Ok, call me later if you get a chance.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Eric smiled as he got on his bike, leaning over slightly and kissing my cheek.

  “Talk to you later, Emily.”

  “Bye.”

  When I got back inside the house, my mom was sitting on the couch with a huge smile on her face.

  “What’s on your mind, Mom?”

  “I can see why you have a crush on him, he’s adorable.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Are you ok?”

  “Yes, Honey. I’m not going to lie. It hurts, but I can’t let that man ruin my life again. I’m over it.”

  “Good for you, Mom, I’m proud of you.”

  “I’m just in shock over it. I just hope he doesn’t forget his responsibilities to you.”

  I leaned against the doorway and looked at her, “Don’t worry about me, Mom. I won’t let him hurt either of us.”

  She smiled and made a spot for me next to her on the couch. “How do you think I feel? I will be eighteen years older than my little step-brother or step-sister.”

  She chuckled softly, “Well, you always wanted a brother or sister.”

  “Yeah maybe ten years ago.”

  “Well, you will be a great big sister.”

  I smiled at her, “So, you like Eric, huh?”

  “Yes, he’s very nice. I completely understand your interest in him. But Honey, just take it slow, ok? You are only eighteen, there are plenty of guys out there.”

  “Mom, stop.”

  “I’m not telling you not to enjoy it now I just don’t want you to go overboard. I saw the way you looked at him. This is your first boyfriend. You never forget the first one.”

  It sounded strange, Eric is my boyfriend. I’m not even sure that’s the case, we never talked about it, it was only one date. “Mom, it was one date, I don’t even know what’s going on yet.”

  She laughed, like she knew something I didn’t.

  “I’m going to go study.” The day ended as quickly as it came, my one bright spot, tomorrow I would see him again.

  IT’S OFFICIAL

  Monday mornings are always difficult. You just finish the weekend and it feels like a lifetime until it comes around again. But, today was different, I knew the sooner I got going, the better my day would be.

  I grabbed my jeans and my cute red t-shirt, as I looked into the mirror I noticed for the first time it hugged all the right spots. I still can’t believe the way I was looking at myself. I used to grab whatever wasn’t dirty and be content with that. But, I had a reason to look good. I clipped my hair back, leaving some of it over my shoulders. As I looked in the mirror one last time, I heard a car horn in the driveway.

  I didn’t know who it could possibly be this early in the morning. I walked over to the window and smiled, it was Eric.

  “Emily, I think you have a ride to school!” My mom called up from downstairs.

  I grabbed my school work and headed downstairs with my stuff.

  “Wow, Emily. You look fantastic.”

  “Thanks, Mom, but really I’m not trying.”

  She laughed again, “Sure.”

  I hugged her good bye and headed out the door. I smiled at Eric as he got out of the car, “Emily, you look beautiful.”

  He opened the door for me and I slid into his awesome Mustang, “Thanks for the ride this morning, you really didn’t need to do this. I don’t mind walking.”

  He smiled, “How would it look if I let my girlfriend walk to school while I drove?”

  I blushed again, “Girlfriend?”

  This time he blushed a little, “I guess I never officially asked you, it’s just I had such a great time Saturday night.”

  “I couldn’t agree more with you.”

  He smiled, “So, would you be my girlfriend?”

  “You sure your dad will be ok with this? I honestly don’t want you to lose focus on football and cause you any trouble.”

  “Emily, you don’t have to worry about that. I will handle my father.”

  I smiled at him as he pulled into his spot at the high school, “Let’s see if this will answer it for you then.”

  I leaned over to him as I gently pressed my lips to his again. He responded very quickly to my lips, tasting them. I sighed again, knowing how much it drove him crazy. His hand quickly moved into my hair, crushed my lips more. I felt them part as his tongue moved with mine.

  I suddenly realized we weren’t alone anymore when I heard whistles coming from outside of the car. He pulled away, not paying any attention to them.

  I smirked at him, “Did that answer your question?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  I smiled at him, as we got out of the car and walked into school together, I knew Sam and Angie were waiting to attack me at my locker, I sensed it as I turned the corner and then, sure enough, I saw them there.

  Eric laughed, “I’m sure your friends will be asking a million questions today.”

  I smiled at him, “I’m prepared, don’t worry.”

  He w
alked me to my locker, “Hi Sam, Angie.”

