Marilyn Grant tried to hide her nervousness as Mr. Schmidt called the September MYF meeting to order. Well, there were ten girls counting her and only seven boys. Still, she wanted to persuade them to follow her platform, not win on a simple sex-preference vote.

"Welcome to the Aldersgate UMC chapter of United Methodist Youth," Mr Schmidt started off. She thought his words hadn't changed since last year. "I'm presiding until you elect a new president. Then you won't hear another word from me. You're supposed to run your own organization.

"There will be nominations which have to be seconded. Then we will have a secret ballot. I ask both candidates to vote for themselves. Some groups have the policy of candidates voting for the other guy, but that can lead to problems and -- even if it doesn't -- is hypocrisy. If the result isn't what you expect, then it can't be the other candidate voting for himself, because you expect him to vote for himself. And, after all, if you actually thought he'd do a better job, you wouldn't run.

"All right. Nominations."

Diane nominated her, with Rita seconding. Bob nominated Edwin with Kirk seconding. Mr. Schmidt called on her to make the first speech.

"Look, we all complain about people not treating us as the adults we are. There was a Northwestern Freshman visiting the church last week, and the church adults treated her as an adult. Well, some of us are going to be college freshmen next year. Will they treat us as adults? Don't... hold... your... breath!

"Well, my dad is always saying 'handsome is as handsome does.' I tell you, 'adult is as adult does.' As long as we, as a group, sit around letting the older people handle all the work in the church, they are still going to think of us as little kids.

"And one or two of us can't change that, but we all can by working together. I went to the last clean-up day before Easter. My mom got extra credit for bringing little Marilyn. Rita worked too, and had the same experience. What would happen if -- instead of a couple of individual teens in family groups -- a whole bunch of us showed up as a team. And, boys, don't shrink away in fear that someone will ask you to use a dust cloth. There is outside work, raking and digging and that sort of stuff.

"Anyway, that's what I want to lead the MYF to do this year -- not all of it. We'll still have our meetings and games and conversations. But for a few times a year, we should show up as a work team. Then they'll respect us as people who pull their weight.

"Thank you." And she sat down.

Edwin got up and made a speech. It was much more polished than hers had been, but it suggested nothing new. She 'won' nine to eight. It was a secret ballot, but everybody in the room knew who had voted for which candidates. Melissa had voted for Edwin, her steady. All the other girls had voted for her. And all the boys had voted for Edwin.

"And now," Mr. Schmidt began, "I'll turn the gavel over to your..."

"Second my motion," she whispered to Diane. Then she used her carrying voice. "Mr. Schmidt... Before that... I'd like to make another motion." He nodded. "I'd like... I move to nominate Edwin Johnson as Chapter Vice President." Diane, confused as anybody but loyal, seconded her. With no other nominations -- the office had never existed before -- it passed with a voice vote. Then she got up and ran the rest of the meeting. She'd won the election, but she'd lost the vote. Nobody had been persuaded by her speech.

She tried to explain that to Colin after the movie on their next date. He didn't see it.

"You won, sweetheart. You're the president of that group. They have to do what you say. Relax. Don't worry about the past now." But she did worry about things. I took her right out of the mood. Soon, she straightened up, rehooked her bra, and buttoned her blouse. Colin wasn't pleased, but he put a cheerful face on taking her home.

"Something wrong?" Mom asked. She was home much earlier than usual.

"No. Well, nothing wrong with Colin. I just felt gloomy." Mom looked dubious, but let it go.

And the October meeting went okay. The 15 in attendance had fun. Things were going all right for her until Mom came home from an UMW meeting on Saturday.

"You're not going to like this," she said when Marilyn got home from her date. Marilyn braced. She was decently dressed. What had she done wrong? "They announced at the UMW meeting that rummage set-up will be Wednesday night this time -- the second Wednesday of the month." That was MYF night.

"Can they do that?"

"I don't know. After all, you could call the monthly MYF meeting a regularly-scheduled event and those are supposed to take precedence, You might call the rummage sale regularly-scheduled, too. But a new set-up time isn't regularly scheduled. On the other hand, do you want an ugly fight? And an ugly fight about poor people getting the clothes they need and missions getting a little support?"

