Chapter 3

She wondered about what night she was going to lose her virginity? With whom? Would it be romantic? Will she be engaged? Will she be married? She hoped it would be with Peter. Ruthie could almost feel Peter holding her and keeping her safe and comfortable. She could picture them lying next to each other intertwined with love flowing through their blood. She imagined the high she would get by just being with Peter and sharing this special moment, something that would bind them forever.

She hoped it would be as enjoyable as her parents thought it was. They always managed to still be in love, and the sex idea went along with it. She remembered when she had caught her parents having sex.

Flashback
Annie: You saw a private moment between your father and me. Now, I am going to take the diary. You may write about the interesting things in your life.

Ruthie: But nothing in my life is as interesting as that.

Annie: Well, then you will have to make something up for your school project.

End of Flashback

Ruthie was reminiscing on her way downstairs. She was remembering her first boyfriend, Bert. She had never realized she liked him until he didn't like her anymore. She had almost shared her first real kiss, that wasn't for "revenge". Later in her preteens she moved on to Jake and then Peter. Once Peter had moved away, she made major mistakes by dating Harry and especially Vincent, the little liar. She and Martin had dated for a couple of days but they realized they felt nothing more than friendship for each other. Even today, she was still best friends with Martin, but there she did not feel anything romantic for him.

When Peter had told Ruthie that he had a steady girlfriend at his parent's wedding, while Ruthie was dating Vincent, Ruthie looked into it because she felt jealous. She learned that she had loved Peter since met him. He kept her sturdy, and made her a better person. Ruthie found out that Peter had lied based on the vague answers Ruthie got about his girlfriend, and she questioned him about it a few months after she broke up with Martin.

They had begun to talk on the phone after the wedding. Peter had quickly told Ruthie the truth, that he was still in love with her, and that he wished she would go out with him now that she didn't have a boyfriend. She then knew that she would belong to Peter forever. Another time he proved his worth was when he hit on her in front of her father.

Flashback
(Martin and Cecilia are making out on the couch with textbooks next to them)

Eric: Aren't Martin and Cecilia supposed to be studying?

Ruthie: I think they are studying.

Peter:(looks at Ruthie) I bet if we studied like that we could get A's too.

End of Flashback

She remembered her years of dating Peter so fondly. She was getting to the bottom of the stairs when her first kiss with Peter flashed into her memory.

Flashback
Paris: I hate to wake up Peter.

Ben: We can leave him on the couch

(They smile at each other)

Ruthie: I'll wake him up.

(Ruthie bends down and lightly and quickly kisses Peter on the lips)

Peter: Did you just...?

Ruthie: Kiss you? You must be dreaming.

End of Flashback

Ruthie reached the kitchen and she wasn't paying to attention to where she was going. She slid across the kitchen on some sticky substance. She bent down to see what she had just slid across, and what making her ass feel sticky. As she ran her hands through it, she knew it was honey and it now had mixed in with the icing. She searched around the entire room looking for the next clue. She started near the sink and walked counterclockwise until she saw the note on the refrigerator.

Dear Ruthie,
How are you enjoying this so far? Well we only have three more prizes left until the end of this treasure hunt. For the next prize take the marshmallows from the bag. You can stick them anywhere on your body. Now, once you have the marshmallows in place, take the blindfold from the freezer and stick it over your eyes. Then, pour what is in the ice box over your head.
Love,
Peter

P.S. I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I will.

Ruthie wondered what was in the icebox, but she knew that Peter would not make her go through this entire treasure hunt to mock her or anything like that. So, she first took the marshmallows in her hand and put them in the secret area of her choice. Then, she took out the icebox and the blindfold. She put on the blindfold and raised the icebox over her head. She quickly took off the cover on the icebox and turned it over while she stuck out her tongue to see what was being dumped on her head. She felt the cold, dark substance drop down her face and once it reached her tongue, she knew immediately what it was. It was chocolate syrup. She began to wonder if the rest of the journey would be a repeat of this idea.

"Is all of this worth it for the end prize," Ruthie thought.

Ruthie went back to the refrigerator but the second clue wasn't there. She had soon realized that the note was in the box of unknown on the floor. Ruthie knew she needed the note in order to be able to continue. On the outside of the box it said, "Pour this on your body and roll around in the honey in exchange for the note." It was slowly becoming harder to see, but she dumped the unknown which was marshmallow topping on her body, and then did a quick role in the honey for the note. The note read:

Dear Ruthie,
I know that you must feel really disgusting, but keep the mess on. By the way, I am enjoying watching this, because it helps with the final prize. Try not to give up on your trust in me. Anyway, to get your third clue go to the living room. The next clue's prize will be achieved in a different way than the other two have.
I love you hunny,
Peter

Ruthie knew that Peter was serious, if he was going to do all this for her nineteenth birthday. She questioned what his intentions for this type of birthday gift were. However, Ruthie had always loved playing in the mud, so this wasn't the worst possible thing to happen on her birthday. She was never a girly-girl so this wasn't the worst treasure hunt ever.

Ruthie thought, "Peter is going through a lot of trouble for all of this. He must have an amazing present at the end. However, I doubt I will be losing my virginity tonight. Why would Peter want to sleep with me when I'm covered in all of this? I wonder what the end prize could be. Maybe it's..."