  “Hey Eric, how was the weekend?”

  He smiled at me, “The best of my life.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek, “I will see you later on.”

  I opened my locker, knowing that four eyes were on me, waiting for something. I grabbed my first period stuff and shut the locker, heading towards home room.

  “Emily Stone, I’m going to hurt you if you don’t stop right now,” Sam said grabbing my arm.

  I laughed at her, “What’s up, Sam?”

  She just looked at me, “Are you kidding me? I’m so mad that you didn’t call me Sunday and then I hear whispers that you are making out with him in his car this morning. I thought we were friends.”

  I hugged her, “We are, come on, sit next to me in home room.”

  I walked into the room, seeing Eric already sitting in his chair. He smiled and winked at me as I passed him. I sat next to Sam, starting to run through all the events of the weekend, every detail. I forgot what it felt like to have a close friend in my life.

  “I can’t believe he’s your boyfriend, a week into school and you are dating the most handsome guy at this school, you are so lucky.”

  I smiled as I looked over at him, “Yeah, I am.”

  The day moved along quickly, I caught glimpses of Eric throughout the day but never had the chance to speak with him because his friends were busy distracting him and I wasn’t the type to interrupt. I stopped at my locker before heading to lunch to meet up with Sam.

  “Hi Emily,” a voice said behind me as I turned around and shut my locker.

  “Hi. Janice, right?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I never had a chance to say hello and welcome you to our school last week.”

  “No problem and thanks.”

  “I just wanted to say that I think it’s just fantastic that you are getting along with everyone here, everyone is talking about you and everyone thinks you are so great.”

  I just stared at her, no idea where this conversation was going, “Well, I’m just being me, I guess.”

  “Well, I wanted to talk with you for a second I know you are interested in Eric, who wouldn’t be, right?” Janice laughed as she turned to look at her friends.

  “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  “Well, you should know that we have some history between us. We have this on again off again relationship. It’s very complicated, so I didn’t want you to get confused and think he was available when he clearly isn’t.”

  I just stared at her, my mind was laughing at her. I knew her type she thinks she was better than everyone, she got everything she wanted because she was drop dead gorgeous; I just left a situation like this behind in Texas when I moved away from my father and evil step mother. I wasn’t ready to start another one here.

  “Janice, I’m not sure what planet you are living on, but as of this morning, I’m dating Eric. I’m sorry you think differently,” I said not believing that I just stood up for myself.

  She didn’t say anything as I walked away from her and her group of clones. I walked into the lunch room so upset. I tossed my books onto the table and sat down next to Angie.

  “Em? What’s wrong?” Angie asked very concern. Everyone at the table stopped talking and looked at me.

  “I don’t understand how people can be so rude to other people. Just because you are pretty doesn’t give you the right to make other people feel like crap.”

  Sam got up from the other side of the table and moved to the seat next to me, “What happened?”

  “Janice and I just had a conversation in the hallway.” I said looking at the door as Eric and his football jocks came walking in. He looked over at me and his smile quickly faded, he must have read my mind. I saw him leave his group and head in my direction.

  Sam got up from her chair and moved back to her original position, leaving the chair empty for Eric.

  “What’s wrong, Emily?” He said sitting next to me.

  “It’s nothing,” I said putting my head down into the arms.

  “Sam? Tell me.”

  “Janice just confronted her in the hallway,” She said looking at him, “Apparently, Janice is under the assumption that Emily is not allowed to date you.”

  Eric just stared at her, “Are you serious? Emily, is this true?”

  I lifted my head, not realizing it had hit me so hard I had tears in my eyes, “Yeah, something like that.”

  Eric moved his hand across my cheek and wiped away the tears, “I told you on Saturday night, her bark is worse than her bite. But, I’m going to take care of this. I’m so sorry that this happened to you.” He got up from his chair and left the cafeteria.

  I stared at my friends, “I think it’s just too much right now. After that phone call from my Dad, then having her say those things to me, it just reminded me of why I left Texas. I thought I had left all that crap behind me. But, apparently women are like that everywhere.”

  Angie put her arm around me, “Smile, Emily. It’s ok, he’s your boyfriend now! There are going to be a lot of jealous girls around here, but you know what, it doesn’t matter, he likes you.”

  I smiled at her and Sam as she sat nodding and eating her lunch, “We love you, Emily and we are the only people who count!”