"Mom, I can't change the meeting schedule. We're a democratic group. We voted on the meeting schedule for the year last month. I'm president of the group, not the queen."

"And the schedule -- the entire design -- of the rummage sale was democratically assigned to a committee which chose that day for set-up. I raised the issue, but it had already been settled."

And, the next day at coffee hour, the announcement was made. That was the end of it. She decided the next day that she'd ask Mr. Schmidt what she should do. She could talk after church the next Sunday. But, before she did, Dad passed a letter to her at dinner Friday.

"That copy is addressed to me, but it certainly isn't intended to be private."

Dear Mrs. Benton,
I would be glad to help set up tables for the rummage sale. However, the room won't be available until the MYF meeting, which occurs on that night, is over. Please have Marilyn Grant, the president of MYF, call me when that meeting is over. I'll come to help set up then, however late.

The original had been signed by Mr. Pierce.

"He's wonderful." At last, one of the adults didn't think that they were little kids.

"He sent a cover letter suggesting that the fathers of MYF kids send similar letters. I don't know. Your mother wouldn't be able to attend another UMW meting."

"We didn't start the fight. Indeed, if they had merely asked, we could have moved the meeting. The problem is that we didn't hear about it in time. The MYF can't make a decision until that time. I was going to ask Mr. Schmidt what we should do. Can we reschedule? I don't think I have that power; maybe he does."

"Well, wait a week and see what happens." Dad was a great believer in putting things off, and sometimes Mom complained about that. This time, however, it seemed wise. Sunday, she did talk to Mr. Schmidt, who thought waiting a week made perfect sense.

"And, after all Marilyn, it's not as if you rescheduled the meeting to fit your needs. Talk to Edwin. You made him vice president; invent an executive committee. If you can persuade him that meeting on the third Wednesday makes sense, then nobody is going to object. Following the rules is all very well -- it's necessary, really -- but you don't follow them off a cliff."

Astonishingly, the UMW blinked. Set-up was delayed until Thursday night. So, they had the meeting on the second Wednesday. She made one announcement about the problem.

"As many of you know, there was a problem when the UMW scheduled rummage sale set-up for tonight. They were persuaded to reschedule. On the other hand, they need help with the tables. If some strong boys would show up tomorrow night to work, I'd be very grateful. And they'd see that we are a group that they should cooperate with. Please, come tomorrow night -- as soon after six as possible."

Rita got her boy friend, Doug, to come. At first, she thought he would be the only one. Then a new guy, Andy, came in. That was all, but -- with Mr. Pierce and Mr. Hagopian -- it was enough. Set up went smoothly, but she still hadn't persuaded anybody to see the MYF as contributors to the church -- not even the MYF. Rita and Doug were doing favors. Maybe Andy was a convert. When the tables were all up, she thanked Mr. Pierce and went over to Andy to thank him.

"It was so nice of you to come."

"Hey! It was an MYF project, right?" He had a nice voice, a nice face and a nice body, too. Andy had a little of the reputation of a nerd, but it didn't show up close. She should find something for him to do in the organization. "And," he said, "you got the meeting protected. It's the least we can do to support you."

"That was Mr. Pierce. He got the meeting protected, I mean. Anyway, thank you." She'd already said that once. Wasn't there anything else she could say. At that point, though, Mr. Pierce came over.

"Mr. Pierce, I can't say how grateful I am."

"Nothing. You guys on foot? Stick around until Carolyn gets out of choir practice, and I'll give you rides home." She was about to say that he'd already done enough, but refusing the ride might sound ungrateful. Then, too, she didn't know how far Andy had to walk. If she refused, a macho boy would have to. By the time she got to that thought, Mr. Pierce was already out the door. That left one person to deal with.

"New at school, aren't you?" she asked. "Where're you from."

"Chicago. Dad got promoted and bought a new house. To be honest, I'd wanted to finish out my last year at Gordon Tech."

"Finding the classes harder?" The reputation of Evanston Township High was that it outshone Chicago schools, and word was that this wasn't a great accomplishment.

"Classes are the only thing about school I'm not finding hard. Is everybody as stuck up as they seem?" Stuck up? These were her friends. But, she could see that they weren't necessarily the most welcoming group in the world. They had their friendships.

