American Bad Boy(6)

“I told you I could make you even noisier,” he puffs out his chest proudly. He was right. For once I’m not even embarrassed.

“That felt amazing.” I don’t tell him that it’s the first time I’ve ever had an orgasm from sex. I don’t want to bruise his ego.

“You’re amazing,” he pulls me toward him, lying back on the blanket and holding me in his arms. We stare at the night sky together, neither of us in a hurry to get dressed. I feel like I could lay in his arms like this forever. At least until dawn. The early morning golfers might have an issue with forever.

“I can’t believe that this is the end. The end and the beginning. I really feel like we’re starting a new chapter together, you know?” I ramble, breathing in the sweet smell of fresh cut grass and his cologne. He doesn’t answer me; I hope he’s not falling asleep.

“You know what though? I can’t wait for all the chapters,” I continue. “I can’t wait for us to buy our first janky futon together and for us to buy grocery carts of ramen noodles. I can’t wait for when we get married, you know, after college I mean. And when we start having kids together. I think two kids is good, what do you think? I’m even looking forward to when we get all old and hunched over together,” I smile at the sky.

Nothing. Just Mack breathing. Oh, jeez, he did fall asleep.

“Mack?”

“Yeah.”

Or not.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Those crickets sound even louder. Less like they’re applauding now and more like they’re mocking me.

“Mack?”

Crap. I probably freaked him out with my sixty-year forecast into the future. “Hey, you know I’m just talking right? I don’t really have big plans for that far away …”

“Lauren, I need to tell you something.”

Double crap.

He sits up and I sit next to him. His eyebrows are knit together and his mouth is twisted to the side. “What’s going on? Did I freak you out about the future?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what?”

“Lauren, I got into West Point.”

“West Point? The military academy? But you didn’t even tell me you were applying? In New York? What about my scholarship? What about our plans? When are you going?” My mouth rattles off the questions as quickly as my mind can form them.

Mack looks down at his hands, then into my eyes. “I’m leaving in three days.”





4





Lauren





2004




“Three days?” I squeak.

I’m searching his face for signs that this is a badly timed joke. There’s no twinkle in his eyes like when he mixed mustard with frosting and gave me a lifelong aversion to cupcakes. There’s no trace of a smirk on his lips like when told me his grandparents were nudists right before we pulled up to their house for a nice Sunday supper. Instead, I’m met with the same earnest stare as when he first told me that he loved me.

“Mack, what are you talking about? We have school on Monday. Why are you fucking with me?” His eyes don’t change. He doesn’t bust out laughing and revel in the “gotcha” moment.

“I know we do. I’m just going for a campus visit. Once you’re admitted, you can go check out the school for a week and get a feel for it. I’m not going for good until July.” He runs his hand over his dark brown hair and sweeps it down over his neck.

My mind is spinning out of control. I might black out. Am I drunk? Is this a dream?

“You’re serious? You just decided to drop this on me? On prom night? How long have you been planning this? When did you even apply?” I’m being tossed around on a sea of anger and despair.

I’m drowning.

“I didn’t want to just drop it on you. I applied last summer and I’ve been jumping through all their hoops for almost a year. It’s a huge process. I had to get endorsed by our congressman. My athletic ability, my SAT scores, my leadership skills, like every little thing had to be proven and was analyzed. I didn’t want to do all that, to try so hard and then have you and everyone else pity me if I didn’t get it.”

“This is crazy!” I jump to my feet and grab my clothes. “I can’t believe you’d make a huge decision like this,” I hop on one foot as I try to get my foot back into my twisted panties, “and not even mention it once.” I step into my dress and tug it back up over my shoulders, “what about my scholarship here? You know I can’t just walk away from that and go out east. Dammit, I haven’t even applied to any schools in New York! Zip this up will ya?” I jerk my thumb over my shoulder and Mack complies. His fingers send little tingles down my spine, but I blink hard and bury the sensation letting my disbelief and confusion rule the show. “Didn’t you think about me for one second? What kind of an asshole does this?”