Owen quickly turned away from Tammy. "Could you please button your shirt?"
Tammy laughed. "What's the matter, Owen? Afraid of some bare boobs?"
"Well, if you are not going to button up, I am going to have to leave," he said. He hurriedly headed out of her bedroom and down the corridor.
"Wait, wait," she called out, buttoning up her shirt. "Don't go; I am buttoning up."
"Are you decent?" he asked, before turning around.
"Yes, I am," she said, a little woefully.
He turned around and looked at her. "What are you trying to pull here, Tammy?" he asked. "Did you call me from the mall under some false pretense to get me here, so you can take off your shirt?"
She stammered as she spoke. "Not exactly. I really did need a ride home and I thought we could take the opportunity to have some fun, since my dad is not at home."
"I didn't come here to have fun, Tammy," Owen said. "I was just being a friend."
"So you're my friend, Owen? You certainly give lots of mixed signals," she said. "Sometimes, you hold my hand. Sometimes, you treat me like a girlfriend. Sometimes, you treat me like a buddy. What is it?"
"I have always thought of you as a friend, Tammy," he said. "You were one of the first friends I had when I came to high school. And you can't tell me that you haven't used it to your advantage. I have allowed you to let people think that you are my girlfriend, when that's not really true."
"Well, people do think I am your girlfriend and if that's the case, why don't we go along with it? I can give you all of the benefits of a girlfriend," she said. "Come on, Owen, are you a virgin? That's why you're scared of some bare boobs."
"Even though it is none of your business, I am not a virgin," he said.
Tammy was shocked. Who was this girl that Owen had slept with? And how did that get past her?
"Who? Who was she?" Tammy was incensed. "Who in school have you slept with?"
"Again, it is none of your business but she wasn't from our school," Owen said. The truth was that he, Peter and John had gone to a college frat party, where they had hooked up with a couple of girls. His hormones were running wild and he ended up having a hook-up with an 18-year-old college girl. After the encounter, he found himself feeling empty on the inside. It was just a physical act and there had been no feeling behind it. He told himself that the next time, he slept with someone, it had to be with a girl he really cared about.
Tammy could not even imagine who the girl could be. Didn't Owen know that she could give him all he wanted?
"So, why is it that you can't be my boyfriend, Owen?" she asked. "I can be a great girlfriend."
"Well, I just don't feel that way about you," he said.
"So is there someone else? That girl you slept with?" she asked. She needed to know.
"No," Owen said. "That girl is not part of my life and only after, did I realize that it was a total mistake. I didn't feel for her what I should have felt to sleep with her. It should have been special to me but it wasn't.
"You are a pretty girl, Tammy, and I am sure that there are lots of guys in school who would have jumped at the chance to sleep with you. But I am not emotionally connected to you. And that was missing when I slept with that girl.
"Just think about it. This is my advice to you. Find someone who feels the same way about you as you do about them. I am not that guy."
He looked at her. "I am sorry, Tammy, if this hurts you. I think I better leave now. I will show myself out."
He got out of that house, as quickly as he could. He hated that he hurt her because he knew rejection is always hard to take. Tammy sat in her bedroom and started to cry. She could not believe that she had spent all of her high school years, pining after a guy who did not want her. His refusal had hurt so much.
On Monday at school, Owen made every effort to avoid Tammy. He was at his locker, when Peter sidled up to him.
"Owen, I have been hearing things," Peter said, with a sly grin.
"What have you been hearing?" Owen asked.
"I heard that Tammy made the big play for you and you turned her down," Peter said. "Are you crazy, dude? You get a chance to score one with Tammy Lester and you refused. You know how many guys would want to be in your shoes. She is one of the hottest chicks in school."
Owen sighed. He was sorry that this piece of news already got around his group of friends.
"Pete, I was just trying to save the girl some pain. I don't feel that way about her and she shouldn't be losing her virginity with someone, who doesn't love her in that way," Owen said.
"What rock have you been under? Tammy is no virgin," Peter said.
"What?" Owen said. He was a little surprised.
