“Baby steps,” says Drew.
“Right. Sorry,” I nod and apologize.
“Truth moment?”
“Truth moment.”
“I miss you.”
He’s still apprehensive and I’m not out of the woods yet, but this is a start. I have a lot of making up to do.
“Let’s take a walk,” he takes me by the hand. Drew took me out into the hall so we could be alone. “I want to apologize for grabbing you the way I did. That’s not me. I would never hit a girl.”
“I’m sorry your birthday was ruined.”
“It was ruined long before that night. My parents are getting a divorce and I’m powerless to stop it,” he sighs.
“Is your father really moving?”
“Yes, and I don’t know what to do.”
While Drew talked an idea popped into my head. If we could help fix his parents relationship the way they tried to fix ours then Drew wouldn’t have to choose.
“I have an idea,” I grinned from ear to ear.
“For what?”
“For getting your parents to reconcile. It will require getting both the team, the coach, the principal and as many volunteers as we possibly can to help out.”
“Sid, my dad’s leaving his hotel in a week.”
“Then we should hurry,” I smiled.
I jumped to my feet hurrying to put my plan into action and went to speak with the principal. Drew followed behind me, dragging his feet.
“What is it that we’re doing?” He asked.
“You’ll see.”
I met with the principal after lunch and then the decoration committee after school. When I was done I met up with Drew, Patrice, Nicole, Em and Trisha in the parking lot. I couldn’t wait to tell them my plan.
“So what is this about?” Asked Patrice.
“I’ve come up with a huge plan to get Drew’s parents to reconcile.”
“Wow, you’ve really gone off the deep end.” Nicole replied, checking my temperature.
“I’m not sick, just hear me out.”
“We’re listening,” Em eyed me like she thought I was losing it.
“I was thinking of taking their wedding photos and showing them on a projector screen in the auditorium, setting up the auditorium to look like their first date and playing some of their favorite songs. Then we can have people tell them how their marriage has influenced them and end it all by getting them to dance with one another. I figure maybe if we show them how many good memories they have and make such a big deal out of it they’ll realize the relationship is worth saving,” I blurt out, excited.
“Sidney, this isn’t a Cosby show special,” Patrice rolls her eyes.
“Name one episode on the Cosby show where anyone ever did what I’m asking,” I challenged her.
“Look, it’s corny but anything is better than doing nothing,” Em points out.
“Let’s do it,” Drew smiles.
“Yes! I need you to get me any anniversary, wedding, vacation or honeymoon videos or photo’s you can find. Since we have a week to do this I brought our decoration committee on board and if we can get those things to the decoration committee we can have this done two days from now. The principal agreed to call your parents and tell them they need to come down to get them here,” I told him.
“Ooh and don’t forget the names of their favorite songs and the song they danced to at their wedding,” Nicole adds.
Drew smiles and nods in approval of my plan. It’s juvenile, but at least when all is said and done we can say we tried. Nicole made a gagging sound and we all started laughing.
“We can do this guys.”
“I still think you watch too much television,” Patrice replies sarcastically.
“Either that or it wasn’t soda in that can she was drinking at lunch,” Nicole teases.
They all start laughing at my expense. My plan may be corny and it might not accomplish anything but it was worth the shot. We all headed home and I went up to my room to plan. I came down to eat dinner then went back up to my room for bed afterwards.
Drew came knocking on my window at around midnight and I let him in. He wanted to get away from his house because his parents were arguing yet again.
“I promise I’ll leave as soon as your alarm goes off,” he promises.
“Okay, but be quiet.”
I tossed Drew a pillow and a blanket and he lay down on the floor next to my bed to sleep. Having him in my room so late was weird and if my parents caught him in here I’d be grounded for life. It’s bad enough they found out about me seeing Quincy after they told me to stay away from him.
I had a hard time sleeping that night so around two in the morning I asked Drew to lay down in the bed with me. It felt good to have his arms around me, and if I’m going to get in trouble it might as well be for a reason.