"Not really. But your old school, how easy was it for a new senior to fit in?"

"You have a point."

"We all know who is my friend. We all know who is my rival. And there are many groups. I don't know how talk to you until I know whether you're going to support me or Edwin for the MYF presidency."

"Umm," Poor guy wanted to lie to spare her feelings, but he was too honest.

"Don't worry. I know you voted for Edwin. So did all the other boys. I as just making an example. Everything is tight-woven, and you don't fit. That's not something about Andy. That's because you weren't there for the weaving."

"You see it, and Dad didn't. He told me..." But at that point, Mrs. Benton interrupted.

"Marilyn! We aren't here to be social. Take this pile over to Mrs. Davis." Not one of the women who weren't there to be social had shut her mouth for the entire evening, but she left Andy to carry stuff from one of the deciders to another. They were mad enough at her, if she flipped one of them the bird, Mom would suffer for it.

Mrs. Benton was not only huffy with her. When Mr. Pierce brought in some rummage, she was dismissive. There were clothes on the table which had gone out of style during Lincoln's administration, but she objected to Mrs. Pierce's sexy tight jeans.

"Don't know who'd want that."

"Mrs. Benton!" She had to speak. Besides, if she were on some side, she was on the Pierces'. "Those are wonderful." She held them against her body. "If they'd fit me, I'd take them in a minute."

"They look like you could get into them easily." Too easily. She could swim around in them. She could cut off the bottoms of the legs, but her hips weren't anywhere near that womanly.

"Too easily. This sort of jeans is supposed to take a shoe horn." And then Mr. Pierce pulled out a top. "If Mrs. Pierce's jeans don't fit me, I'm not even going to look at her top. Some of us have it, and some of us don't." And she was constantly reminded in school that she had a lovely personality -- which was a polite way of saying 'A-cup.'

"I think your shape looks great," Andy said. She was torn between gratitude and embarrassment. Mr. Pierce saved her. He handed the rest of the bag to Mrs. Benton before addressing Andy.

"Andy, you have to learn something of female rules. They want you to notice their shapes -- do you think her admiration of the blouse was because she thought it would keep her warm?" Actually, she hadn't admired the top at all -- she'd admired Mrs. Pierce because she could fill it. "But noticing doesn't mean mentioning. Anyway, let's go over here out of the way." And he ushered her and Andy to some chairs where they could see the door from the sanctuary while avoiding the gaze of Mrs. Benton. That witch decided that she hadn't a greater claim on Marilyn than another adult had.

When she couldn't think of what to say to Andy, Mr. Pierce solved the problem. He asked questions that each had to answer. They weren't the best questions in the world, but they weren't intrusive either. Andy's favorite course was AP Calculus -- which showed her up for assuming he had trouble in classes. He planned to be an electrical engineer.

"Don't be afraid of making choices," Mr Pierce responded to her plan to major in English in hopes of being an English teacher. "If something is attractive, go for it. On the other hand, don't be afraid of changing your mind, either. You're in the class for a quarter -- high school is different -- so you probably shouldn't drop out in the middle. On the other hand, your taking that class doesn't guarantee your taking the next."

"I think I'm pretty-well decided," said Andy.

"Fine. There's nothing 'have-to' about changing your mind. There's nothing shameful about changing it either. The tragedy is to think you're committed when you aren't."

"Really," she said, "you can get a sound, liberal arts, education and it will prepare you for almost any career."

"Yeah," said Andy, "I've heard that claim. And I don't believe it. Sure, there are plenty of jobs which require somebody who looks middle class." Here Andy glanced at Mr. Pierce. Maybe he worried that he would be offended. "But if you need to know something to do a job, knowing something else won't help you. Now, teaching high school English -- while it does require knowing something -- luckily requires mostly knowing the subjects that they put into their 'fits-anyone' curriculum. If you want to design computers, you need to know about designing computers. Knowing lots and lots about the Thirty-Years War won't substitute."

She wasn't offended. Hell, Andy was the nicest guy she'd talked to in days. But she did think he had the wrong end of things.

"Whatever you do, you need to be able to read a book."