"Yeah, Tammy knocked boots with a couple of European guys, while she and Shelly went to Europe together, last summer. First, it was some French guy in Paris and an Italian guy in Rome," Peter said. "Shelly told me. She couldn't keep it to herself. She was dying to tell someone. Unfortunately, I was the first person she saw."
"Well, well, well," Owen said. Knowing this actually made him feel a little bit better about the situation. "Actually, that makes me feel less bad about the situation. It wasn't like if she was offering her virginity to me, and I turned her down."
"Are you going to hang out with us during lunchtime?" Peter asked.
"I don't know if I will be welcome," Owen replied. "Given what has transpired between Tammy and me."
"Hey, she can hang out with Shelly and Tricia and John and I will hang out with you," Peter said.
"Thanks, buddy," Owen said. "We'll see how it goes."
During the lunch break, he went to the cafeteria and did an automatic check for Cristina. There she was at her corner table with her friend, Madeleine and Bobby. Owen shook his head at the sight of Bobby. He looked around for the guys. There, they were with a bunch of other guys from the football team. He noticed Tammy with Shelly and Tricia, giving him the stare down. "Whatever," he thought.
He went to hang out with the guys during the lunch hour, while fending off the hostile glares of the girls. He decided that it was not going to bother him. After all, today was going to be a good day, since there were going to be rehearsals for the show, after school.
When he got to the auditorium, a couple of people were already there. Cristina was already there, reading her script. He went and sat next to her.
"Hey, Cristina," he said. "How was your weekend?"
"Fine," she said. "How was your weekend?"
"Interesting to say the least," he said. Bobby came in and spotted Owen chatting to Cristina. He felt a little less insecure because after all, he had already kissed Cristina on Saturday. He went and sat on the other side of her. Owen gave him a withering look but Bobby stood his ground. There was no way he was going to move from his seat.
"Good evening, young ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Bostwick said, as he entered the room. "I hope everyone has their scripts. We are going to have a run-through of the entire play today. You can all stay in your seats and we will just read it." There was a rustling of paper as everyone dug into their bags and took out their scripts.
"Good, good, let's start, with the narrator," Bostwick said. The read-through went quite smoothly, until they came to the kissing scene.
"Stop, this is a crucial scene in the play," Bostwick said. "This is where our modern-day Romeo and Juliet declare their love for each other so the kissing has to look authentic. So I can't have a super-shy Romeo and Juliet. So, I have to ask, Darren, have you ever kissed a girl before?"
Darren nodded. "Yes, I have," he said.
"Good, good," Bostwick said.
"Cristina, I know you are only 14 years old but have you kissed a boy before?" he asked. "Or will this be your first kiss?"
"No, Mr. Bostwick, it will not be my first kiss," she said. Both Owen and Bobby smiled at the thought. They caught each other smiling and they both realized at the same time, the significance of their smiles. They had both kissed Cristina.
Bobby was incredulous. Where and when did Cristina kiss Owen Hunt? He racked his brain. Had Cristina been kissing Owen while he was dating her?
Owen was incredulous. He knew that Cristina kissing Bobby had to be recent. More than likely on Saturday during or after the visit to Six Flags, he thought. He resented the boy even more.
"Ah, good, Cristina. So we won't have any shyness on display when we come to the kissing scene, then. Let's continue," Bostwick said. They read through the entire play until the very end.
"Now, that is a good run-through. I expect everyone to start learning their lines for the first two parts. We are going to start on Wednesday on the stage," Bostwick said. "A couple of housekeeping notes. There will be two performances of the play – the Friday and the Saturday before Thanksgiving week. Except for Darren and Cristina, everyone will have to be an understudy for another part. That means you will have to learn the lines and songs of the role that you are understudying.
"For example, Owen Hunt will be the understudy for the Romeo role and Kristen Fellowes will be the understudy for Juliet. I have a list here about the role each of you is going to understudy, please check that before you leave.
"Prop-builders, I will need you to start working on the set, while costume people, you will have to start looking for a suitable wardrobe for our cast. Clearly, our budget is limited, so we must be careful how we spend our scanty assets. I will be handling stage management, while Miss Fairbanks and her assistant will be handling the lighting and the music. So, prop-builders, costume designers and Miss Fairbanks, can you stay while we discuss all of the behind-the-scenes work?