Drew woke me up kissing me on the lips the next morning and when I looked at the clock I realized that it was a full hour before the time I’d usually wake up.
“You look a mess in the morning,” Drew chuckles, “I’m officially traumatized.”
“Shut up,” I smacked him with my pillow.
I climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I don’t know how he could kiss me with morning breath and not throw up. Drew came in a few moments later to use the bathroom. I’m surprised he didn’t just wait until I came out.
No peaking Sid…you’ll get a chance to find out what he’s working with soon enough…
By the time I was done brushing my teeth he was done. Thank GOD. We both headed back into my room. “Since I’m up I guess I should get ready for school,” I brushed my hair up into a ponytail.
“Or not.”
Drew pushed me backwards onto my bed and climbed on top of me. He started kissing me again, and his hands roamed all over my body. I’m having a hard time keeping up with them. We still have our clothes on and I told myself I wouldn’t let things get too far, but I wanted to enjoy myself.
Drew stuck his tongue in my ear, which tickled in a weird way, but it also felt really good. I could see how this could lead to other things because once you got started it was really hard to stop and before you know it you’d be doing exactly what you said you wouldn’t.
“Stop.”
“Come on Kim…I mean Sid,” he reels back.
“Kim? Are you serious Drew? The mood is definitely gone now.” I shoved him off of me.
“It’s an honest mistake.”
“How far did she let you get?”
“Are you serious?”
“So you slept with her?”
“How long were the two of you even dating before you charmed her out of her underwear?”
“It wasn’t very long.”
“Don’t you ever get tired of that?”
Drew eyed me incredulously, “I’m a seventeen year old male in high school. Is that like a trick question or something?”
“Okay, well answer me this one question...you’ve had plenty of opportunities to, so why haven’t you tried sleeping with me?”
“I would’ve figured the answer to would be obvious. You’re not like these other girls Sid. You mean something to me. When I take your virginity it’ll be when I’m ready to hang up my player card.”
A smile spread across my face, “I should get ready for school, and so should you,” I gently shoved him towards the window.
He climbed out of my window and headed home to get ready for school. After getting dressed myself I went downstairs to eat breakfast and everyone looked surprised to see me up so early.
“Wow, you mean you’re actually up to eat breakfast without rushing,” Josh teases.
I glare at him, thinking about how all of my issues with Drew were partially his fault. How could he do that to me? He knows how much I love Drew.
“Are you okay?” Mom asks.
“I’m fine mom, I just had a rough morning.”
“Doing what, combing your hair for a change?” Emily chuckles.
I ignored everyone and finished my breakfast. When I was done I headed into the living room to grab my backpack and left. Pulling up to the school fifteen minutes later, Drew is with his teammates and Kimberly Caldwell is all over him.
“Uh-oh, here comes trouble,” Xerxes says as I walk over to them.
“Oh, hey Sidney,” Kim greets me as I walk up.
“Save it,” I snap at her.
“I was just saying hi,” she throws her hands up in the air.
“I know what you were doing and I’m not in the mood.”
“What are you going to do?” She scoffs, “Beat me with your books? Please.”
I looked over at Drew who shook his head to warn me not to start anything. Resisting the urge to beat her down, I headed off to class making sure my shoulder collided into Kim’s and practically knocked her over.
“Watch where you’re going!” Kim shouted at me.
“Oh, believe me, it wasn’t an accident,” I glare at her.
Someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” Asked Quincy, “I saw what you did to Kim.”
“Oh,” I rolled my eyes, “It’s you.”
Maybe I should have slept in a little longer…
“Well good morning to you too,” he smiles. Damn him and that smile. “What’s your problem?”
“Are you serious?” Did he conveniently forget he tried to destroy my love life?
“That sounds like code for Drew.”
“More like code for kill Kim.”