"Oh yes. Grade school is absolutely necessary. But I can read books. I've read a book on relativity. I bet most of my classmates haven't. I'll even bet that few of the history teachers in school even could. So, how come am I an uneducated kid who needs more courses in college in order to know how to read a book? How come the guy who wrote the book a narrow-minded specialist? While the guys who couldn't read it are generally educated?" She could answer that question.

"Because he is. I don't know that author, so don't come down on me for that answer. But a narrow-minded specialist could write a book on relativity. But the person who goes through a good liberal-arts education knows a wide spectrum of things."

"But not relativity."

"Not necessarily. But he -- or she --" Andy was being very sexist in his speech "knows books."

"So we've got two guys." Andy didn't seem to take hints. "One has a superior education because he knows books. The other has written a book the first one can't understand. But the guy who can't read the book is superior to the guy who wrote it because he knows more about books."

At that point, Mrs. Pierce came in and rescued her.

"Hah! Should have known, let you alone for a few minutes, and I find you talking with a pretty girl." The words were harsh, but the tone was laughing.

"I think Dan's lurking in the car, Gladys." Mr. Pierce spoke first to Mrs. Hagopian. "Andy's here too, dear. I'm not just talking to Marilyn."

Mr. Pierce continued the joke as they left the building.

"Marilyn, sometime when your education is over and you're out in the business world, you're likely to have a boss who tells you that his wife doesn't understand him. Don't give him the least sympathy. My wife understands me, and it's pure hell." Well, she knew what "My wife doesn't understand me," suggested. She wasn't sure she liked his talking about her being seduced, even as a distant hypothetical. Mrs. Pierce, on the other hand, thought it was funny. Maybe she would have to put up with that sort of humor if she expected to be treated as an adult.

"I'll have to ask you guys to sit in back," Mr. Pierce said at the car. "Sorry." That was no problem.

"I'm so grateful," she told him again. "It's nice to have one adult in the church who doesn't think of us as a bunch of kids."

"You got the wrong person for that, Marilyn," Mrs Pierce replied. "Bill's objection was that they were pushing kids around. If they'd have shoved the kindergarten class of the Sunday School aside, he'd have dropped a stink bomb on the next UMW meeting." She couldn't think of a response to that, which was lucky, because Mrs. Pierce changed the subject without pause.

"I'm just as glad that we're driving you back. What's your address again?" she told it. "I know that nothing bad ever happens in the neighborhood, but there can be a first time. Andy, would you mind walking her to her door when we get there?" That was both silly and an imposition. You could see her door from the street. She started to say so, but Mrs. Pierce kept talking. "I know. Just to keep an old woman from worrying." She looked at Andy, who seemed willing enough. So he walked her to the door. Suddenly, it felt like the end of a date.

"This is too much to ask of you," she said.

"It's nothing. I'm happy to walk you home." Which wasn't what this really was.

"And thank you for coming out. I really hoped for a better turn-out."

"Well we got the job done. And, really, if you want the adults to think of us as other adults, my working with Mr. Pierce and Doug's working with that Dan guy..."

"Mr. Hagopian."

"Well, the only thing that anyone called him was 'Dan,' and no wonder. Anyway, that was more like being a couple of adults than a team from MYF would have been."

"Well, thanks and goodbye." She suddenly realized that she'd been waiting for him to kiss her. That was ridiculous. He didn't deserve a kiss, and he wasn't going to take one. She unlocked the door and went in.

"Out there a long time," Mom said.

"Yeah. A new guy -- Andy -- came along with Rita's Doug. Mr. Pierce gave me and Andy a ride home, and Andy walked me to the door. I think we were both standing there waiting for a good-night kiss and seeing how ridiculous the idea was. But we didn't say good night for the longest time."

"Nicer than Colin?"

"Mom! For God's sake. As I said, he didn't kiss me. He only walked me to the door, and that was because Mrs. Pierce asked him to. He wasn't a date. We only talked because we both knew how much like a date it was -- and it wasn't."

"Well, I still don't understand. But that doesn't matter, as long as you do. How was set-up?"

"It went great. Mrs. Benton is still pissed. I didn't get the turn-out I had hoped, but it was quite enough -- as Andy pointed out."

"Was I missed?"

"They didn't say a word when I was there. Which probably means they are carving up your carcass now I'm gone."