"The rest of you are dismissed. I expect you to know your lines for first rehearsal on Wednesday," Bostwick said. "Please check the list of the roles you are going to understudy before you leave.
Bobby got up and went up to check the list. He found out he was understudying the role of Paris, Owen Hunt's role. It was like he could never get away from the guy. He turned around to see Cristina following Owen out of the door. Owen was carrying Cristina's knapsack, along with his own.
"Cristina," Bobby called out. She turned around and said, "Owen is giving me a ride home."
"Oh, okay," he said. He gritted his teeth. He really wished he was old enough to drive and maybe, his dad would buy him a car. That was something that Owen Hunt had on him, in addition to the older boy being the star quarterback football hero, a senior and one of the most popular guys in school. Seriously, he thought, he would have preferred to have Darren as his rival for Cristina's affections than big, handsome Owen Hunt. After all, Darren was closer to him in age and he actually knew him well from grade school, so he knew all of Darren's quirks.
Then, he remembered that Darren would be getting to kiss Cristina for the two performance shows plus all of the numerous rehearsal kisses. There was something so not right about that, Bobby thought. He only kissed Cristina once. He better get a couple of kisses in. After all, he was her kinda boyfriend, he consoled himself.
In his car, Owen put his and Cristina's backpacks in the back seat. He waited for her to buckle up before he drove off.
"So you're excited about the play?" he asked, taking a glance at her, now and then.
"Yes, very," she said. "Mom, Dad and Garrett have already promised to come. What about your family?"
"My parents are going to come. My sister Julia may not. After all, she is 23 years old now and she is living in her own apartment in the city. Little high school plays may not be her thing," he said.
"Julia? I haven't seen her in years. You know Garrett had an awful crush on her," Cristina said, giggling. "She never used to give him the time of day."
Owen laughed. He remembered Garrett's crush on Julia and how mean she was to him.
"I am sure if you ask her, she will come," Cristina said. "Your debut performance."
"I guess I could ask," he said. "Maybe Garrett will get a kick to see how she looks, now."
They arrived at Cristina's house. She looked at him. "Thanks for the ride, Owen," she said, as she got out of the car.
"No problem," he said. "Always a pleasure." He watched, going up her walkway, when she turned back and started running to the car.
"What's the matter?" he said. "You forget something?"
"No," she said. "It's not that late. Why don't you come inside and re-acquaint yourself with my parents, again? You can stay and we can learn our lines, together. I will give you tea and strawberry scones."
He got out of the car and followed her up the walkway. She opened the door. "Come in. Mom should be in the kitchen."
They dropped off their bags in the living room.
"Hey, Mom," Cristina said. "Look who I brought." Helen turned around and took a good look at the tall, blonde young man in her kitchen.
"Owen Hunt!" Helen exclaimed. "I have not seen you in years. My, how you've grown. You are such a handsome boy, you must drive all of the senior girls wild."
Owen blushed.
"Yeah, he does, Mom," Cristina said. "All of the girls talk about him. Even girls from my year but he has a girlfriend, Tammy Lester."
Owen looked at her in disbelief. Cristina actually thought that Tammy was his girlfriend.
"Let me correct that notion, Cristina," he said. "Tammy is not my girlfriend. She is just a friend."
"Oh," Cristina said. "I always thought that she was your girlfriend. She sure acted that way."
"Yeah, she does," he said, ruefully.
"Mom, can we get some tea and strawberry scones," Cristina asked.
"Yes, you may, fresh from the bakery," Helen said. "And I just made a pot of tea. Have a seat, you two." Owen and Cristina sat dutifully at the kitchen table, as Helen brought out the scones and the tea.
As he sipped on his tea, he had visions of himself as a seven-year-old boy, sitting at a tiny table, across from the curly-haired four-year-old girl, while they were surrounded by teddy bears and dollies. As he stared at the teenaged girl in front of him now, he knew he had loved her then and he loved her now.
A/N Please leave your reviews. I do appreciate reading your thoughts.