Martin peered over the edge of his History text and stared at an unaware Ruthie. She had left her hair curly today and one lone, unmanaged curl had snuck from behind her ear and was resting gently against the side of Ruthie's flawlessly complexioned face. God, she's beautiful, Martin thought to himself.
Ruthie suddenly looked up from her own book, catching Martin staring at her. She smiled, tucked the strand of hair back behind her ear and winked at Martin. His breath caught. Such an innocent gesture, yet such a turn-on! Ruthie could be dressed in a snowsuit and she'd still be appealing to Martin.
"What?" Ruthie asked finally.
"Huh?" Martin asked, trying to shake himself out of his daze.
Ruthie smiled and bit into her rose-colored bottom lip. "You were staring. I think your concentration is lacking."
Martin licked his lower lip. "My concentration is just fine," he flirted, looking at Ruthie pointedly.
Ruthie blushed, unable to hide the smile that Martin's comment had caused. She tried to continue with her reading, reminding herself that she was here to study, but found it distracting having Martin staring at her in silence.
"You need to get back to work," Ruthie suggested, pointing at Martin's History textbook.
Martin closed his book in defiance. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes slightly. Ruthie looked at him curiously. "What?"
"Come here," Martin ordered in a husky voice.
Ruthie took a deep breath, urging herself to say no and continue with her studying. In the end, the tension in Martin's bedroom got the better of her and she too, closed her book. She looked up at the handsome young man sitting on the floor beside her. Martin eased sex appeal without even meaning to. It made it hard for Ruthie to keep her senses sometimes.
Martin had hoisted himself up onto the edge of his double bed, sitting there, still staring at Ruthie. "It's been a long time since you and I have been alone together."
Ruthie giggled nervously. "Yeah. My family hasn't exactly been letting go, have they?"
Martin shook his head, reaching down for Ruthie's hand, gently guiding her to the bed as well. Ruthie sat down beside Martin, reminding herself that she and Martin had been alone like this plenty of times. But, those had been times when neither had realized there were feelings between them. Those had been times when there was no sexual tension. This was not one of those times.
Martin swallowed hard and leaned forward until his lips met with Ruthie's. He kissed her gently, enjoying how easy it was to melt Ruthie's resolve. He was thoroughly enjoying the simple kiss until Ruthie pressed her small body into his, urging Martin to the next level. Normally Martin could control himself, but not this time.
Ever so gently, Martin deepened the kiss, until Ruthie became more relaxed. When a small groan of satisfaction escaped her throat, Martin guided Ruthie until she was lying on her back, Martin on top of her.
"Martin?" Ruthie managed to get out in between kisses that were growing dangerously passionate.
"It's okay," Martin whispered. "We can stop if you want to."
Ruthie's brain had put on the red light minutes ago, but Ruthie's body was all about the green, so she pulled Martin back down, kissing him like she would never see him again.
Minutes of lying there kissing had passed. Martin had paused for a moment to turn on his stereo, giving Ruthie the added enjoyment of a simple, light atmosphere for a situation that was anything but!
Martin had begun to trace a path of kisses down Ruthie's neck, discovering the spot that caused such a feeling of ecstasy in her, Ruthie never wanted Martin to stop. Martin tried hard to keep his body in check, but found it hard. He loved everything about this girl. Her lips, her neck, her tongue…
Gently, Martin pulled Ruthie's shirt a little farther off the shoulder and was pleasantly surprised when Ruthie undid the first few buttons of her top, giving Martin a slight view of breasts that he hadn't even known were there!
And that's how Martin and Ruthie ended up half naked…
Martin awoke with a start, his alarm buzzing loudly into his ear. He reached up, banging the snooze button and falling back onto his pillows, sighing heavily. He shook his head and looked up at the ceiling, trying to get himself together. He'd been having the same erotic dream about Ruthie since the day it had happened.
Martin was lying in bed, trying to prepare himself to get up when the phone rang. He reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hi! What's up?" came Ruthie's chipper voice.
Martin stared down at his sheets and rolled his eyes. "Uh, nothing."
