Morgan

“I thought you’d likely play better if I wore shorts today,” Jenny told me very loftily, after I’d lost yet again. “Doesn’t seem to have made much difference though.”

I blushed hotly. Did she have to say things like that in front of everyone else? I didn’t even want to catch the eye of any of the grinning boys right now!

“You don’t have to be such a tease about it!” I burst out indignantly.

“I’m not a tease,” replied the prim girl. “And even if you missed out on your usual fun last night that's no reason to take it out on me.”

This time there was audible laughter from the other boys. Blushing was hardly a strong enough word to describe what by now was going on around my cheeks!

“If you ask me it’s time you little lovebirds made it official,” chuckled one of the cheekiest boys in our class. “You might not squabble so much!”

Jenny looked at me extremely critically. She couldn’t know how my heart had suddenly started to race.

“If you refer to it as ‘a date,’ just once…” she told me at last.

The whistling and cooing from our class was all but uproarious!

I didn’t feel like there was anything to giggle about two hours later though, when I was putting myself through the most intensive steam-clean and de-smellifying of my life! I just knew nothing but the most scrupulous bathtime regime would satisfy Jenny, and after screwing myself up to a pitch of excitement I’d never even experienced I was obviously terrified she’d have some complaint. It would be just like her!

I’d never felt sillier by the time I was done, but I knew Jenny would only agree to be seen with a boy who’d got himself as pink and scrubbed as could be. That, I certainly was! My freckles were dark dots against my flush, and my silky clean hair was pushed back behind my ears in the way that irritated me most but she liked. I was really fearful about how I smelled though, as you can imagine, because it somehow felt like all the hot water and fretful scouring had only made things worse.

Half an hour later in spotless socks and a crisply pressed tee I waited at the bus-stop, crimson about the cheeks, with my friends and classmates who’d come to wish me luck. That was what they called it anyway!

“You’re so lucky,” said one boy innocently.

I groaned weakly, and pleaded, “Don’t!”

“I’d have my pants in a twist too if it was Jenny,” said another boy sympathetically.

“You look sweet though,” smirked his friend. “The only question is, will it be enough to bring out the well-hidden sweetness in her?”

There were widespread giggles at this remark, but it made me shiver feverishly. Jenny had a few tiny little light freckles on her nose, though you had to look closely and know they were there. The excitement that I might soon be near enough to study these was altogether too much of a good thing! In other words there already were things about Jenny I thought were sweet, and only a boy who’d never noticed these could have made that joke at a time like this!

When the bus came I couldn’t wait to scamper on board, cheeks burning from the cheers and whistling. The usual bumpy annoyances that went with being on a bus-seat were at least ten times more intense even on the short ride to Jenny’s neighbourhood. Arriving I stepped down to the pavement and glimpsed the last familiar face I’d expected. It was Morgan, youngest of the girls I’d met at the party. Ignoring her I tried to hurry past, but at that moment the bus hissed air from its door so she looked up and saw me.

“Going on a date?” Morgan immediately cawed at me in amusement. Burning in the face I turned to address her.

“Yes, but I don’t know if it’ll be as good as the last party I went to, I mean at least I got a kiss then!” I reminded her.

“I’m not saying you can’t have another,” Morgan replied naughtily. Next second I was sitting down beside her at the bus stop. A second after that she touched her pink little pouty lips to mine.

She smelled fresh and clean, and her lips had about them the tiniest taste of fizzy sweet black cherry cream soda. It was so like having a little sip of something as nice as that when you were thirsty that when we drew apart I couldn’t help panting to her: “Wow, I like you so much better when you’ve got that lip gloss on!”

Morgan’s hand moved through my silky shampooed hair, almost driving me frantic. In reply I slid an arm round her small waist and pulled her pout close to me again, tasting her cherry ice-cream a second time.

“Something about a little clean boy,” she smirked when at length we drew back again.

“Little from you might be going a bit far!” I laughed, still very pink and short of breath. She giggled.

“So what’s got you all showered anyway?” asked Morgan. “Not even you can be that desperate!”

I sighed, and couldn’t help agreeing when she put it like that.

“Does it matter if you get all grubby, then?” was Morgan’s next question, and on the spur of the moment I decided it didn’t!

“Do you have to go to your party?” I whispered to her, answering a question with a question.

“Guess not,” she smiled secretively back, and took my hand.