"Charlie Bear, how are the boys treating you at school?" He asked me one night over dinner. I finished chewing the bite I had just taken while shrugging my shoulders.
"They don't really pay me any attention," I said while still looking down at my plate. I didn't want to talk to my dad about boys.
He raised his eyebrows at me. "I don't believe that for a moment," he scoffed.
"It's true. One boy said something terrible to me the very first day and Asher nearly killed him." The fork that had been on its way to my father's mouth was stopped mid-air, and his jaw hung open. After a second or two he closed his mouth and put his fork back down.
"Is that so? What did this boy say to you?"
I rolled my eyes while poking the food on my plate, supremely uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. "You don't want to know, Dad."
"Yes, I do. Answer the question."
I let out an exasperated sigh, still not brave enough to look him in the eye.
"He might have mentioned how I filled out over the summer and then added something about the back seat of his car," I mumbled as quickly as I could. I peeked my eyes up at him only to see the red flush spread from his neck all the way up to his hairline. His hands gripped in solid white fists on the table and I could hear loud breaths whistling through his nose. "Dad, it's not a big deal. Like I said, Asher made it known that it was not ok." It took a little while but my dad finally calmed down a little and managed a drink of his water. It looked like he was trying to formulate his next statement. I felt it was going to be important.
"Charlie, what would you have done if Asher hadn't been there?"
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I asked you. That boy says something profoundly inappropriate and uncalled for to you in the hallway and Asher is nowhere to be found to defend your honor. What would you do?"
"Uh, ignore him and keep walking?" That's probably what I would do, but I wasn't really going for honesty. I was just trying to give my dad the answer he was looking for so that we could move past this horrid discussion.
"Any boy who disrespects you in public will only do worse in private. At this age, Charlie Bear, boys are too focused on the, uh, physical aspects of a relationship with a girl. It's important that you realize that just because a boy says things to you that you might find, uh, flattering, you need to have respect for yourself and your body. Any boy who says things like that to you isn't worthy of your time or attention."
"Dad, please, let's not do this," I said as I started to stand up to take my plate into the kitchen.
"Charlie, sit." I instinctually sat back down quickly. Dad used his 'I mean business' voice, which he only reserved for times when I knew it was best to obey him. "You're in high school now and it's important that you understand how the male mind works at this age. Now," he paused, again trying to put something together in his mind. "When boys your age are interested in girls, there is a chance that they are thinking about a physical relationship with her more than she might be. Boys are more curious, more driven by hormones, and sometimes more, well, uninhibited in a sexual nature."
"Have you met Reeve?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. My dad's eyes grew wide and I immediately regretted my joke. "I'm kidding! Jeez, Dad. Reeve isn't like that. I mean, she's flirty and boy crazy, but she's not – you know," I tried to insinuate what I meant because, Lord knows, I didn't want to say it. He let out a loud breath.
"Ok, good. Don't scare me like that." He reached up to try and loosen the neck of his shirt. He looked a little warm. "All I am trying to say is that even though I am glad that Asher was there and did the right thing, he won't always be. Boys are going to try to date you, Charlie Bear. They're going to ask you out, and they're going to want to kiss you and possibly more." He wiped the palm of his hand over his forehead which was now beaded with sweat.
"Dad," I said softly. "I am not ready to date boys. I'm not even really interested in being someone's girlfriend. The boys at my school are pretty immature and dumb. You've got nothing to worry about. Plus, Asher seems to do a good job of keeping them away anyhow."
"So long as we're on the same page that you're not allowed to have a boyfriend until you're sixteen and you understand what I'm saying about boys, I think we can end this conversation."
"Oh, thank God," I said quickly and jumped up from the table. After putting my dishes in the sink, I headed towards my bedroom but was stopped by the sound of the phone ringing.
"Hello?" I said as I answered.
"Hey, Bit. What are you doing?"
"Just finished dinner."
"Wanna go shoot some hoops with me?"
"You mean watch you shoot hoops while I try to throw a round thing into an impossibly small hole?" I had never been very athletic, so playing a sport with Asher was usually pretty pointless.
He laughed. "Yeah, that."
"Let me ask my dad." I held my hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and yelled through the house. "DAD! Is it ok if I go to the elementary school and play basketball with Asher?" My dad came around the corner and I smiled at him sheepishly.
"You've got school tomorrow, so be home by nine. And tell Asher I want to talk to him before you leave." I felt my eyes darting all around the room, trying to figure out what my dad wanted to say to Asher. My dad turned and walked away, leaving me nervous.
"Uh, yeah, I can go but my dad wants to talk to you before we leave."
"That's cryptic."
"Just get over here." I heard the line go dead and knew he'd knock on the door soon so I went and changed into some hoop-shooting clothes. When the damn doorbell rang, and rang, and rang, I headed downstairs to find Asher already inside and my dad closing the door behind him.
"You ring that doorbell every time only because you know how much I hate it."
He smiled a big toothy grin. "Not gonna lie, Bit. It's the highlight of my day."
"Asher, come with me into my study," my dad said.
"Ok," he replied and started to follow my father. I started following too, but made it only a few steps before my dad stopped me without even looking back.
"Charlie, wait in the living room." I stopped in my tracks and watched Asher disappear into the study with my father. I had no idea what he was going to say to him, but I knew it made me nervous. I wandered into the living room and sat on the couch bouncing my knee up and down, trying to distract myself. Ten minutes later I heard the door open and walked towards it. I saw Asher come out first and my dad's hand was on his shoulder. They were both smiling, although Asher's smile looked a little forced.
"Can we go?" I asked, desperately.
"Yup. Nine o'clock, Charlie," my dad said as he raised one eyebrow at me.
"Got it." Asher and I walked out of the house and started the mindless walk to our elementary school. A walk I could take blindfolded I'd done it so many times. We were silent for half the walk and finally I couldn't take it anymore.
"What did my dad say to you?"
"Not much."
"Asher Carmichael, don't you lie to me."
He laughed at me. "You sound like my mom," he said through his laughter.
"Asher, tell me right now what he said to you!"
"Ok, jeez, Bit. Take it down a notch." He took a breath in and let it out loudly. "First he asked me what happened on the first day of school and made me tell him exactly what that guy in the hallway had said to you."
"Oh my gosh. How embarrassing." I dropped my head into my hands.
"Then he thanked me for sticking up for you and defending you. He followed that up with an anti-violence campaign," Asher said, laughing again.
"Then what?"
"That was it."
"No. You were in there with him for ten minutes. What else did you talk about?"
"Just drop it, Bit."
"No! Tell me," I begged.
"He just wanted to make sure I knew that you couldn't date until you were sixteen," he said quickly. My eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.
"Why would he tell you that?" He didn't answer me. "Asher? Why did he say that to you?"
"I don't know, Charlie." He sounded a little angry. "I think he just wants me to remember that you aren't allowed to date anyone." I shook my head, still not really grasping what was going on.