Page 39 of Dance of the Phoenix
The kiss was chaste—a peck, really—and when she leaned back, I found myself instinctually leaning forward, trying to follow her touch.
Because it wasn’t enough.
“Aileen ...” I said, staring at her. Entranced by her very existence. “Why ...”
“I like you, Logan,” she said, so bold that she rendered me speechless. “I really, really like you.”
My throat grew dry as all I could do was look at her while a sudden epiphany landed on me.
I realized then what it was I was feeling toward her.
“I ... I l-like you ... too ...” I mumbled, flushing at how uncool I was being, and cleared my throat. “I ... I mean—”
She cut me off with another kiss, and this one was different. She pressed herself into me, her hands grabbing my shoulders, and I didn’tknow what to do with my own hands. Where did I put them? What should a boy do in this situation? I was lost in lust and confusion.
She leaned back only an inch to whisper against my lips, “Open up for me, Logan.”
I opened my mouth to speak, and she took advantage of that, giving me my real first kiss.
And since I liked the girl, all I could do was let her ravish my lips with hers as much as she wanted to, the movie long forgotten.
After the first kiss, Aileen and I spent all of our time together.
We never spoke about what we were, but it was clear to both of us that we were more than friends.
After all, every night, once my parents went to sleep, Aileen would sneak into my room, and we would make out until neither of us could breathe and I would feel the aching need in my gut, in mypants, growing to a breaking point.
I started sitting next to her in classes and spent my lunchtimes with her only. We spoke about mundane things, like our favorite colors and music or debating the existence of aliens. Our conversations flowed naturally, as if we’d been friends our entire lives.
Then came the night before my fourteenth birthday.
We had dinner like every night with my parents before we headed to our rooms. I waited until I could hear Dad’s loud snoring and counted to ten before I heard a knock on my door, followed by Aileen tiptoeing into my room, closing and locking the door behind her.
A huge, almost goofy smile spread over my face as I stretched my hands from my seat on the bed. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she whispered back before straddling me and burying herself in my body. My arms closed around her, and I took in her mesmerizing smell, enjoying the feel of her body against mine. I loved feeling her so close.
She feltrightin my arms.
Then she said, “Let’s have sex.”
Bewildered, I was sure I didn’t hear her right. I turned to look at her and saw her staring at me, her hand playing with my hair. “What?”
“Sex,” she said, shrugging, though a small smile appeared on her face. “Let’s try it.”
My lips felt dry as my heartbeat quickened. “But ...” I murmured, looking away from her as I felt my cheeks flushing. “Isn’t it ... like ... I don’t know ...”
She chuckled softly. “Everyone does it,” she said, her voice luring my eyes back to her. A wicked glint flashed in her eyes when she added, “I bet your parents do it all the time.”
I couldn’t help my disgust when I exclaimed, “Ew!”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. It’s not like you didn’t learn about how babies are made, Logan,” she said before poking my cheek and flashing me another wicked smile that filled my stomach with knots. “Although you did look squeamish when Mrs. Holden said she was going to assign you that baby doll to take home and take care of.”
I opened my mouth and closed it like a fish, lost for words. She pushed. “Come on, let’s do it.”
Something a lot like panic made me snap, “But what if we make a baby?” Then, I thought about it again and blurted, “Don’t we need c-condoms?”
She grinned. “We don’t need condoms, silly,” she said, cupping my cheek and causing my already haywire heart to palpitate. “I haven’t gotten my period yet, meaning I can’t get pregnant. Besides, I think we have to do it, like, a lot to get pregnant.”