"Now, Marilyn, They aren't that bad." But, really, they were. Mom's voice didn't convey any conviction.

The next day in school, Andy spoke to her. It was only a brief 'hello.'

"New guy?" asked Melanie.

"For God's sake! He's a member of MYF. Nice guy, but I'd exchange a word with any member, nice or not. It's not as if we'd been hiding out in the stairwell cuddling."

She kept worrying about how to get the MYF to be seen -- at least by themselves -- as a body of responsible church members. She tried to express her worries to Colin Saturday night after the movie.

"You worry too much," he said, "and at the wrong times. You're their president. Tell them what to do. If they don't do it, it's their fault. After all, you have it on your bio for college admissions. They might check up that you held the post, but I bet I could put down that I held it and not get caught. They are certainly not going to check how successful you were. After all, nobody but you thinks it necessary for the group to change." Colin was being cynical about claiming to be UMW president. He was a Presbyterian, though he hadn't darkened the door of even that church as long as she'd known him.

And, for that very reason, she was stupid to talk about the problems with him. She forgot about the MYF and held his head to her tit. He was getting to be an expert. As long as she moved him when her left tit started getting sore, her arousal kept going higher.

"No," she finally said. She permitted, and had come to admit that she enjoyed, his hand on her thigh. Pushing into the crotch of her jeans was going too far. And, she couldn't imagine what he got from that. She got nothing. The second time she had to push his hand away -- he should have learned that -- she pushed his head away too. "I should be getting home."

She straightened her clothes while he drove back. He came up to the porch for a kiss with closed mouths. Even then, Colin grabbed her butt during the kiss. She didn't push him away, which would only have drawn more attention, but she did break the kiss. She unlocked the door, went inside, and immediately locked it again.

"Did you have a good time?" Mom asked from her room as she walked past.

"Yes, Mom." And she had. It wasn't only that she didn't want a visit for further questions.

Sunday was coffee hour. Again, Andy spoke to her, but she was busy talking to some of the girls. He took a friendly greeting the way it was meant.

"Look," he asked at the end of school Monday, "do you have a minute?"

"Sure." They were on the same bus, and he had to know that it was the second trip that bus took. She had loads of time.

"About what you wanted for Thursday. I get the picture that you'd hoped for an entire work crew."

"Yes, and I'm awful grateful to you."

"Well, really, that wasn't a job for a larger crew. Look how long Mr. Pierce and Mr. Hagopian sat around afterwards. But you want a larger crew for the Easter clean up. Does the UMW hold another rummage sale this year?"

"No, The next one is in spring."

"Okay. You know your members. You say that you've all known each other since kindergarten." That was a huge exaggeration. Many of them hadn't even gone to the same grade school. "Well, pick out two Junior boys. The ones who wouldn't mind carrying tables, and the ones who'd do it if you asked them particularly. Ask them close to the time to help. Make clear, that they will be doing men's work -- moving tables. That Mr. Hagopian is some kind of executive?"

"He's a professor."

"Even better. I'll show up. Maybe Doug will show up." If he kept going with Rita, he would. "Anyway, Mr. Hagopian can tell us how to do the job right. A professor ought to enjoy teaching like that -- enjoy it more than actually moving the tables, anyway. Then you'll have accomplished two things. The MYF will have set up the tables for the rummage sale during your term. The next year's MYF will have people who know how to do it. If those guys have the brains God gave little grasshoppers, they'll recruit sophomores -- well juniors next year -- to continue the tradition. If not, you'll have done what you could in your term. And, really, Mr. Hagopian might well prefer to ask the MYF for help than to set up the tables himself. Anyway, that's the smaller part.

"What's Edwin good for?" At first, she thought he'd seen through Edwin. Then she thought it was a damned odd comment. Finally she saw, partially by Andy's patient waiting, that it was an actual question.

"He's the ultimate party animal. That was his vision of the MYF, if you listened to his speech."

"So ask him to handle a celebration for the next meeting. Then assign him -- you're the president, who says you can't assign the vice president a task? -- to handle a celebration for a later meeting, but one long before Easter. Then when the Holy-Week cleanup day approaches, assign him to recruit and organize the boys who'll be working outside."

"You're sneaky." But he was also bright.

