It had been an entire week since Tricia got her early admission letter for University of Arizona. Plus she'd had her eighteenth birthday, a depressingly low-key occasion, about a month ago. Tricia realized she could finally start dating.
She brought it up with her mother after dinner. "Um...mom...I think I'm ready to start dating."
Her mother looked up from her book and sighed. "I guess it's going to happen sometime soon whether I approve of it or not. So thank you for telling me, sweetheart. I'll call your doctor in the morning and we'll get you started on birth control as soon as possible."
Tricia thought she was just delivering an FYI. So it wouldn't come as a total surprise or a betrayal if she went out on a date. This was more than she was expecting.
"Whoa. I did say 'start' right?"
"Take it from me and your father. It only takes one slip up to change you life," her mother said. "I was in college when I got pregnant with you, and I had to drop out. Remember how long it took for me to get my degree?"
She knew the story of her origins better than she really wanted to. Her parents had once let it slip that they'd only done it the once, that was all it took. After that, Tricia noticed all the teenage pregnancies and unexpected children on her mom's side of the family. Tricia's arrival shouldn't have been all that surprising; the women in her family seemed to get pregnant at the sight of a sperm cell.
While Tricia had spent most of her high school years decidedly not dating, she had put some thought into who she would date when it was time, and she really, really hoped it was Brent.
Tricia had a crush on Brent for years, and he'd always been nice to her too. Especially since they'd been running the school newspaper together this year. He was tall and strong enough to have been on football or basketball, but she liked that he chose something nerdier, even if he was blatant about doing it for the sake of college admissions.
Last she heard, Brent wasn't seeing anyone, but Tricia hadn't exactly been plugged into the gossip circuit. It was a Friday afternoon, and every time he looked at her, it made her wonder how he felt. She couldn't concentrate at all on the website they were supposed to be building.
Tricia realized she could wait and see if Brent would make a move, but she also didn't have a lot of time left, not if they were going to have a relationship or something. Maybe that was thinking too far ahead, but she felt like she knew him already. She had some idea what she was getting into.
She decided to just go for it. "One second, and then we can get back to...I got into University of Arizona."
"That's awesome!" Brent said. "So did I!"
She knew he had applied there, but she didn't know he'd gotten in.
"Congrats to you too! Do you want to go to the boardwalk tonight to celebrate?"
He blinked with surprise and blushed. "Yeah, that sounds great."
Her distraction had spread to him; when they parted that afternoon, he offered to pick her up later.
Tricia's heart was racing as she got ready that night, picking her cutest outfit--no, her most alluring one--no, best to just be comfortable--or, what would be easiest to slip out of? She took her first birth control pill, and her mother had Tricia set an alarm on her phone to make sure she took them regularly at the same time every day. Tricia knew it was too soon to expect the pills to protect her. But if something happened with Brent tonight, she didn't want to say no. She'd been waiting years for this moment. Maybe she could get a morning-after pill.
They had the best time together at the boardwalk. Snow cones and fries. Rides and arcade games. Brent won her an oversized teddybear, so when the three of them piled into the ferris wheel, she had to sit close to him. She could feel the heat where they touched, and he held her hands. She thought they were going to kiss then, but the ride was too short.
He brought her home without her even asking, and she lingered in the front seat a moment. Then he kissed her. It felt awkward at first. His lips felt soft and passionate against hers, but she didn't know what she was doing. After they took a breath together, he kissed her again, his tongue slipping just into her mouth. She had always expected to be grossed out by that, but with Brent, she wasn't. His arms were around her, and she pressed back against him.
And then he pulled away. Their first kiss--her first kiss, and what a kiss!--was done, and that was all she was in for, apparently.
Alone in her room, she imagined his hands going further, sliding down her backside, or around to the front, teasing her breasts through her bra, cupping her between her legs where she could press her pubic bone against him...she came to a roaring orgasm even though it was her own fingers doing the work and not his. Was there any chance things could have gone further? Anything she could have done differently?
Over the weekend, Tricia really felt the pill kicking in. According to the package it'd be a full week before it'd be effective, but the side-effects were getting a head start. It was making her gain weight. But then again, what wasn't? It was also making her sick to her stomach just after taking the pill.
One week, she thought. She could handle it that long at least. She imagined offering herself to Brent the next Friday. Maybe they could lose their virginity to each other, without a care in the world.
At school the next week, Brent would smile at her when they passed in the hallway, maybe a bit more than before. He didn't act like they were in a relationship, and Tricia had to remind herself that they weren't yet, were they? It had just been the one date.
Friday afternoon, Tricia was starting to wonder if she should just kiss him right there by the table where they were laying out articles for the next issue of the newspaper. She imagined him sweeping the papers off the table and laying her down there. In her fantasy, they could just close the door and no one would barge in or think it was suspicious.
"Want to come over and watch a movie later?" Brent asked.
"Yeah," she replied, before even knowing what movie.
She biked over to his house after dinner, looking forward to spending time alone with him. She rang the doorbell and Ally answered.
"Oh hey! Brent mentioned you might be joining us. Come on in," Ally said.
Ally was another girl in their senior class. She was lanky, with short, spiky hair. Dark eyebrows and light skin. Ally had never been unkind to Tricia, but Tricia had never learned to be comfortable around pretty girls like her. It wasn't even like Ally did herself up like some did--she didn't have to.
Ally led Tricia through the living room to the kitchen, where Brent's mother was pulling a bowl of popcorn out of the microwave.
"Thanks Mrs. G," Ally said.
