The First Time

            NOTE: This story is an accurate account of my first personal experience with the opposite sex. While my memory is excellent and the story is accurate, the specific details are described as accurately as possible twenty years after the events. I’ve filled in gaps and dialogue as best as possible to fully complete the story. Names have been changed for obvious reasons.

            I had first noticed Chanelle two years prior in our eighth-grade science class. She had definitely changed in the following year and a half. She went from wearing baggy shirts and overalls to more form-fitting shirts and tight jeans. She had become a cheerleader, which is probably why my attention went from just noticing her to being interested in her.

            The real problem was that I was much quieter and introverted, while she was an extroverted social butterfly. While I may have been involved in sports, most notably the football team, I wasn’t like most jocks. I didn’t drink or party, nor was I really interested in the social aspect of high school. I preferred to keep to myself, spending much time in the computer lab. I was a creative and athletic nerd who chose to be a loner. I really didn’t talk to girls unless they initiated contact.

            Chanelle was the first of my peers I looked at differently from the other girls I’d previously crushed on, though I wouldn’t say I actually had a crush on her. What I felt for her was fueled by an adolescent hormone-induced haze.

            Whenever the cheerleaders wore their uniforms to school, I tended to stare, especially at Chanelle. My interaction with her began on one of those such Fridays.

            I was at one of the lunch tables in the cafeteria after school, playing Magic: The Gathering with a group of friends with whom I spent most of my time around. I felt someone tap on my shoulder, and when I turned to see who it was, my mouth went dry. I immediately felt my face burn.

            The five-foot-five girl had her dirty blonde hair done up in blue and white ribbons. She had silver glitter on her cheeks, and her hazel eyes stared into me.

            “I would like to talk to you.” Chanelle had a hand on her wide hips.

            “Okay.” I had no idea what to do as I couldn’t come up with any idea of what she might want from me.

            “It would be best to take care of this in private.” Chanelle held her gaze.

She made my heart accelerate. She wore her blue, silver, and white uniform, similar to a tank top and a blue pleated skirt. Her thick thighs were distracting me as I imagined what might be hidden under that short skirt.

            “Nick, come with me.” She set her hand on my forearm, and goosebumps appeared all over my arms.

            I swallowed. “Alright.” I got up and told my friends I’d be right back before following the curvy cheerleader through the cafeteria. She led me down the hallway adjacent to the Senior courtyard and stopped in front of the auditorium on the tile laid out to look like the keys on a piano. I had been fixated on her butt and the backs of her sexy legs as I followed behind her. Since it was after school hours, we were alone.

            “Were you looking up my skirt?” Her words hit me like a blast of cold air.

            “What? No!” My face flushed immediately. I did everything in my power to keep from looking up at her face, my eyes drifting all around the hall.

            “I don’t mean just now. I mean earlier, in class. I saw you leaving. When you went to put your paper on the teacher’s desk, you turned toward me. I was still at my desk and about to get up when I saw you look. I know you sure as hell weren’t looking at my face. Just tell me the truth, Nick.” Both hands landed on her hips.

            “Sorry.” I stuffed my hands in my jeans pockets and stared at my feet.

            “Did you like what you saw?”

            “Huh?” My head snapped up to find her with an actual grin.

            “Jeez, Nick!” She grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hall, pulling me through the double doors and into the gym entrance.

            We stopped in front of the soda machine, where there was an option to either go down the concrete stairs to the gym floor or walk straight across to access the upper bleachers. The gym was unusually empty, but she stood beneath the stairs for the upper bleachers to give us a lot of privacy, even if anyone was using the gym.

            I was perplexed and had no clue what she could want from me. I was actually afraid to say anything to her because of that. We hadn’t spoken but maybe a few sentences to one another since we began attending school together in seventh grade.

            “Nick, I’m not mad. I promise I won’t bite; I just want to talk to you.” She stepped closer, and I could smell vanilla. “Honestly, I thought maybe you were looking because you liked me or something.” She touched my hand.

            “I’m sorry, Chanelle. I shouldn’t have.”

            “I’m not upset.” She squeezed my hand. “Please look at me.” She let go of my hand and took a step away from me.

            I lifted my head and involuntarily gasped. Suddenly, my face was on fire, and I felt like my chest would burst. She held the front of her skirt up so I could see the royal blue underwear she had caught me peeking at earlier.

            “There, now you can tell me if you like what you see. Just in case you didn’t get a good enough look under my desk.” I noticed her right knee bent, pushing her leg out slightly, presumably to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

            “Yes. Okay. You’re hot.” I tried to control my breathing and started chewing on my bottom lip. My eyes were glued to her bare legs.

