Page 36 of The Other Half

Oakley

I can’t believe I woke up this morning no longer a virgin. I feel different, a little weird. But I don’t regret it at all. There’s no one else I would have rather experienced it with.

As I sit down at the kitchen bar, I let myself reminisce about the night before and I feel that tingly sensation start in my stomach again. Everything about it was so perfect, from the way he held me and peppered kisses down my neck to the way he moved inside me. I clench my thighs together, trying to push the dirty thoughts away in hopes that my emotions won’t be visible to my mother, who just walked in the room.

“What are your plans today, darling?” Mom asks as she yawns and stretches her arms over her head.

“Oh, nothing much.” Just waiting around for round two, mainly.

“Are you going to see that boy again? What was his name?”

“Oliver,” I reply, trying to hide the giddiness from my voice.

“Right, him.”

“Yeah, we’re kind of dating now.” I feel like I’ve kept it a secret long enough, especially now that we’ve crossed the bridge of saying we love each other. It feels more serious.

Her face lights up. “How wonderful! When do we get to meet him?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s still so early.”

“Well your father and I will want to get to know him,” she says. “Tell me about him. What’s his last name? What do his parents do?”

Does that have to be the first thing she learns about him? “McLeod. Um, his parents worked at the mill for a while.” I purposely omit the fact that they’re unemployed now.

“Oh? Maybe your dad knows them. What were their positions?”

“Manufacturing.”

She raises her brow in feigned interest. “Really?” Her voice cracks.

“Yeah.” I swallow.

She wrinkles her nose. “So they really worked in the mill.” Her eyes go wide as she says it.

“Yes.”

“I see.” She starts wiping down the already shiny countertop and sighs. “So what does Oliver want to do? Does he have any plans for college?”

“I’m not really sure, I mean we just started dating so we haven’t talked much about that,” I lie.

“Hmm.”

“But I mean, I’m sure he will. Go to college, I mean.” I feel a bead of sweat run down my neck.

She nods. “Well, it’s good to keep your options open.”

“For college..?” I ask.

“For boys,” she mutters, flicking her eyes to mine.

Wow. Well, I guess that answers any question I had about what they’d think of Oliver. She hasn’t even met him and she’s basically already telling me to find someone else. “He’s a really good guy, Mom. He’s super smart, he makes great grades, he treats me really well.”

“And that’s nice, honey. But treating you well doesn’t keep the lights on,” she says in a sickly sweet tone.

Wow, she really went there. “Yeah, clearly. If that were the case it’d be dark in here,” I scoff.

“Excuse me, young lady?”

---