"Today's Wednesday! You have exactly three more days left of your high school career. Are you excited?" Ruthie asked.
Martin bit his lip, trying not to laugh at his present predicament. "Uh, yeah. I'm really excited."
"Me too. I even dreamed about you last night."
Martin cleared his throat. "Anything interesting?" He wondered if she was suffering the way he was.
"Maybe," Ruthie teased. "Well, I guess I'll see you in about an hour. I have to go shower now."
Martin hung up the phone, closing his eyes and picturing Ruthie wet and… He slapped his forehead, trying to knock his dirty thoughts from his mind. He rose gingerly, not looking forward to the cold shower he would be having again this morning!
"You need a ride to school?" Mary asked, peeking around the corner of Ruthie's bedroom door.
Ruthie turned to smile at Mary. She was glad to see her older sister again. "No, but thanks. Martin's coming to get me."
Mary smiled, recognizing the familiar look of first love on Ruthie's face. She had seen the same look on Lucy's face not so long ago when she had first started dating Kevin. Mary hoped that Ruthie's experience with love would turn out like Lucy's and not hers.
"Mary?" Ruthie asked suddenly, shaking Mary from her thoughts. "You got a sec?"
"For my little sister? Of course!" Mary said, shutting the door quietly and sitting down on Ruthie's bed. "What's up?"
Ruthie's cheeks turned scarlet, telling Mary that this was going to be a memorable conversation. Mary hoped that she'd be able to help Ruthie with whatever this was about. "It's about Martin."
Mary smiled. Boys. Now that subject she knew a bit about. "What about him?"
"I really like him."
Mary shrugged. "Tell me something I don't know. In all of our e-mails, that's all you ever talk about. Things must be going well for the two of you."
"Maybe a little too well," Ruthie admitted. "Sometimes when we're together, I can get a little carried away."
A look of worry flashed across Mary's face. She wasn't ready for her sixteen-year old sister to be having sex or to be choosing to discuss it with Mary.
"It's not like we've done that," Ruthie assured. "But that's come close."
Mary took a deep breath, trying to find the best way to approach this subject. She hadn't waited to have sex, but she had made a lot of mistakes in her day, some that she was paying the ultimate price for. She wanted better for her sister.
"You think that I should wait, don't you?" Ruthie asked, sounding a little disheartened.
"I'm not an expert on this subject. I didn't wait and look how things turned out for me. Now Lucy chose to wait and look how wonderful her relationship with Kevin is," Mary pointed out.
"So you think I should wait?" Ruthie repeated.
"I think that this decision is yours, Ruthie," Mary shrugged, wishing she could be of more help to her confused sister. "I know that Mom and Dad would tell you to wait until you're married because it's the belief they subscribe to. You need to figure out what belief you subscribe to."
"Even if it's not what Mom and Dad would want?" Ruthie asked.
"I'm not saying that you should go against what Mom and Dad have taught us. But you'll be more committed to your decision if it's something you truly belief in. And if that turns out to be not waiting, then I would like us to talk before that happens," Mary advised.
"I've always said that I would wait, but I never felt the way I feel about Martin before. When I'm with him, it's like everything is perfect."
"And this has nothing to do with him and Sandy?" Mary inquired.
Ruthie sighed, joining Mary on her unmade bed. "I hate the idea of her knowing him that way. I mean, what if she marries Simon and I marry Martin? I'll have to spend the rest of my life knowing that they had sex with each other. I hate that!"
Mary gave Ruthie a sympathetic hug. "I hate to tell you this, but whether you and Martin have sex or not, him having been with Sandy, well, that's never going to change. Just don't rush into something this major because you want to one up Sandy, okay? Sex is complicated enough on its own. Have you talked to Martin about this?"
"Martin and I have agreed to take things down a notch. We try not to talk about Sandy. And I don't want him to think I'm insecure or something," Ruthie admitted.
"But you are, Ruth. And that's nothing to be ashamed of. Talk to Martin, Ruthie. If you and he are so connected, he'll understand and maybe even be able to ease your mind a little."