of my heels while unhooking my bra and sliding my panties off. I slide under the gray satin sheets naked and I’m falling asleep before I am fully in bed. I think I feel Tate come into the room and turn on his iPod but then I never feel him slide into bed next to me, maybe I was already asleep dreaming of him.
************
It’s the start of sophomore year and Tate is at my house watching the “Like a Virgin” video with me on MTV. Michael has positioned himself as close to Tate on his left side as I am to his right. Michael is obsessed with Madonna and this is driving my mother nuts. My mom has made Michael chaperone us in the family room while she’s in the kitchen pretending to trust me. Michael is Tate’s second biggest fan, only after me and he tries to act exactly like Tate. If Tate laughs, he laughs, if Tate says he thinks a song or a video sucks so does Michael, unless it’s Madonna or George Michael. Katrina is at a friend’s house or she’d be in here saying the most embarrassing things in front of Tate. She’s in middle school now and thinks that she’s so cool and knows everything but when she opens her mouth she sounds like a stupid little kid. Tate and I hold hands and when Michael isn’t looking, which isn’t very often, we sneak a quick kiss.
When Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration” comes on Tate stands up and holds his hand out to me. I stand and place my hand in his and he pulls me towards him and we start to dance. Michael leaves the room mumbling, “Gross man” but we don’t even notice. Tate wraps his left hand into my hair and places his right hand on my face. I close my eyes and feel his lips meet mine. His lips are so big and soft. He kisses me slowly and gently at first then he sucks on my bottom lip, before I know it his tongue is searching for mine. I put my hands into the back of his silky hair and he pulls me closer as I tug on his hair. When he kisses me like this time stands still. I feel my heart beat like a sledgehammer against his and my stomach flies south. When Tate moans I can’t but help the mewling that escapes me. We make out for the whole song, never even hearing Katrina come in until she starts yelling, “Ew, gross! Mom, Brook is making out with Tate in the family room.”
We break apart and Tate quickly sits down on the couch with a pillow in his lap. I sit next to him and we try to look as innocent as possible when “Don’t Lose My Number” comes on and my mom walks into the room acting like she’s looking for something. Katrina would have to come home and ruin everything just when things were getting good. He has been trying to talk me into letting him get to third base but I keep putting him off, each time afraid that he’ll dump me for some girl who will go all the way with him. Lots of the girls at school have already lost their virginities to the older boys. Tate isn’t pressuring me but I know he wants more sexually, he makes me promise to lose my virginity to him when I’m ready.
“Just promise me you’ll save your first time for me.”
“Of course I want my first time to be with you, Taters.”
The Varsity football team makes the state championship and Tate is excited and scared at the same time. He’s the third string running back but at practice when Steve, the starting Varsity running back got a concussion they call Tate up back up the starter in the State game. He called me when he got home from practice with the good news. He was so excited because he thinks this will seal his spot on Varsity for next year if he plays well. Danny told him they’ll be rooming together because he was supposed to room with Steve but now Tate will take his bed which works out great because guess who Danny’s girlfriend is rooming with? Me. So now apparently Tate, Danny and Wendy have it all worked out and Tate and I will stay in one room while Danny and Wendy stay in the other after the game. He said the night