“If you want to be with Drew so badly, convince him to be exclusive instead of lashing out at the girls he has no problem sleeping with.”
“Oh believe me, if I could get away with it I’d probably staple his nuts to the wall.”
“Ouch,” Quincy winces, “That bad? Are you going to be this violent all period?”
Why am I even talking to Quincy? He’s another part of the equation that led up to my current aggravated state.
“Don’t give me that look.”
“You, my brother and Scott all suck.”
I pulled out everything I needed for class and waited for the first bell to ring. Drew walked in and sat down next to me.
Why is it that no one tells you dating isn’t as easy as it looks on television? Why does no one tell you how in a rush you’ll be to have sex once the hormones kick in? How is it that some people are able to make it out their teenage years unscathed and others get so burned?
Dating is complicated, it’s angry, its sad, and all consuming and it‘s stressful. If you really think about it…beyond your own hormones, dating is actually pretty scary. You can get pregnant, you can get sexually transmitted diseases and you run the risk that once you give yourself to the person you hope to be with they might just leave like a thief in the night.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, pulling me from my thoughts. I stole a quick glance at it and smiled. It’s Drew. He sent me a text that said, “I love you.” I texted him back that I loved him too and he sent back a smiley face. We looked over at each other and laughed.
During lunch we met up with everyone else to go over our plan for operation reconcile. Fast-forward to two days later and we barely have everything done. Still, our plan is coming along nicely. The principal calls Drew’s parents to tell them Drew has gotten into a fight and that they need to come up to the school to meet with him.
We put the finishing touches on the auditorium. Principal Keaton excuses everyone who’s helping from sixth period. Together we light candles, which are placed on the tables all around the room. We tested the projection machine to make sure it worked and made sure the music was okay. Three o’clock came along faster than expected and everyone made it to their places. All of the windows were covered to make it more intimate, the projector was turned on with their wedding photo paused on it, and a table for two was set up romantically. There were rose petals all over the table, a candle, and some cafeteria food, which was the best we could do.
When Drew’s parents walk in to see their wedding photo on the projector screen they look confused at first and then tears form in his mother’s eyes. Have a seat mom and dad. I know you two are getting a divorce, but before you do I’d like you to take some things into consideration,” Drew tells them.
He nods to Coach Treggle who steps forward, “Like the lives of people you’ve touched, and how you’re marriage has taught other people to love.”
I took Drew’s parents to their seats and sat them down while person after person told them about a fond memory they had of the two of them. Even Drew’s family showed up to lend support.
After the fond memories, we played a projection slide of the photos Drew snagged for me. There were a lot of ooh’s and ah’s and Drew’s parents seemed to be peering into each other’s eyes instead of at each other’s throats for once. I point it out to Drew and he smiles.
The slide was a good ten minutes long and when it was done we cued the music. The first song to play was the song they danced to at their wedding.
“Come on,” Drew, dragging them to our makeshift dance floor for a dance.
I had someone put the spotlight on them. The tears are pouring from Mrs. Taylor eyes at this point. This is the real world and not some afternoon special but hopefully us putting forth such an effort helped them at least want to fight for each other.
Drew’s mom says something to his dad and we all hope they’re talking things out. They’re both smiling and laughing with one another, which is always a good sign. Once the dance is over Drew and I take them back to their table where they ate cafeteria food.
“Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, the reason we lured you both here today is because we want to remind you that some things are worth fighting for. It’s always easy to throw your hands up and give up but it’s hard to stick around when things get tough and try to make things work. I know what we did today doesn’t instantly resolve the problems you have but hopefully it will move you both to take a step towards reconciliation,” I smile and hand the mic to Drew.
“Mom, Dad, I love you both with all my heart and you’re divorce doesn’t just affect you it affects all of us. I hope you reconsider and decide to work things out.”
After Scott pours his heart out to them, they smile and pull their boys in for a long hug. It’s corny and it’s not perfect, but I think we got our point across.
