Clouds In My Coffee Read Online Free Page B

asked Erik if the kiss meant that he wanted to go steady. He replied, “Maybe later.”
    The following September, on my fourteenth birthday, Erik gave me a silver friendship ring and we officially started going steady. That was more than two years ago. Erik would turn eighteen in August; I would turn seventeen in September. We had been a part of each other’s lives for nearly half of it.
    I was twisting the silver ring on my left finger.
    “So are you gonna answer me?” Kim is saying.
    “What?”
    “I asked you if you and Erik had ever, you know? Done it?”
    “No,” I reply sadly, not understanding why I even feel that way. “What about you and Keith?”
    Kim has no issue with sharing personal information, that much I know.
    “Well, we have moved onto third base, but that’s very recent, and don’t you dare tell a soul!”
    I smirk, still twisting the ring. “Who would I tell that you probably haven’t told already?”
    “Shut up,” she says, giggling. “But it feels so good, I gotta tell you.”
    “Finger banging feels good?”
    She blushes appropriately as she glances over at the stoplight we’re at. “It’s not just that part,” she explains, “It’s also when he, you know, puts his mouth...down there .”
    I feel my eyes widen. “He ate you out?”
    She nods, wall to wall smiles. “Yeah, and I got to tell you, I think I might’ve had a climax.”
    “Are you shitting me?” I’m all ears now. I sort’ve live my sex life vicariously through Kim. “What does it feel like?”
    “Well, it’s sort’ve a tingly feeling down there, you know?”
    “Well, no. I don’t know, which is why I’m asking you.”
    “Do you mean to tell me that Erik hasn’t even been down your pants?”
    Okay so now I feel like I’m on the defensive, plus I’m not about putting my business out there like she does.
    “Once. But not for very long.”
    “Did he finger fuck you?”
    “Eww, no! What’s the point? I don’t get it.”
    “What do you mean, ‘what’s the point’? It feels good for one thing and you can’t get pregnant for another. Have you even touched his pecker?”
    I feel my cheeks warm with embarrassment and I’m tempted to tell her that we have, in fact, dry humped once, but I decide it’s best to change the subject quickly. “No, and can we please talk about something else?”
    She quickly starts prattling about who all (of social importance) will be at the bonfire tonight. Of course she mentions Marshall Rydell, giving me a sly look when she does. Kim is convinced that Marshall has had his eye on me ever since he broke up with Angie Linton a few weeks back.
    “You know Angie had to start counseling when she didn’t make the varsity squad, didn’t you?”
    “No! For real?”
    “Yeah. Keith told me. His mom and her mom are best friends and she said it just crushed Angie when she didn’t make varsity cheerleading going into her senior year. And, on top of that, Marshall breaks up with her, I mean come on! That’s really harsh. But, I wouldn’t feel badly about it if I were you.”
    I turn quickly to look at her. “Why should I feel badly?”
    “Well, you know, you probably took her position on the squad.”
    “Me? Maybe it was you who took her slot.”
    “Don’t think so. Keith says that Marshall put in a good word for you.” She follows that up with a wink.
    “He probably just felt guilty about practically mowing me down the day before tryouts.”
    “Don’t be so sure,” she says, pulling the car into a parking space at the school football field. “Time will tell.”
    I slip the silver ring off of my finger and toss it into my purse. I tell myself it’s because I can clap better without it, but deep down I know it’s more than that. Kim locks our purses in the car and we head off to take our coveted places with the rest of next season’s varsity cheerleaders.
    Suddenly, I know that my life is changing and I’m ready for that. I am energized by the knowledge that I am