Happenstance

I squeezed his hips between my thighs while he slipped on a condom, but when he was finished and perfectly positioned to take my virginity, he paused.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I mean completely sure. You can say wait right now, and I’d be okay with it. I’ll wait.”

I reached down to his bare backside, and with my fingers, pushed him into me. He buried his face in my neck as he worked his way in, gentle and slow. I was glad he wasn’t kissing me, because I was unable to focus on anything but the uncomfortable burning. After a few minutes, though, we seemed to fit together perfectly, and I relaxed. Weston’s mouth returned to mine, and we touched and tasted each other until we were spent.

Just before sunrise, Weston reached for his jeans pocket. He pulled out his inhaler and took a puff. He stared at me, exhausted and happy. We settled on our backs, looking up at the stars. Weston kissed my forehead and reached over to his jacket, covering me. He reached for his jeans pocket, pulling out a long, black box.

“I got you something,” he said.

“For what?”

“Your birthday.”

“My birthday was in September,” I said.

He chuckled. “It’s a belated birthday gift. I wanted to wait until graduation, but I couldn’t. Now feels like the perfect moment.”

The box creaked when I peeled it apart, and my hands trembled with excitement. It had been a long time since anyone had given me anything. The lid flipped open, revealing a silver heart. It was nearly identical to the one in the charcoal drawing, complete with Happenstance etched across it. I gasped.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“Like it? It’s the same necklace, isn’t it?”

He beamed. “You remembered.”

“Of course I remembered, how did you find this?”

We both sat up. Weston pulled the necklace from the box and fastened the clasp behind my neck. “I have connections. I’m a good person to know, you know.”

“I know,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.

He kissed me once. “I didn’t know that when I saw it on you, it would be the only thing you were wearing. This is a definite bonus.”

I giggled.

He looked at the heart, then back up at me. “It’s perfect. Like the girl in the window.”

“She’s not perfect,” I said, shaking my head.

“She’s perfect for me.” He touched his lips to mine, and just when that warm, tingling feeling began to spread throughout my body, he pulled away.

“We’d better get dressed and get you back to the house so we can get a few hours of sleep. We’ve got to get you moved today.”

“I’m moving in with the Aldermans,” I said, thinking out loud.

“You are an Alderman.”

I shook my head, in complete disbelief. “This is going to mess with my head if I think about it too hard.”

Weston helped me from the tailgate, and again to the passenger side of his truck. It was beginning to feel like my side, and I liked that. He held my hand as he drove me back to his house, and I felt at ease knowing that even though I was leaving that day, I would be only a few houses away.

Weston noticed that I was lost in thought and squeezed my hand. “Try not to overthink it. It is what it is.”

I touched the necklace that hung perfectly against the little indention between my collar bones, and wondered what it would be like to live as Erin Alderman.

“It’s happenstance,” I whispered.