"I'm going to be an engineer. I told you. I'm interested in solving problems. People problems are only another sort of problem, and they don't require the extra knowledge. After all, I've been around people all my life.

"Anyway, you should be able to recruit enough girls. And, too, whenever Edwin can recruit a boy, his girlfriend is likelier to come, and whenever you can recruit a boy, his girlfriend will be likelier to come. I think you could have your work crew."

She looked him up and down. Mostly up, he was tall even for a boy. When you looked at Andy objectively, not as the new kid or the rumored nerd, he wasn't bad looking. He was no movie star, but she knew few kids who looked like movie stars. His voice was low, and he sounded sure of himself. Anyway, she shouldn't be thinking like this. She had a man, and Andy hadn't expressed interest.

"Well, thank you very much." And, when the bus came back, they went inside to take separate seats. She sat with Melanie, as usual. The bus was crowded enough that somebody -- looked like a freshman -- sat with Andy.

Tuesday, Colin had his car and offered her a ride home. He lived off in the other direction, but he often gave her a ride when he had wheels.

"Thanks, but Mom is home on Tuesday. She knows when the bus is due."

"No problem. We can make much better time." Then, after he'd started out but before he got to the parking place he had chosen, he started in on her. "Who was that guy you were talking to yesterday?"

"I talked to lots of people yesterday. You don't own me. You probably mean Andy. He's a member of MYF, and has been a helpful member. We were talking about the group."

"Look, Marilyn, I know. Maybe you were thinking about the group, but he's male. When he was talking to you he was thinking how sexy you are."

"Don't be ridiculous. He's even taller than you are." They'd be Mutt and Jeff with her 4' 11".

"And nobody that tall could be attracted to you? Except that he's not that much taller than I am, and I'm certainly attracted to you." He pulled into a space beside the park. Across the street were businesses and a busy sidewalk.

"Forget Andy. He's a friend not a boyfriend, and he's content to remain that way." She was a little nervous about the kisses, even though all the pedestrians were across the street. Still, Colin's kisses were sexy, and the nervousness made them sexier. When he began to pull her sweatshirt out of her jeans, however, she grabbed his hand and moved back from the kiss. "For God's sake, Colin. We're in broad daylight."

"Well, none of them know us, and they're across the street."

"It's about time for you to take me home." It wasn't, though, and she walked around the block before going in the door.

"Early dear," said Mom.

"Am I? It's a little chilly, and I walked fast."

"Quickly, dear." Which was why she'd said it.

"I walked rapidly."

Christmas was appropriately snowy. She got oodles of presents from her parents, a nice one from Pete that looked like Mom had picked it out, and a blouse from Colin that brought a frown of disapproval from Mom, and a deep scowl from Dad. If he was going to remove the blouses, she figured that Colin had the right to pick them out. Still she was smart enough not to say that to Mom, much less to Dad.

Wednesday, January 15, as if to prove her assurances to Colin wrong, Andy asked her to the dance on Saturday. Only a desperate girl would have accepted the invitation. If Colin had asked her that late, she would have bawled him out, and Colin had the privileges of a steady.

"I'm really sorry, Andy. But I have a date. Colin and I are going steady." Which would have been news only to an outsider.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm complimented. I'm just not available." Which was polite, she hoped. It was intended, though, to communicate the unavailability in no uncertain terms.

A large group of them had decided to wear dresses to this dance. They looked like women in contrast to the other classes in jeans and the outsiders dressed in the same way. Some of the girls didn't like to dance in heels. She needed all the height she could get.

When Colin found a dark parking space with nobody nearby, they had a nice kiss. When he moved back, she leaned forward. He unzipped the back of the dress and unhooked her bra. He worked smoothly these days. Actually pulling the top of the dress off, however, left her feeling awfully exposed. It was much worse than opening a blouse and raising the bra. Still, Colin's mouth was exciting. He teased her nipples, going from one to another without being asked. When he finally settled on sucking the right one, she thought she might come.

While his mouth was feeding her arousal, his hand was going under her skirt. The inside of her thighs were much more sensitive with only pantyhose covering them than they'd been when protected by jeans. Still, that was within her rules, and it felt good.

