The gentle, cool spring air danced in and out of the window as Adrian looked out her open window across the street over at a neighboring brick house. She had butterflies in her stomach imagining what would come of her night as she watched the house of where she would be spending her evening. She was fourteen years old and was of the younger kids in her grade. She had little to no experience with boys, and tonight she was going to have her first boy-girl sleepover. Adrian didn't know what to expect, but she knew she was going over to the house of the boy she had been crushing on since the sixth grade.

His name was Tommy Conlon, and to her he was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. He was tall for his age, and he had an athletic, lean build. He had big, pouty lips that would put any girl to shame. Despite his feminine lips, he had a strong, jaw line and masculine, arched eyebrows. He was mostly quiet, but the whole school knew who he was, because he had just won the school the state championship for wrestling. All the girls wanted to be with him, but he didn't seem to notice. His only true friend was Adrian, and he mostly kept to himself. Tommy didn't like letting people in, and Adrian knew that, so he made her feel special.

"Adrian Anne, it's dinner time!" called Adrian's mom from down stairs, so Adrian got up from the window immediately and jogged down the stairs into the dining room. It was another normal family dinner, but Adrian just wanted it to end, so she could head over to the Conlon's household. Adrian had only one sibling, a sister named Miranda, and Miranda was looking forward to making this dinner as awkward as possible when she felt it was time.

This meal was pretty normal until it was time for her parents to have a brief talk with Adrian about her plans for the evening.

"What do you guys intend on doing tonight?" asked Mrs. Flannery.

"Kiss!" chimed in Miranda.

Adrian's face went red, and she immediately turned to glare at her sister. "No, umm well since it's Prom for the juniors and seniors, Brendan is having a party at his house afterwards, and they said something about a bon fire."

"Will all the kids being staying the night?"

"I don't think so. I think most of the girls are going to stay at Tess's house, but other people are just being picked up by their parents."

Once again Miranda pried her nose into the conversation further. "If girls are going to Tess's then where will you be staying?"

"You're coming back here, right?"said Adrian's father who didn't even look upset, while he was easing his way into the conversation. He was a calm guy, and it showed whenever anything came up about Adrian and her whereabouts.

Adrian suddenly became overwhelmed with nerves. "Th-that's what I was hoping to ask you about. I'd like to stay over there. I mean I'm not far from home, and you're friends with Mr. Conlon, so I thought it might be okay."

The two parents looked at each other as if they were talking it over in their heads with one another. Before Mrs. Flannery could speak up, Mr. Flannery interjected, "Of course! You're in high school now. I trust you can look after yourself, but just don't cause any trouble while you're over there." He winked.

"But Henry, you know that probably isn't the best idea," Mrs. Flannery asserted to her husband.

"Now Mary, our daughter is a smart girl, she'll be fine. Besides we've known the Conlons for years, and they're good people."

"She is a smart girl, but I want her to stay a good girl. I also don't know if you and Paddy's drinking late nights are exactly the best thing for you to use to judge his character."

"Okay, well, it's going to be fine," Mr. Flannery exhaled then turned to face his youngest. "Cookie, you are welcome to stay over there, but I want you to act appropriately for your mother's sake.—I mean your sake, but mostly for your mother's, and maybe a little for mine." He winked at Adrian, who was cracking a smile. She couldn't help it. Her dad was always on her side, and she loved how he always understood.

"But Daddy, what if they get left alone or something?" said Miranda trying to get him to change his mind. Normally Miranda would be supportive, but she was bitter because she wasn't allowed to go to Prom. Her mother walked in on her and a boy named Frank, who trained at the local gym, having sex. Mrs. Flannery, a strong Christian woman was less than okay with what she had caught her daughter doing, so right after Miranda opened her mouth, Miranda instantly regretted her decision to speak, as if she had forgotten that the dust from her situation had yet to settle.

Mrs. Flannery shot her a look. "Not all the Flannery girls behave the same."

"Eh, Tommy's got good Irish blood in him," Mr. Flannery noted as he nudged Adrian with his elbow.

Adrian scrunched up her nose to make a face at her dad, but after the fourth nudge, she let out a small chuckle, which was immediately cut off by her mom getting upset with her father again.

