How dare she. I’d only shown her love and compassion. Had I been with other girls? Yes, we’d talked about that up front. Even though we officially weren’t committed, we had at the very least a deep friendship. We had started to move towards more. She’d never given me any indication we had any problems. To humiliate me in such a public manner was unforgivable. No one would put up with that. I was such a wuss. Not two minutes ago, I defended her.
“FUCK HER!”
That simple declaration was what saved me. Sammie was right. I needed to do what was best for me. I’d been led around by my nose for too long. It started with Tami for all those years. I loved Tami to death, but I have to grow up and start taking control of my life. My problem was I didn’t know how to put my feelings before everyone else’s. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what my feelings were, I always tried to keep them in check. Why did I keep them in check? What did I have to be scared of here? I know this change wouldn’t happen overnight, and I wasn’t sure I would ever be 100% selfish, but I needed to start to look out for my own self-interest.
“Did I just say that out loud?” I asked as I looked up sheepishly.
Sammie pulled me into her arms and kissed me. It was the right thing to do. It stopped me from thinking completely. She had her own version of the mind-eraser kiss that was quite enjoyable. When our kiss ended, I looked around, and all the girls had tears in their eyes and big smiles. I felt love from all of them and I realized that she was right. Their smiles kept me from feeling embarrassed about losing it. Friends who cared for me surrounded me. It would be okay. I kissed her again.
“Thank you. I needed someone to kick me in the butt. You’re a special friend. Feel free to kick my butt anytime you think I need it.”
“Okay, now go spend some quality time with Cindy, and we’ll all see you tonight,” Sammie said.
“Why, what’s going on tonight?” I asked.
“You’ll be at Beth’s party and you’re going to dance with all of us,” Sammie ordered me. “You will get every guy’s wet dream and get to flirt with the hottest girls in school. And if you’re a very good boy, we might all let you kiss us.”
I grinned.
“I think I’m going to like being selfish.”
Beth smacked me in the back of the head.
“Listen, ‘stupid boy,’ there’s no need for you to become a jerk. Don’t think any one of us isn’t capable of taking you down.”
That brought a smile to my face. Beth needed to stay away from Tami and the whole ‘stupid boy’ thing. Cindy grabbed my hand and led me out of the auditorium. Before I got to the door, Beth yelled after us.
“Hey wait, I forgot to tell you that you have two dates.”
I looked at Cindy and she gave me a Mona Lisa smile that was of no help.
“The guys paid their money, so you have to go on a guys’ night out with them. Talk to Gary, he’s organizing it.”
That sounded like fun. Maybe I could get my girl friends to go.
“Hey, would you guys like to go spend an evening with all my bachelor friends?” I asked.
Beth was jumping up and down. Of course she did.
“Okay, Beth’s vote doesn’t count because she has the hots for Gary.”
“Hey, no fair!” Beth complained.
They all smiled and nodded. The good news was with Beth involved I was sure Gary wouldn’t mess it up. She would help him. Okay, she would plan the whole thing.
“Great. Beth, tell Gary I added to the guest list. I’m sure the guys will be fine with who all I added. You are, after all, the cutest girls I know.”
“Sure, you’re just saying that so you’ll get kisses at tonight’s party,” Mona said.
“Of course, but you’re all still cute. See you guys tonight.”
We got into Cindy’s car and we were leaving the school grounds.
“So where are you taking me?”
“Do you mean right now, or for our date?”
“Tell me about the date first.”
“You’re taking me to Homecoming. Greg was starting to crack under his role as my bogus boyfriend. I’m pretty sure the shit has been cheating on me.”
“What happened to your rule? The rule of only dating guys your own age or older?”
“You poor, naïve boy, you never ask a woman why she changed her mind about something like that. Just be thankful I did. In addition, you wore me down. Suzanne keeps telling me about your tutoring sessions and I decided I needed some of your special attention too. Well, our Princess is the one who wore me down. You’ll have to be extra nice to her the next time you two get together.”
“Good lord, I don’t know how much nicer I can be to my special tutor. You may have to come along and give me some ideas.”
“You shit. You’re just trying to get another threesome for yourself.”
“You heard Sammie: I need to be more selfish.”
“Well, in this case it’ll work out for you. But I’m warning you right now that you better drink plenty of fluids, because I think the two of us are probably too much for you.”
“Oh goodie, a challenge! My guess is our little Princess will be in the middle to begin with, and after we tag-team her she’ll be a quivering mess. By then I’ll be so horny you don’t stand a chance.”
“I agree about the first part, but let’s just say, ‘challenge accepted.’”
I didn’t have to ask where our intended destination was, because we pulled up to my place. We went to the kitchen to grab a snack and sodas before we’d go up to my apartment. Mom and Dad were at the kitchen table. I figured I’d better break the news about Tracy to them.
“Hey, Tracy and I are no longer going out, so I stole Cindy from Greg and she’s taking me to Homecoming.”
I think if my parent’s heads hadn’t been attached, they would have snapped off. Of course, my mom has a way with words.
“What the hell?”
“I guess it’s a little more complicated than that. Tracy decided to humiliate me in public at the band auction. By her actions, I think everyone would be fair in assuming we’re no longer an item. Miss Cindy here saved me from having a bunch of guys bid on me. Thank you, by the way.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Cindy bought me at the auction as her boy toy and decided I was going to Homecoming with her. She called Greg and dumped him. That about covers it, doesn’t it?”
Cindy nodded.
“Just about.”
Greg came into the kitchen.
“Hey, Dumbass, I thought there was some kind of Bro Code that said you weren’t supposed to steal your big brother’s girlfriend.”
My dad just started laughing when he saw the look on my mom’s face, and she gave him an evil glare. She saw that no one was going to talk, so she just threw her hands in the air and walked out. Dad was still chuckling.
“Oh, David, how she hasn’t killed you yet is beyond me. She would have taken me out years ago if I tried that with her. I wouldn’t poke the bear too much, but damn that was funny.”
Greg went up to Cindy and gave her a kiss.
“Hey, I’m not a dumbass like you were. Hands off of the girlfriend,” I complained.
Cindy gave me a curious look.
“I’m your girlfriend now?”
Oh crud. Not her, too. Then I saw her and Greg try not to laugh.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve asked before I made that declaration. Cindy Lewis, will you be my girlfriend?” I asked.
“Of course I will.”
That made me very happy. How hard was that? I would never understand Tracy. Thank God, she was no longer my problem. I grabbed our snacks and drinks and dragged her out of the house. I could hear Dad and Greg chuckling as we left.
I TOOK CINDY OUT THE back door.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To my apartment.”
“How did you swing that?”
“I asked.”
“What does your brother think of you having an apartment and him being stuck in the house?”
I opened the apartment door and we went upstairs. As we walked up, I explained.