He put his other hand behind her head and stroked her neck below and behind each ear. She felt so small in that big hand. She sometimes thought of his petting a kitten when he did this, but this caress -- far from any sexy parts -- was as arousing as anything he did to her tit. He moved up to kiss her mouth again. His tongue explored it.

Then his hand moved from her thigh to her crotch. This crossed the line, but she'd said no to Colin too often recently, and she'd have to struggle to break the kiss enough to speak, and it felt exciting. His hand went under her, and then his fingers were moving around against her lips down there. The stroking was softer, and -- of course -- more distant, than any she'd ever given herself.

Still, she spiraled upward, and upward again, as he kissed her. He stroked her intimately while, at the same time, he stroked her under the ears like he could do publicly without embarrassment. She clutched her legs tight together around his arm, but his fingers kept moving.

"Oh," she said into his mouth as her feeling peaked. She could feel her body surging forward against his arm. When she settled back in the seat, he kissed her forehead and the corner of her left eye. Then he licked her ear.

"You are sweet," he said. "My sugarplum fairy." When she pushed against his arm, he removed it from under her skirt.

"We went too far," she said.

"But you're so lovely." He ducked his head down to kiss her left tit, the side not the nipple. "I love you, and I was showing my love for you. That can't go too far." Well, put like that, it sounded good. And, if he'd crossed a line, she was the one who'd really gone too far. They stayed in the car for anther half hour, but he kept above the waist.

Before they started back home, she got halfway out of the car so her back was to him and he could zip up her dress. That froze her legs, but it was necessary. As it turned out, though, Mom was in her room when she got home, and wouldn't have seen a thing.

"Did you have a nice time, dear?" she asked.

"Fine." She'd had a climax. Did that qualify as a nice time? Colin had crossed one more line. Did that qualify as a bad time. Much as she liked heels, her ankles were a little sore. That answer, at least, she knew, and she didn't want to wear lower heels. Two inch heels got her to 5' 1".

"That's nice dear. Good night."

"Good night," echoed Dad. He sometimes laid out rules in advance, and he used to scold her at breakfast for missing curfew, but he never contributed more than that phrase to the after-date conversation. Still, she knew that they were lying awake, side by side, until she got home. Sometimes, that was reassuring. Sometimes, it was annoying -- she, after all, was an adult who could manage her own relationships. Tonight, it was both.

Wednesday, Andy came up to her again after school. She braced for a long conversation. Colin would object, and she really didn't need another thing to argue with Colin about. Their own relationships was rocky enough.

"Clarify something for me. When you say 'steady' you mean you don't date anybody else. Do you mean you don't dance with anybody else?" Really, that depended. She'd given dance lessons to Bill, one of Colin's socially-inept buddies. But, Andy didn't want a dance; Andy wanted to be a boyfriend. Anyway, he wasn't one of Colin's buddies.

"Really, it does."

"Thanks." And he went away. She feared that she might have lost one of the more cooperative MYF members. Did he want to be one of that group, or did he want a relationship with her. But Andy kept coming to meetings, and participating helpfully.

Colin was less cooperative, if much more exciting. She finally gave up about being groped when she was wearing jeans. The fad of wearing dresses to dances caught on, though. She bought two dresses that buttoned in front instead of zipping up the back, and Colin took her to the peak after nearly every dance.

Andy's suggestion about Edwin proved even more effective than she'd had any right to expect. The social hours at the end of the meeting improved when they were organized by someone who cared about them. She thought the ploy would fall apart when Melissa broke up with Edwin. That was the sort of event that could tear a group apart. Melissa stopped coming, though, and that was the end of that.

The spring rummage set up went even faster than the winter one had. The juniors enjoyed themselves. Boys liked using their muscles, and they got treated as equals instead of being patted on the head.

She was just as glad when Andy went to a dance with Brittany. That took care of her Andy problem. Brittany was a junior, and he got her on the rebound. She was surprised to feel some twinges of jealousy, too. That was ridiculous. She had a man.

And Colin had her, too -- maybe not quite as much as he would wish to have her. As weather grew warmer, he tried to open her jeans.

"That's too far."

"Then wear skirts."

