That makes two men I’ve kissed tonight, I thought.

Pete's Vagina
61. Signing Bonus
by Erin Halfelven

I came in through the front door, knowing that Mom and Dad would still be up and there would be no way to avoid them. It was late, after twelve, but I didn’t think much of that except a vague unease that I did have school in the morning. Mom sat in the big chair directly facing the door with a book in her lap. Dad was on the couch, sitting up and rubbing his face.

“Hi!” I said.

Dad, his voice thick because he was obviously just waking up, said, “It’s twelve twenty-five, young lady.”

Had anyone ever called me that before? It was probably a mistake to grin at him, but it was almost too much like a scene from a sitcom.

Mom didn’t miss her cue, coming in with, “She’s eighteen, Harry.”

“Sorry,” I said, still smiling. “El Tesoro runs triple features on autumn nights, and we stayed for all three!”

The main feature, Alien, was the second bill at El Tesoro, preceded by a silly comedy called Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Then we stayed to watch another sci-fi flick called Dark Star, also a comedy.

“Did you know it’s foggy outside?” I asked, changing the topic. “Lee had to drive back to town in it. We went kind of slow.”

“Oh!” Mom reacted differently than expected. “That road to the theater is so narrow!” Then she changed the subject herself, putting her book down and getting up to pull one of my coats from the back of the chair. “Aren’t you cold in that thin jacket?” she asked, holding out the heavier garment to me. Was this my coat, I wondered. The plum color struck me as odd.

“Well,” said Dad, relenting a little. “We worry about you, punkin.” He stepped up, taking the coat from Mom and holding it open for me.

“I’m not that cold,” I protested, but he was already wrapping me in the fleece lining and pulling me into a hug.

Getting hugs from my dad turned out to be an advantage of being who I had become that I would have discounted before. But I snuggled into it, and his big, beefy arms were comforting and reassuring as they went around me. Impulsively, I stood on tiptoe to kiss him on his stubbly chin.

That makes two men I’ve kissed tonight, I thought.

*

When I did get to my room, after promising to tell Mom everything in the morning, I found Molly and Jordan curled around each other in the middle of my bed, sound asleep. Molly had a tooth that was coming in crooked and she drools in her sleep. Fortunately, Jordan had thought of that and wrapped a towel around Molly’s collar. Little Miss had managed to delay a visit to the dentist for a couple of weeks but time was going to be up soon. Still….

“Hey!” I yelped. “Get out of my bed!” I flicked the overhead light on and off.

Jordan opened her eyes and winced at the flashing light. “Oh, hey,” she said sleepily.

“Up!” I said. “You two have your own beds to sleep in!”

“Oh, wow,” said Jordan, blinking in the direction of my Betty Boop clock. “It’s after one AM?”

“No, it’s not,” I reminded her. “I keep that clock set twenty minutes fast, so when I look at it, I have to think about what time it really is.”

“Oh, yeah,” she agreed. “That’s a stupid idea.”

“But it works,” I countered. “Now get up!”

“Stupid ideas for…” she began, but I grabbed her by the ankle, and she ended up squealing as I yanked on her leg.

“I’ll pull you right off in the floor,” I warned. “Get up, go to bed, and take Old Faithful with you!”

Just at that moment, Molly snored, blowing a bubble from her overflow. Jordan and I laughed, and Molly complained that we had woken her up, but I finally got the two of them to the door of my room.

“I need to know how your date went!” Jordan complained as I pushed the two of them into the hallway.

“Tough,” I told her. “Frick was a gentleman, and we saw the scariest movie in the world. Details in the morning!”

“I hear it’s really scary!” Jordan exclaimed, clinging to the doorframe.

“I almost peed on myself!” I admitted.

She giggled and I managed to push her a foot further out the exit.

“He was a gentleman? Did he let you sit in his lap ‘cause you were scared?” Jordan still wanted to know.

“Did he kiss you? Jordan said he would kiss you!” Molly joined the interrogation.

“Out!” I shouted and forced the door closed behind them, using the little-sister-latch to make sure they didn’t get back in.

I’d just got that done and pulled off my plum-colored coat (that I remembered as being navy) when Wug scrabbled out from under my bed and scratched at the door. “You, too, huh?” I told him letting him out into the hallway. “Jordan! The dog needs to go out!” I called as our oversize pooch headed toward her door.

I stepped across the hall and let Wug out the laundry room door, since Jordan had ignored his scratching, then I brushed my teeth at the laundry sink. The time began to catch up to me. I refastened the door to my room, hung my clothes up and stood there in just bra and panties looking at my reflection in the mirror above my dresser.

I yawned, more than ready to go to sleep. My bra went into the basket, and I stood in front of the mirror again. I sighed. I’ve got tits, I reminded myself. Not big ones, but they are definitely there. Since the change, I’d been wearing a chest protector as part of my football uniform. Even a bra was more comfortable than a plastron.

But the little string hanging from my panty leg reminded me of something else. I grumbled but changed my tampon, like Megan had warned me I would have to every night before going to bed. Not exactly a pain in the ass, but near enough.

Those had been Megan’s very words, and I smiled. I turned off the overhead light and crawled between the sheets.

The date had been a lot more fun than I’d expected. Lee Frick, of all people, had turned out to be sweet and considerate. And funny. And more. I smiled.

*

After the movies, we drove home and parked in front of my house. I’m pretty sure Mom peeked out and saw us there. We talked for a bit, and I kind of regretted that the van had bucket seats up front — not like Jake’s F-150, with its big bench seat. It would seem silly to suggest climbing in the back, and my face probably glowed in the dark when I considered actually doing that.

Finally, Lee climbed down and came around to my side, opening and holding the heavy door for me. I slid down into his arms and he held me up against him. I kissed him. On the lips. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

And an hour later, in the dark, alone in my bed, the thought of that kiss still made me quiver.