“Umm, do you actually want to know the answer to that?”
His eyes widened, and he downed the rest of his drink. “How about we just move on?”
I laughed. “It’s fine, Dad. Things haven’t changed. We’re waiting until we’re both ready.”
What I didn’t tell him was that Sierra had been dropping hints that, after graduation, she might be ready. He didn’t need to know that, and I didn’t want to get too excited. Don’t get me wrong. I was more than satisfied with the way our physical relationship was, but I was just as eager to finally make Sierra mine in every sense of the word.
“Okay, good. Not that it’d be bad if you had…” he trailed off then ran a hand through his hair. “Forget I said anything. Look, I wanted to talk to you about the future. College is going to be an entirely different world out there. I know you aren’t sure what you want to do with your future—”
“Sierra’s my future,” I informed him.
He snapped his fingers. “Precisely. You want to have a future with Sierra. Eventually get married, start a family, all that?”
I nodded. “Eventually,” I said, emphasizing the word. Just because I was confident that Sierra would one day be my wife didn’t mean I was ready to put a ring on it right after high school.
“College is preparation for that life, son. How you choose to spend your time will determine how you’ll be able to take care of your family in the future. Sure, it’s fun to go to parties, spend more time drinking instead of studying. It’s easy to get sucked into the party side of college, but at the end of the day, you need to remember why you’re there. To start your future, and to make yourself into a man Sierra would be proud of.”
I frowned. What he was saying was true, and I knew that college was just a stepping stone. A bridge between high school and going out into the real world. And on the other side of that bridge would be Sierra and our future.
“But I have no idea what I want to do,” I said, my eyes racing to his. I swallowed hard. “And you should know I’m not going to Alabama. I already applied to UWF and I’m starting there in the fall.”
He smiled then slapped me on the shoulder. “I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out. If that’s what you want to do, your mother and I support you. You know that.” Then he paused. “As for what you want to do, I’m not trying to scare you with talk about the future. Just giving you some food for thought. It’s okay that you haven’t determined a major. A lot of college kids are like that. Take some classes. Figure out where your interests lie. In the meantime, you need to study hard and get good grades so that you can get into whatever program you decide.”
“When did you decide you wanted to be an accountant?” I asked, hoping to get some insight and relieved he was pissed about Alabama. One down, one to go. I wasn’t sure how Sierra was going to react, but I hoped she’d be happy.
“Honestly?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I was just like you, Jeremy. When I started my first semester in college, I had no clue what I wanted to do. It wasn’t until I took an accounting class that I realized I was actually really good at it. So then I took another course and excelled even more. It just kind of stuck.”
“So, you think that will happen for me?”
“I know it’ll happen for you. You just have to work hard for what you want. Remember that, okay?”
“I will. Thanks, Dad.”
“Anytime. I meant it when I said I was proud of you.”
After our talk, I was more confident than ever with my decision. I just hoped Sierra felt the same.
Many people in school had their misconceptions about my relationship with Jeremy. After all, we both had been threatened with detention multiple times if we didn’t stop making out in between periods. And he might have been late a time or two to practice because he’d had me shoved up against the wall outside the field house with his tongue expertly massaging my own.
Hey, they say communication in a relationship is key. We just happened to enjoy communicating with our lips. I didn’t see anything wrong with that, but apparently, the Navarre High School faculty did.
So people assumed that Banks had been banging Sullivan. And, even though I’d tried to protest in the beginning, it had fallen on deaf ears. So I’d given up. They could think what they wanted. I knew the truth.
Our physical relationship was a slow progression. In the beginning, we had been young and inexperienced, fumbling around each other’s bodies, tentatively touching and caressing until we’d grown more comfortable. Every time Jeremy attempted to reach the next base, he always paused, looking for me to give him the go-ahead. If I even so much as hesitated, he’d pull back and return to kissing me without a single word or ounce of pressure to do more. I loved him all the more for it. So it took time, and even though it was slow going, it was still a whole lot of fun experiencing everything for the first time with him.
Tentative lips and hesitant hands turned into passionate kisses and expert caressing. With just his fingers, Jeremy made me feel more alive than I ever had. And I can proudly admit that I finished what Mandy Simpson hadn’t been able to—over and over again.
Yes, he’d told me about her. I’d laughed the nervous look off his face when he’d had to admit that I wasn’t the only girl who’d touched the family jewels. Except, instead of jealousy, I felt pity. Poor guy.
Despite our comfortability, we still hadn’t taken the next step. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Jeremy, and I knew in the very depths of my soul I was going to spend my life with him. But I wasn’t ready to go all the way. The last thing I wanted to do was graduate high school with a baby on my hip. Sure, I knew all about birth control, condoms—the whole nine yards. And so did Sarah Hayes, who’d missed prom because she had been in labor. But, as soon as we turned our tassels, it was game on.
When graduation day came, I was a giant bundle of nerves. Not only was I about to move on to the next phase of my life, but Jeremy and I were finally going take the plunge.
Hours after celebrating with our parents, we found ourselves at Ryan Harper’s beach house, partying it up with the rest of the 2002 Navarre High School graduating class as well as a few juniors who were celebrating being the new big dogs on campus. Lexi had come with us, but I had a feeling it was more for someone else’s celebration than my own.
After a while, the loud music made my head throb. I was walking towards the bathroom to splash some water on my face when I was suddenly pulled into a closet. Once the door had shut behind me, the small room was pitch black.
“Jeremy?” I asked.
Silence answered me. I knew every person at the party, and I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure the culprit was my dear boyfriend, so I wasn’t exactly worried. But, then again, we had just finished watching Scream, and I had that small niggle in the back of my mind of what could happen at high school parties.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that I could smell Jeremy, I’d have been freaking out. Instead, I decided to play along.
“Jeremy. Jeremy, is that you?” I whispered, attempting to feel around in the dark. My fingers finally reached a solid chest. I slid my hands up his torso, my thumbs brushing across his nipples. “Oh, wow. Sorry. You’re most certainly not my Jeremy,” I breathed out, awe in my voice.
One hand gripped mine, and another shot out past me. Then a flip was switched and the light flooded the room. I blinked twice to adjust to it and had to suppress a giggle when I found Jeremy’s heated gaze on me. He pulled me close with the hand that was holding mine.
“Not Jeremy?” he growled, his voice husky.
“That’s what you get for trying to scare me. Now, tell me, babe. Why did you pull me into the closet?”