"To movies?" Even though Mom made damn few comments, beyond 'That's nice dear,' she would sure see a skirt at a movie as something chosen to give Colin access. Finally, she wore looser jeans, and let Colin open them. That didn't really work, and she had to pull them down to her thighs. The feelings were even more thrilling through her panties than they'd been through two layers. Soon enough, while she was experiencing the thrill, Colin worked a finger inside the panties.

"Darling," he said. "You're ready for me." Well, she was embarrassingly messy, but she wasn't ready for his finger, much less what he meant.

The work teams for clean up on Easter Saturday, if sparser than she would have liked, were definitely seen as MYF teams, inside and out. Andy showed up, as did Brittany. They made no fuss about being separated, though. While she saw them at dances together, they didn't sit together at MYF meetings or hang on one another in the embarrassing way some couples had.

When they broke up, though, she held her breath again. But, whatever their differences, they didn't drag anyone else into them. Brittany did sit with Carl -- her new boyfriend -- at MYF meetings. Once, she even saw Andy talking to both of them after a meeting. It looked friendly enough.

Meanwhile, she was a high-school student with college applications to deal with as well as an MYF and classes and a romance which was turning physical faster than she wanted it to. She was accepted at U of I, and stopped holding her breath. Sure, it wasn't the toughest school to get into, but she wanted to go there.

As the weather grew warmer, Colin found a spot where they could get out of the car. Somehow, his hands on her while she was lying on the ground felt sexier than when she was sitting in a car seat. She felt more exposed, too.

Andy sought her out again during the last week of school.

"You're going to Champaign-Urbana?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Me too. Maybe we'll meet there.... And maybe, considering the size of the campus, we won't." Well, they'd still meet over the summer. MYF wasn't canceled. And, except for her vacation, she saw him at every meeting. Sometimes, she saw him in church, too.

With the end of school and school dances, with the warmer weather and the fewer duties and obligations, her relationship with Colin was taking a much more physical turn. Sometimes, he'd pick her up before dinner, take her out for a hamburger and shake, and then park. They wouldn't even go to a movie. He had a blanket in the car, and they would lie on that. He would peel her out of her sweatshirt -- she no longer bothered with a bra on these dates -- and her jeans. He would kiss her tits and massage her mound.

After she had come, he'd hug her and kiss her. Then, when she was recovered, he'd remove her panties. His finger would arouse her again. Sometimes, she'd have a third orgasm. One of those times, she saw him clawing off his own pants.

"No!" she managed to gasp.

"Why not. You've had yours."

"Well, you can have yours, too. But only after I'm dressed." And she got on her clothes. Then they moved to the edge of the blanket with him facing away. She held his cock while he moved her arm until he came.

"Is that what you wanted?"

"You do that so well, Marilyn." She suspected that she didn't really do it well. It had been an interesting sight, though. And, really, it was only fair. She did it on later dates with him, but he kept pushing for more. Instead of her hand, he wanted to rub himself between her butt cheeks or between her tits. The first didn't do anything for her; she couldn't see anything when he was in that position. The second actually hurt. He said that he was sorry, that he'd be more gentle next time. She wasn't interested in a next time. On what was nearly their last real date, he pressed her to go all the way.

"Look, he said. He dug something wrapped in foil out of his wallet. "It would be safe." Well, fear of pregnancy was one of her reasons for saying no, but it was hardly the only one.

Soon thereafter, her family went on vacation. She spent three weeks in the car touring the western states. Three weeks in a car with Pete was roughly six months too long. On the other hand, three weeks away from Colin felt more like a relief than a deprivation. Every night, the family took three rooms, and she went back to getting her own pleasures by her own hand late at night.

She came back another three weeks before starting school. Colin who was going to Valparaiso was importunate.

"We'll be apart for nine months. It's now or never. Come on, Marilyn. You'll like it."

"You're right. It's now or never, and I'm not ready for it to be now. Maybe we shouldn't try to maintain a long-distance relationship. You're free to date other girls at school, and I'll consider myself free to date other boys." He wouldn't agree, and they had one last date. It however, turned into a wrestling match. She had no chance against his strength, but she could bite and scratch. He finally let her go.

"Ow. You didn't have to do that."

"I said no," she pointed out. "When that wasn't enough, I certainly did have to do that." He took her home, and they were both too busy to go on another date.