Page 42 of Home to Me

"I don't even think it's a date," Lauren said, downplaying.

"Does he know it's probably not a date?" Sam asked.

"A very good question," Karina said, "and one that occurred even to the least sexually savvy of the four of us—no offense, Sam."

Sam shrugged. "None taken."

"So it definitely should have occurred to you," Karina finished.

"Look," Lauren said defensively. "We did it, like, one time and it was forever ago, I doubt he's still thinking about it—"

"What?!" Amanda shrieked.

"You and Eric did it?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Oh, girlie girl," Karina said, plopping down on one of the few empty squares of bed. "You know you're gonna have to tell us about this now, right?"

Lauren said, "It's seriously not as big of a deal as you guys are making it out to be."

To which Sam replied, "Oh, come on! How can you say that you did it with someone we've known since elementary school and then follow that up with, 'But it was no big deal?!'"

Karina and Amanda nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

"And," Sam continued, "you’ve lost your mind if you think you're actually going to get out of this conversation without telling us how it happened."

At this, Amanda’s and Karina's nods of agreement became even more vigorous and insistent.

Lauren sighed, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Fine," she said. “Here goes. So, it was the summer after senior year. Eric had just gotten out of the military and I was about to leave for college, and…well, I had a “to do” list that summer.”

“And Eric was on it?” Karina quipped.

“Well, losing my virginity was on it. I didn't want to start college as a virgin. Again no offense, Sam.”

“None taken.”

“I kept an eye out for opportunities all summer long, but nothing seemed to feel right, you know? Then, the very day before I was leaving for school, I ran into Eric having lunch at Sue Ann's. You know he was a few years older than us, so I didn’t know him that well, but I had always thought he was a good-looking, nice guy. And most importantly, I trusted him. I realized that he was the perfect choice.

“We chatted for a while, and then I asked him if he wanted to drive up and park at The Top of the World.”

“Oh, so he knew what was up!” Amanda chimed in.

“Well, yeah...I mean, he probably thought we'd make out a little or something. But, yeah, for sure. If you go parking at The Top of the World, it's not to have a philosophical discussion.

“So he agreed and picked me up in his truck at ten that night. When we got there, I pulled out a six-pack that I'd liberated from my parents' fridge. I think that's the first inkling he had of how seriously I was taking it. He gave me a really strange look and asked how old I was. I told him I was eighteen.

“Well, I think the situation must’ve been giving him some pause, because he nursed one beer in the time it took me to down three. We sat there, drinking, looking at the view...talking about college, the future, his time in the military, where he’d been stationed, what he’d seen...

“Then, at one point, this song came on that he liked. Hotel California, a classic. He jumped off of the bed of the truck and ran around to the cab to turn it up.

“I knew that was my chance. Maybe my only chance. It was now or never. I stripped out of my shorts and T-shirt, so when he came back around, I was wearing nothing more than my matching bra-and-panty set. My sheer, matching bra-and-panty set, no less. It was so funny. His mouth literally dropped open like you see in cartoons, and he just stood there gaping and shaking his head, like to clear it.

“Well, I figured the last thing I needed was for his head to clear, so I'd better act before he had too much time to think about it. I sat down on the edge of the truck bed, wrapped my arms and legs around him, and started kissing him. Hard. It took him a few seconds to join in, but then nature took over, and the rest—as they say—is history.”

“Well,” Karina wisely observed, “you're going on a date with him tonight, so maybe it's not all history. Or at least not ancient history...”

"It's really not a big deal between Eric and me though. Truthfully, the only thing I'm worried about is whether Ben is going to see us there together and get the wrong idea."

Amanda and Sam looked at each other, puzzled. Karina, on the other hand, just watched Lauren with a small smile, clearly recalling their whispered phone conversation.

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