I had to help clean up and Drew left to talk to his parents alone. Once the cleaning was done I took all of the trash to the garbage and came back inside to grab my purse. Drew’s parents were gone and so was he, so I headed home after thanking everyone for their help. I let my parents know I was home and that I was going over to Drew’s then left.
“He’s outback,” Mrs. Taylor, smiled opening the door for me.
“Thanks,” I smiled back.
I head out back and am halted in my steps to see Drew already studying with Kim. What is she even doing here? I joined them, but my irritation is definitely written on my face.
“Oh hi Sidney,” Kim greets me.
“We got started without you,” Drew smiles.
“I see. I didn’t know there was going to be a we.”
“She’s locked out of her house,” he explains.
“How convenient,” I roll my eyes, “don’t they have locksmith’s for that?”
“Don’t be that way,” He glances at me to say I’m being rude.
“I want to spend time with you. Not you and Kim.”
“She has no way home and I offered to give her a ride.”
“Fine, let’s take her home and come back to spend some time together alone.”
Realizing I’m not about to let this go, Drew reluctantly agrees. Kim smirks as she walks by and I just want to punch her pretty little face in. I really don’t know what she thinks is so darn funny.
Riding with Drew to take Kimberly home, I want to slit my own throat. She kept going on and on about how sweet she thinks Drew is. If there was an eject button in his car she’d be in the middle of the road somewhere. He walks her up to her front door, gives her a hug and then comes back to the car.
“I thought she was locked out?”
“Her sister just got home.”
“Right,” I narrow my eyes at him, “I don’t like you hanging out with her Drew.”
“I hang out with a lot of girls Sidney.”
“Yes, but you like her and not even a little bit. You like her.”
“We’re friends with benefits, chill out,” he laughs, amused.
He grabs my hand to hold and kisses the back of it. I hate that he can altar my moods at the drop of a hat. The dynamic of our relationship is starting to stress me out, but I want to be with him so I put up with it.
“I don’t want some tramp interfering in our relationship,” I glance over at him to study his reaction.
“You worry too much,” he sighs, still smiling. My frustration is funny to him.
“I wouldn’t if we didn’t seem to break up every five seconds. It always seems like just when we’re getting back to a good place something else comes along to knock us back off course.”
“Don’t do anything stupid like kiss Quincy again and we’ll be fine.”
“Let’s not forget you dumped me to sleep with other girls,” I remind him.
We pull into his driveway and head into his house where his mom has pizza waiting. While we eat pizza with his parents I can’t help but notice how cozy they are.
“I hope you and Mr. Taylor are able to work things out.”
“We’ve agreed to try, that’s the most important step,” Drew’s dad smiles at her.
“Yes, and I have you to thank for it,” Drew kisses me on the cheek.
After we ate we went out back to do our homework together. Dad called me a couple of times, probably trying to make sure I wasn’t losing my virtue and Drew kept snickering in the background.
“Your dad is really worried about me taking your virginity isn’t he?”
“He knows how you nasty little boys think.”
“Nasty huh? I’ll show you nasty.”
Drew playfully forced me back on the grass and climbs on top of me. It’s been a while since he and I have been like this with one another. I want to make up for lost time. We kissed until we both lost our breath and had to pull away.
“As angry with you as I was, I still missed you,” Drew gazed into my eyes.
“About that kiss, Drew I…”
“It’s forgotten, don’t worry about it,” he cut me off.
“I thought I lost you for a minute and I don’t like the way that made me feel.”
“If you haven’t figured it out by now, you have my heart Sid,” he gave me a moment of sincerity, “I couldn’t deny it if I wanted to. All of my friends are right. I am whipped.”
“Well, if it makes any difference so am I.”
“Eh-hem.” Mr. Taylor cleared his throat.
“Busted,” Drew drops his head and sighs.
He climbs off of me and Mr. Taylor makes us come inside to do our homework in the living room where he can see us.
