The Lighter Side of Life and Death Read Free Page B

guess it should feel awkward, because before tonight we’d never even kissed, but the truth is it feels fine. I slide in easy, like we’ve done it a hundred times, like this is just the latest in a long line of perfect physical encounters. She comes first. I feel it. I mean,
I really feel it
, and I’m thinking,
No way on earth this is actually happening
. This must be some amazing dream. Vivid as hell, beautiful as fuck, but not real. It can’t be. It’s too good, too natural to be
anyone’s
first time, let alone
two
people’s first time.
    Because, yeah, it’s my first time too.
    Kat Medina is my first time.

two
    Kat’s speaking urgently into her cell phone when I wake up. The light’s still on in my room, and I squint at my clock radio, dazed. It can’t possibly be one-thirty, can it? Not when my head’s telling me I must’ve been asleep for hours. I stare over at Kat, her eyes flashing panic. She’s sitting on my bed in her top and panties, combing her hair frantically into place with one hand.
    I roll over and open my mouth to speak but she turns towards me, pressing a finger to her lips. So okay, I’ll be quiet. The light’s boring a hole into my head, making me clamp my eyes shut. Meanwhile my throat’s praying for water and I don’t remember what I did with the condom. I pry my eyelids back open and spy it down on the carpet, within arm’s length. I pull my jeans and shirt on, pluck the condom off the floor like a piece of litter and shuffle into the bathroom where I wrap it in toilet paper and bury it at the bottom of the wastebasket.
    On my way out of the bathroom I nearly collide with Kat, fullydressed, in the hall. “That was Eric,” she says quickly. “He went to Yolanda’s to pick me up. He said he went to the door and everything and that everyone was searching all over the house for me.” Kat turns and hurries along the hall, explaining as she goes. “He said he’s been trying to call me for twenty minutes.”
    I follow her mutely downstairs and towards the front door where she stops to shove her feet into her shoes. “He’ll be here any minute,” she adds. She’s practically vibrating with anxiety and I’m three steps behind mentally, stuck on that amazingly beautiful thing that happened between us upstairs before we passed out.
    “It’s okay,” I tell her. “Don’t worry.”
    “He’s FREAKING OUT, Mason.” Kat turns to unlock the door. “He’ll be here any second.”
    “Wait,” I cry, my mind racing to catch up. “Your poncho.”
    I rush into the living room and swipe it off the couch. Her hat too. “Thanks,” she says, opening the door. And sure enough Eric Medina’s pulling into my driveway at the speed of light. I catch one final glimpse of Kat’s face before she closes the door swiftly behind her. She looks scared and I want to put my arms around her and hold on to her for a while. I’ve hugged her lots of times, but this would be different; this is after.
    It’s too late, though. She’s gone.
    I amble into the kitchen for water and then slowly back into the living room where I sit on the couch, solo. The cushions are askew but I don’t fix them. They’re proof something happened.
    I sit there, thinking the same things over and over, and they’re all about Kat and me upstairs. My mind’s in replay mode, doing its best to adjust to this startling new reality, when Dad walks through the front door. “Mason!” He exhales heavily as he crosses the room towards me. “You gave me a fright.”
    Dad has never stayed the night at a girlfriend’s house andNina’s no exception. He always comes home to sleep. “How was the party?” he asks, shrugging off his sports jacket.
    “Fantastic,” I tell him. “Outstanding.”
    Dad sits down on the couch next to me, his feet resting on the coffee table. “Nina couldn’t stop talking about the play.” His smile stretches into a yawn. “You know, I think this last performance was even better than the other