It had been a long day, and as the teacher started giving out directions during the final class period, Jess started to zone out. He hated being stuck in school and couldn't wait to graduate; that wouldn't be for awhile, though. And his parents were always on his case about something. His life was pretty miserable, as far as he was concerned.

"All right, you can go to your lab tables," the teacher announced, and the students got up and walked to the back of the room.

"Your turn," Jess said automatically, as he sat down on his usual stool.

Leslie sighed. "Come on, Jess, can't you at least help a little?"

"Nope. Last time, you said that you needed to finish a book report and that you'd do the whole thing next time. Well, it's next time. So get out the equipment."

"But you're not even busy!"

"I'm tired," he replied, and he laid his head on the table.

Leslie rolled her eyes while retrieving a beaker for the experiment. "I don't know why I put up with you," she said.

"Probably because my family has a TV that you can watch. And also because you're madly in love with me."

Leslie tried to suppress a smile, without much success. "See if I even let you kiss me later."

Jess just shrugged. He knew that she was only joking. Now in their junior year of high school, the two had been going out for over a year and were as happy now as they were when they first got together. He was so glad that they were placed in the same chemistry class. Not only because they could work on labs with each other, but also because their after-school study sessions sometimes – OK, always – dissolved into make-out sessions.

"Pour in 10 cubed centimeters of ethanol," Leslie read the directions out loud. "Hey, this sounds kind of dangerous."

While his girlfriend was working on the experiment, Jess took the opportunity to covertly check her out. He would never tire of staring at her pretty face, he was sure of it. He wouldn't get tired of the rest of her body, either. She had matured nicely over the past few years and now looked like a teenage movie actress. AnnaSophia Robb, maybe. And Leslie's ever-colorful clothes didn't detract from her appearance at all. In fact, they just seemed to accentuate her new curves. Oh, how he loved to run his hands over...

"Jess?"

He looked up at her, startled. "Huh?! What is it?"

She giggled. "You're drooling."

"Oh, shit." He wiped his mouth. "Sorry about that. I was daydreaming."

"About what?" she asked innocently.

"Um... nothing. I told you, I'm tired today."

"OK," Leslie said. "It's just that you were staring at me with your mouth open for the past 10 minutes and didn't even move when the teacher walked by. That's all. Nothing to be embarrassed about."

Jess groaned. "Dammit."

"Yep," she continued. "Fantasizing about your girlfriend in the middle of class is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about at all."

"All right, I get the point," he grumbled. "So are we done yet?"

"Yes, I got the results. Here." She slid her paper across the desk to him.

Jess copied her answers onto his own worksheet. By this time, class was almost over. "Thanks, Leslie," he said. "I owe you."

"I know you do. Let's hand these in."

They walked up to the teacher's desk. "Thanks," he said as he took their assignments. "Hey, don't you guys have a track meet later today?"

"Yeah," Leslie replied. "County championships."

"Good luck, then. Not that either of you need it, especially not you, Jess. You should be well-rested after sleeping through half the class period."

Leslie laughed, and Jess smiled sheepishly. "Yes, sir."

The bell rang, and the students went out into the hallways. As they walked toward his locker, Jess said, "I'm actually not nervous at all."

"You shouldn't be. No other guy around here can beat you in the 100."

"And no other girl can beat you."

"Well," Leslie remarked, "since we know that we're probably both going to win today, we should make a bet. You know, to have something to work for."

"What, like comparing our own times?"

"Yeah. Whoever's slower has to do all the work on the next assignment."

"Hmm." Jess pretended to consider the offer.

"Scared?" she asked.

"No way. I mean, you're really fast for a female, but..." Leslie glared at him. "Just kidding," he said quickly. "It's a deal."

He stuck out his hand for her to shake. Instead, she pushed him against his locker before kissing him hard.

After a few seconds, she pulled away. "My hands are dirty. I thought sealing it with a kiss would be better." Jess gaped at her. "Well," she said, "see you on the bus." She waved to him as she walked to her own locker.

Jess stood there for a few moments with a grin on his face. He turned and shook his head, thinking that maybe his life wasn't so bad after all.

fin