“Drew how many times do I have to tell you to stay off of her?” His mom asks irritated.
“Mom, I was just kissing her. Give me a break.”
“Yeah right,” she narrows her eyes at him, “like you were with Annette and Kim?”
“Wow, you’re just going to put my business out there like that? Whose side are you on?”
“Sidney’s obviously,” she winks at me.
His mouth drops open and I laugh. God I love his mom. She’s like a second mom to me and she doesn’t BS when it comes to Drew.
“Sid is saving herself until we get married,” he informs her.
His dad spit out whatever he was drinking all over the table. I looked at Drew who looked back at me and even his mom had a shocked look on her face.
“When is it that you and Sidney plan on getting married?” He asks.
“I don’t know, after we graduate and before I go pro,” Drew shrugs.
“Don’t you think you’re both a little too young to be thinking about getting married? Besides, do you have any idea how many women are going to be after you once you turn pro? I would wait until you’re an established pro ball player before you go and get married.” Mr. Taylor suggests.
“No offense Sidney. We just think you both need to see what else is out there before you go tying yourselves to one another. Things are going to be a million times harder than they are now once he goes pro,” Drew’s mom explains. “You’ll be spending a lot of time alone and there’s going to be a lot of half-naked girls showing up at his hotel room. Not to mention the media who will twist things around.”
“I know what I’m getting into,” I assure them, “Besides, when I go pro I’ll have my own groupies to deal with.”
“High school sweethearts never survive past graduation and if they do they either break up or get divorced within the first five years.”
“That won’t happen to us. Drew and I really love each other.”
“Then why have an open relationship? I know you know he’s sleeping with other girls. Doesn’t that bother you?”
Drew exchanges glances with his parents then he looks over at me. He signals for me to get up and we went over to my house to finish studying.
“What was that all about?”
“I don’t know, my parents are tripping,” he shakes his head.
“You don’t believe all that do you?”
“My parents don’t want me getting serious with anyone, that’s all, but in the end my future is my choice.”
“I don’t see why us getting married has to be a bad thing.”
“It’s not Sid, don’t worry about it.”
“You say that now, but seriously, when you become famous you’re going to have tons of girls throwing their panties at you.”
“That’s two years from now. Can we just focus on right now?”
“Fine, the spring dance is coming up and I was thinking that we could wear red.”
Drew withdrew from the conversation as I went on and on about the spring dance. I stopped talking and he didn’t even notice. Why has he checked out of the conversation all of a sudden?
“Is everything okay?”
“Oh…um…yeah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I sort of promised Kim I would take her to the spring dance,” he braced for my reaction.
“So what. Un-invite her.”
“I made a promise. I can’t go back on my word.”
“Drew, if you tell me you’re going to the spring dance with Kim I’m gonna lose it,” I force him to look at me, “you’ve already ditched me for Courtney. I’m not going through this again.”
“I promised her way before you and I got back together Sid.”
“You’re not hearing me. You are not taking Kim to the spring dance.”
“I don’t want to argue and I’m done talking about this. I gave her my word and I’m keeping it.”
“You’re joking, right? Are you really taking Kim instead of me?”
“If I bail on Kim she won’t have a date. You wouldn’t have had a date either since technically we weren’t together,” he points out.
“I guess that makes everything just fine then doesn’t it?” I reply, angrily.
“Hey.”
“What?” I snapped.
“It’s one night Sidney, you’ll have me for a lifetime.”
“Don’t sweet talk me Drew. Your dimples stopped being cute when you told me you plan on going to the dance with her.”
Drew cut the conversation short and got up to leave. I rushed to get in front of him and placed my hands on his chest, stopping him. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You’re going home because I want to go to the dance with you?”
“No, I’m going home because I don’t want to argue.”
“I’ve been looking forward to going to this dance with you since I found out about it. I don’t want to go with anyone else.”
“I really need to finish my homework and now that I’m irritated I’d rather finish it alone.”
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