people did was an act. People did what they thought they were supposed to do. Learn to kiss at fourteen. Learn to drive at fifteen. Learn to have sex at sixteen. Life was easy. Just follow the schedule, don’t make any big mistakes, and everything will be fine.
Jennifer caressed the side of my head. “That was amazing,” she breathed into my ear.
I nodded.
“Do you think we should do it again?” she asked, lifting her head. “Or do you want to wait? Maybe we should wait. We’re going to need more condoms. We should go buy some. They have them at Rite Aid. That’s where Petra and Mike get theirs.”
She lay back down and turned onto her back. “You were so good,” she sighed. “Was I good?”
“Yes,” I answered. We lay like that for another few minutes. Then she got restless. “Oh my God, I have to go to the bathroom,” she said. She went into the little bathroom beside the bed, stopping to dig her cell phone out of her jeans.
I could hear her in the bathroom. She dropped the toilet seat down. I heard her dialing her cell phone. She squealed into it. “Yes! Yes!” she whispered. “We totally did it.... Oh my God, it was fantastic!”
I couldn’t hear what else she said. I got up. I found my boxers and put them on. Jennifer flushed the toilet and came out. She picked up her clothes, too. “Should we go back downstairs?” she asked me.
“Sure,” I said.
We went back to the party. As soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran into the living room to find her friends. I turned the other direction, to the backyard. There were still some people standing around the half-pipe in the dark. A freshman was on it, rolling back and forth, trying not to fall. I watched him. It soothed me somehow. Back and forth. Back and forth. Try not to fall....
That whole weekend turned into an extended party. After Friday night, everyone went home and slept, and then the next day, Christian and Jared and a bunch of us went to Paul Auster’s during the day to watch skate videos and play video games. Then we met Jennifer and Elizabeth and those guys for a matinee movie.
Jennifer was so happy. She was grinning super big, and all her friends stared at me and giggled. Elizabeth even said right in front of everyone, “So I guess you guys sealed the deal.”
That night the whole gang of us drove around downtown. On Broadway there were the usual carloads of high-school kids yelling back and forth. We ran around and switched cars. I got in Elizabeth Gould’s car with Jennifer and everyone teased us and made sex jokes. It was like Jennifer’s official de-virginization party. She was the happiest I had ever seen her.
On Sunday, all the guys went to Skate City. I didn’t want to show up without a board, so I got up early and drove my mom’s car to the mall and got another board. I wanted to get the same deck and see if I could scuff it up or whatever-not that that would fool anyone—just to make it less obvious. But they didn’t have it. I got one that was close and paid with my debit card. I had just enough money for it, thanks to the new allowance my dad gave me out of guilt.
So then I met everyone at Skate City. It was funny—with no girls around, nobody talked about Jennifer and me. Nobody cared. That’s part of the skater thing. It’s a place where you forget all that.
Then on Monday, I went to school and it was all about Jennifer again. She came to my locker and wanted to know if I’d gotten the condoms yet. I hadn’t. Did I want to go get them after school? I wasn’t sure. Maybe.
“What’s the matter?” she said. “Are you mad?”
“No,” I said.
She stared at me. “You sure act weird sometimes. And after what we did. You’d think you’d be a little more happy to see me.”
“Hey, it was your idea,” I said.
“What?” she said. She took a step back. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
“So having sex was my idea?” she whispered, angrily. “You didn’t want to? You
Jennifer caressed the side of my head. “That was amazing,” she breathed into my ear.
I nodded.
“Do you think we should do it again?” she asked, lifting her head. “Or do you want to wait? Maybe we should wait. We’re going to need more condoms. We should go buy some. They have them at Rite Aid. That’s where Petra and Mike get theirs.”
She lay back down and turned onto her back. “You were so good,” she sighed. “Was I good?”
“Yes,” I answered. We lay like that for another few minutes. Then she got restless. “Oh my God, I have to go to the bathroom,” she said. She went into the little bathroom beside the bed, stopping to dig her cell phone out of her jeans.
I could hear her in the bathroom. She dropped the toilet seat down. I heard her dialing her cell phone. She squealed into it. “Yes! Yes!” she whispered. “We totally did it.... Oh my God, it was fantastic!”
I couldn’t hear what else she said. I got up. I found my boxers and put them on. Jennifer flushed the toilet and came out. She picked up her clothes, too. “Should we go back downstairs?” she asked me.
“Sure,” I said.
We went back to the party. As soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran into the living room to find her friends. I turned the other direction, to the backyard. There were still some people standing around the half-pipe in the dark. A freshman was on it, rolling back and forth, trying not to fall. I watched him. It soothed me somehow. Back and forth. Back and forth. Try not to fall....
That whole weekend turned into an extended party. After Friday night, everyone went home and slept, and then the next day, Christian and Jared and a bunch of us went to Paul Auster’s during the day to watch skate videos and play video games. Then we met Jennifer and Elizabeth and those guys for a matinee movie.
Jennifer was so happy. She was grinning super big, and all her friends stared at me and giggled. Elizabeth even said right in front of everyone, “So I guess you guys sealed the deal.”
That night the whole gang of us drove around downtown. On Broadway there were the usual carloads of high-school kids yelling back and forth. We ran around and switched cars. I got in Elizabeth Gould’s car with Jennifer and everyone teased us and made sex jokes. It was like Jennifer’s official de-virginization party. She was the happiest I had ever seen her.
On Sunday, all the guys went to Skate City. I didn’t want to show up without a board, so I got up early and drove my mom’s car to the mall and got another board. I wanted to get the same deck and see if I could scuff it up or whatever-not that that would fool anyone—just to make it less obvious. But they didn’t have it. I got one that was close and paid with my debit card. I had just enough money for it, thanks to the new allowance my dad gave me out of guilt.
So then I met everyone at Skate City. It was funny—with no girls around, nobody talked about Jennifer and me. Nobody cared. That’s part of the skater thing. It’s a place where you forget all that.
Then on Monday, I went to school and it was all about Jennifer again. She came to my locker and wanted to know if I’d gotten the condoms yet. I hadn’t. Did I want to go get them after school? I wasn’t sure. Maybe.
“What’s the matter?” she said. “Are you mad?”
“No,” I said.
She stared at me. “You sure act weird sometimes. And after what we did. You’d think you’d be a little more happy to see me.”
“Hey, it was your idea,” I said.
“What?” she said. She took a step back. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
“So having sex was my idea?” she whispered, angrily. “You didn’t want to? You
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