Junior Year Box Set

I also found this chatterbox sometimes became silent and seemed to calm down, as best I could describe it. To see David’s quiet confidence as he moved from task to task made my chest tight. He even listened to me as I pointed out better ways to do things. He would just give me his little smile and do as I asked. I could envision us living on a farm and raising a bunch of kids. I expect every girl dreamed of finding a man like this. You just felt you could count on him and that the two of you would make a good match.

It also made me happy that David could ride a horse. He wasn’t an expert by any stretch, but horses are one of my passions. I was glad to find someone I could share that with. On one of his Sunday visits, I’d hurried up and gotten my chores done so we could go riding.

I took him to one of my favorite spots next to the river. I fully intended to make my case for him to date me. Everything was perfect as we got off the horses and enjoyed nature. Finally, I got up the nerve to kiss him; I’d never kissed a boy before. Fortunately, David knew what he was doing, and I just did my best to keep up with everything he taught me. I’d never thought of myself as a sexual person. My religion teaches that relations between a man and a woman are supposed to happen within the confines of marriage.

And David respected that. If he didn’t, I would have completely lost it when he got naked. Well, that wasn’t entirely true; I asked him to. He understood I wanted to learn, and he obliged. What happened next was a little embarrassing, so I’ll skip that. But when I went to bed that night, I was certain that David was going to be the one I gave my virginity to.

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My problem was that I wasn’t the only girl David was seeing. I expect if it had been anyone else, none of us would’ve tolerated it. David seemed to make it okay for him to be seeing Pam, Halle, Brook, and me. It did help that we all got together and talked about it. I found the others shared the same insecurities I had. The more I got to know them, the more my fears seemed to leave me.

I eventually did lose my virginity to him.  He made it special as he took me to a fancy restaurant and then to a romantic cabin.  He even did a sexy dance for me.  I couldn’t think of a better way or with a better man to experience it all with.

He hadn’t promised any of us anything more than spending time with us. He carved out time for all of us and seemed to do things we each enjoyed. Somehow, it worked. I expect that’s in part because we realized he wasn’t ready to take things further with anyone. To be honest, I wasn’t prepared to settle down, either. Not that I wanted to date anyone else, I just wanted to have some fun, and David seemed like the perfect guy for that.

Then everything took a dramatic turn. Pam found out she was pregnant. I think we all expected David would do as his brother had and marry her. It was what you did if you got a girl pregnant. I knew he would never consider not wanting to be a dad.

It might have worked out for the two of them, but Pam’s dad got involved. From what I saw, it was horrible. Poor David walked around with a haunted look when Pam wouldn’t even talk to him about it. When the entire mess ended, I was in shock when David agreed to raise their child, not Pam. I guess I never imagined that rearing a baby would be done by anyone but the mother.

Don’t get me wrong, I understood that Pam didn’t want to have to be responsible for raising a child while only a junior in high school. I certainly would have a hard time wrapping my head around it. But if confronted with that choice, I’m sure I would have ended up making a different decision.

While David struggled with his issues with Pam, I found Halle and Brook became closer friends with me. We all faced a life without David in it. I think the three of us were secretly happy Pam hadn’t staked her claim on him. She easily could have. The thought of him leaving us seemed to pull us closer together. We agreed that if he didn’t pick Pam, we wouldn’t pressure him with our own agendas. We would wait until he picked one of us to be his girlfriend. When he did, I knew the others would be disappointed that he chose me.

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Chapter 1 – I Would Find Ways to be Me

Sunday November 1

After leaving Rigby, Thompson and Associates, where I’d just settled how Pam and I would handle the raising or our child, I needed to unwind. It had begun to rain, so I took it easy while I drove. The Charger wanted to be aggressive, but I didn’t want to push it in this weather. It was Sunday afternoon, so I found myself at the Pearson farm. When I turned in, Zoe waved to me from the barn. I pulled up as close as I could to try to stay dry, then dashed in and found Zoe wet, muddy, and pissed.

“I’m afraid to ask,” I said as I walked up to her and gave her a kiss.

She gave me a pained look.