            “Finally!” She let go of her skirt and grabbed my hand again. She moved it beneath her skirt and pressed it against her bare hip with her hand.

            I almost forgot to breathe. Her skin was so soft and warm. I clenched my jaw and refused to move my hand, afraid I would lose the feel of her skin on my fingers if I did. I opened my mouth, intending to speak, but couldn’t find my voice.

            “It’s okay, Nick. You can touch me.” She put my other hand under her skirt on the opposite side and moved so we were pressed close together.

            “I’ve never…” I felt light-headed. The feeling of her body against mine was making it very difficult for me to focus. The sensation of her soft skin under my hands was driving me crazy. I was amazed I didn’t pass out right there.

            “I know you’re a virgin, Nick. Your beliefs on sex before marriage are well known. Girls do talk.” Chanelle wrapped her arms around me.

            “No, it’s just… I haven’t been this close to a girl since I was a kid. I’ve never touched a girl like this before. I’m honestly not sure what to do right now.” The scent of vanilla coming from her hair was making me dizzy.

            “Do what feels natural.” She licked my earlobe, and I shivered.

            “Okay.” I barely got the word out of my mouth. I moved both my hands to where I was cupping her big butt. A butt I had stared at and fantasized about for over a year. My fingers pressed into her cotton panties, and I bit my lip. Her backside felt so soft and warm in my hands.

            “Your hands are really soft.” She whispered before kissing, then nipping my neck.

            “Thanks.” I just kept lightly squeezing and touching her butt with my hands.

            “It’s good to know how much you enjoy me.” She leaned back and looked down between our bodies.

            It took me a second, but I gasped when I realized what she meant. I let go of her and stepped back, trying to hide the front of my jeans.

            “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” My hands started shaking.

            “Don’t, really, it’s okay. I’d say it’s a good thing.” She grabbed my hands. “Relax.” She held my hand and fished into my front pocket, pulling my pen out. She took my left hand and wrote her phone number on the back of it.

            “Oh.” Was all I could muster.

            “Call me tomorrow, okay?” She kissed my cheek. “You should come over sometime.”

            “Really?”

            “Yup. Now, go back to your card game. I have a bus to catch. We’re doing the basketball game tonight.” She gave me a hug, and I immediately hugged her back. “Don’t forget to call tomorrow.”

            “I won’t. I promise.”

            “Thank you, sweetie. I’ll see you later.” She left me standing in the gym entryway.

            I was stuck wondering what had happened. Chanelle and I weren’t friends, so I had no idea why she had approached me in the first place. It’s not as though I had hit on her by doing what I did. I had just looked under her desk in an impulsive moment.

            She was the first girl who had blatantly made a move on me. I’d never been hit on before, or at least I’d never noticed if I was being hit on. She had me; I just didn’t know it yet.

            After I got home, I didn’t tell anyone what had happened with Chanelle. I was sure she was playing me for a fool, and I didn’t want my family or friends to know about it. Chanelle had a particular reputation, and I was sure there was no way I was her type. The fact that she had shown some interest in me and let me touch her the way she did made me willing to see it through.

            I did call her as promised the following day. She did most of the talking, unable to allow more than ten seconds of silence to linger. It was mostly just her chatting about teenage bullshit, which didn’t surprise me, considering who I was talking to.

            She gave me her address and told me to come over the next day at one in the afternoon. She informed me that her friend and fellow Sophomore cheerleader, Randi, would accompany her. She had clarified that her mother would be gone until the evening.

            At sixteen, I wasn’t smart enough to tell someone where I was going if I left the house on a whim or to bring someone with me. Going into an unfamiliar home with two fifteen-year-old cheerleaders seemed like a wonderful idea in my naïve mind.

            I didn’t really know Randi, and she didn’t have a known reputation like Chanelle. From my observation, she was quieter and a little mousy. She seemed nice enough and was undoubtedly not aggressive like Chanelle. While I could certainly see Chanelle pulling some sort of teen prank on me, I didn’t get the sense that Randi would be involved with such a thing.

           

            Unsurprisingly, my mother didn’t even question me when I left the house in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. I hardly went anywhere; she just let me go when I did. Like many teenagers, I never ran off or got into trouble, so she was never worried about me. Little did she know I was off to visit a well-known wild girl at her house without adult supervision.

            When I showed up, I didn’t even get to knock on the front door before Chanelle came out of the sunroom. She wore one of her uniforms with short sleeves and an open back. It was primarily blue with silver, black, and white accents and solid white sleeves. It had PIRATES in block lettering across the chest. Her skirt was blue and pleated with matching silver, black, and white trim along the bottom hem.

            “Hey Nick, we’re in here.” She held the door open for me.

            “Alright.” I walked into the sunroom and set my backpack down.