  I laughed as I wiped my face. They were right and he was mine.

  I left the lunchroom and headed to my least favorite class, gym. My nose started to hurt just thinking about it. I laughed softly as Angie and I entered the girls’ locker room. We changed into our shorts and t-shirts and headed back into the gym.

  I scanned the gym looking for Eric, of course, he was already playing basketball with his friends. He looked natural in his element, the way his body moved as he played basketball with his friends.

  I heard Angie laugh next to me, “Just watch out for flying basketballs, ok?”

  “No problem, I’m still recovering.”

  We went over to the Coach as she was discussing teams for our basketball drills. I hated this class, I had no clue when it came to sports and coordination. Luckily, she teamed me up with Angie. We passed the ball back and forth and talked the entire time.

  “What do you think her problem is? I mean, she realizes that she can have any other guy in our class, right?” I asked her.

  “True. But, she has always wanted Eric, it goes back before high school even. A bunch of us grew up on the same street together and she was always trying to impress him. I think it’s like a conquest for her,” She smiled tossing the ball back at me.

  I smiled, “Yeah, I know, but where do you get off talking to someone like that? She doesn’t know me from Eve.”

  “But you are messing with her man now, Em.”

  I laughed, “My man.”

  Angie laughed, “God, is this class over yet?”

  I laughed as the coach blew the whistle, “Thank God.” She said grabbing my arm, as I looked down the court and saw Eric, he winked at me again as he went into his locker room.

  ************************************************

  The week went by fast. Eric was picking me up every day in the morning and driving me home when he didn’t have practice. If he missed me in the evening, I would get a phone call before my nine o’clock phone cut off, just to say good night to me. Janice kept her distance the rest of the week, I still wondered if he had words with her. He never mentioned it to me.

  Friday morning was beautiful, I felt the sun coming through the window as I woke up; quickly jumped in the shower and grabbed his football jersey to wear on game day. I wore a simple white tank top underneath it and stuffed some of it into my jeans so I didn’t hang past my knees. As I reached for my sneakers, I heard Eric pull into the driveway.

  “Emily, Eric is here,” my mom called from downstairs.

  “Coming!”

  I grabbed my books and headed downstairs.

  “Nice jersey! I didn’t know you played football.”

  “Funny Mom, he said it would bring him good luck, so
who am I to argue.” I said, kissing her cheek, “Don’t forget, I’m staying at school for the game tonight, I will be home afterwards.”

  “Have fun!”

  Eric was leaning against his car waiting for me when I walked out the side door.

  “Hey Gorgeous,” He said taking me into his arms, “That jersey looks amazing on you.”

  I laughed, “Oh yeah?”

  We were starting to learn each others facial expressions and body movements. He started to lean down to kiss me, “Wait, I’m ninety-nine percent sure that my mom is staring out the window.”

  He peeked around my shoulder, “Yep, come on.” He walked me around to the passenger side, opened the door for me and we headed to school.

  Once we were in the parking lot, he shut off the car and leaned over again, our lips touched softly at first. He was a great kisser, but I didn’t want to know how many girls he practiced on. My hand ran up the side of his face and lightly traced his cheekbone as I heard him sigh this time. His hand moved into my hair as he deepened the kiss, feeling his tongue move with mine. It was my turn to moan. I was surprised though by the sound of it. I have never made a noise like that before. He noticed it also as he quickly broke the kiss. His eyes met mine.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from,” I said, moving back into my seat.

  “Don’t be sorry,” He reached for my hand, “It’s just, I’m trying to remain a gentleman here but if I hear that sound again, I’m not sure if I can be. I don’t want to ruin this by rushing anything.”

  “I know, I completely agree, it’s just when I feel your lips on mine, I just lose it for that moment.”

  “I know the feeling, Emily,” He said jumping out of the car and opening the door for me.

  ******************************************

  School was over quickly. Thank God. All I wanted to do was to see Eric again and Friday classes barely gave me the opportunity, plus being game day, he disappeared right after the last bell to start gearing up for the game.

  I walked back to my locker and put all my stuff in it. I heard Janice walk behind me with her friends, “Nice jersey.”

  I controlled myself as my hand tightened around the strip of my book bag. I wanted so badly to say, “Isn’t it,” but I controlled myself and bit my tongue.