"Henry!"

"I'm just kidding. Don't let him touch you. You heard me! You're a tough cookie, so just kick him in the balls, and he won't bother you again. He's an amazing fighter for his age, but any guy knows 'don't mess with a gal who'll fight dirty,'" claimed Mr. Flannery as he wagged his finger.

"Much better," said Mrs. Flannery as she rubbed her husband's shoulder. "Thank you." She then kissed her husband on the cheek and got up from the table to get more rolls for the empty bread basket.

Even though, Adrian's dad had said those words, she knew that if one day when she and Tommy were adults, he wouldn't mind the pair together, so she just nodded and finished her chicken. Miranda just sat there pouting with her arms crossed looking at her sister, but Adrian didn't care, because she was beyond thrilled that her parents were allowing her to stay at Tommy's. The whole night was working itself out perfectly, and yet she still couldn't put her finger on what she thought would be happening.

After dinner had ended, Adrian went upstairs to pack her over-night bag, but she also wanted to freshen up a bit. She brushed her hair, put on a pair of silver, dangly ear rings, and put on jeans instead of her typical pair of athletic pants. She examined herself in the mirror, and she was surprised to see that she was starting to look a little bit more like a lady than she remembered the last time she saw herself in the mirror. She had wider hips, so her waist went in. She even had a little bit of a chest now, which was quite an accomplishment. For the longest time, she didn't think she would have much boobs, because Miranda had started showing when she was 12, but not Adrian. However, she didn't care because she had nice long legs, and she knew it too.

She put on a little bit of mascara and some cherry lip gloss. As for the final touch, she was feeling very confident, so Adrian picked up a bottle of vanilla body spray off her desk that she had rarely ever used. She sprayed it in front of her to walk into it as she closed her eyes and walking into the mist, she was interrupted.

"You smell like a whore… I like it." Miranda waltzed into the room uninvited.

"Thanks, Randi. You always know what to say," replied Adrian in a melancholy tone. Her sister usually meant well, but she also didn't understand boundaries. Sometimes Adrian felt like she was the older one, because she felt more mature, but her older sister was definitely more experienced in other areas, much to her mother's dislike.

"Is tonight going to be the night? Because I mean, if it is, I say go for it! Make sure you use a condom though. That boy's so popular at school that I wouldn't trust the skanks that he's been with, but who can blame them? He's cute; he might even be cuter than Brendan."

"Just stop okay. You're making this weird," whined Adrian. "I'm already worried, and I doubt anything's going to happen."

"Do you want something to happen?" raised Miranda's eyebrows.

Adrian paused, because she wasn't sure how to answer this question. "No- I mean, yeah, I do." Miranda's eyebrows got even higher, and she began to smile. "Not like that! I mean not that far. I just want him to like me, Randi."

"Then if you want to guarantee something happening, then you've gotta make it happen, because maybe he's just nervous like you. I've seen him look at you, and he gives you 'the look.'"

"'The look?'"

"Yeah, the let's bang kinda-look."

Adrian frowned and sat down on her bed as she began to run her fingers through her chestnut brown hair out of habit. Her sister's inability to filter made her apprehensive at times.

"That's a great thing, sis," Miranda continued walking over to her sister. "It means he's interested in you, plus just because he gives you 'the look' it doesn't mean you have to do all of that. I know I talk a big game, but I didn't just dive-in my first time. I waited for when I felt the time was right. We're all different."

Calmness flushed through Adrian's entire body, and she felt relieved. She took a deep breath and hugged her sister. Despite Miranda's bouts of selfishness, she really does care about Adrian and wants her sister have fun and be happy. As the two were letting go of one another, Miranda said "Then after that all bets were off, and I was down with any hot guy who didn't have a girlfriend."

"At least you respect yourself enough to not be the other girl," retorted Adrian.

"Yeah, well remember when I tried that recently? It didn't work out so well, now did it?" Miranda huffed.

"I didn't mean to bring that up. I'm sorry," Adrian apologized.

"It's all right. At least someone's going to get a piece of a Conlon around here," joked Miranda as she slinked out of the bedroom.