First Love

by Melissa Johns

  “Have you thought about my request?” I asked him not knowing what his response would be.

  “Yes, a lot.”

  “And?”

  “I need to know more information from you first.”

  “Like what, Eric?” I asked him gathering his hand with mine.

  “I need to know you want to do this because you love me and not because I’m leaving in August and you think it will save our relationship,” He said playing with my fingers.

  “I love you so much, Eric. I’ve actually dreamt about it the past several nights, I know it will be wonderful.”

  “And are you planning on staying with me through college?” He asked looking into my eyes.

  “I can promise you that we will have the best summer we possibly can before you leave.”

  He watched my face his fingers traced my cheekbone, “Ok, we will spend the night together after prom.”

  I started to blush, “Ok, now I’m nervous.”

  He laughed, “I better let you get back to Sam or she’s going to be mad at me.”

  I slid my arms around his neck and kissed him, “One week.”

  He whispered back, “One week.”

  A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

  It was the night of the senior prom. I was finishing up the last minute touches, waiting for the limo to arrive. The dress fit perfectly, my hair was beautiful and I was just waiting for Eric to arrive.

  I had talked to Eric last night before going to bed making sure the plan was still on. He said he had taken care of everything and that I would be protected. I was so excited about the evening but also nervous.

  I stared into the mirror and smiled. I felt good. I had on my sexy lacy underwear and did my girl stuff and I was ready.

  “Emily, your limo has arrived!” My mom yelled up the stairs. I looked in the mirror one last time before grabbing my purse and heading to the stairs. I heard Eric, Sam, Todd, Angie & Mike in the living room talking with my mom.

  I started down the stairs and everyone stopped talking. I reached the bottom without tripping over my own feet. I looked up and saw all eyes on me.

  “You look amazing, Emily!” Sam said as she came over and hugged me.

  “Thanks, Sam, you are beautiful,” I said as my eyes moved to Todd, “Not bad, Todd.”

  “Thanks,” He said all macho.

  My eyes moved to Eric’s, he was just staring at me. It felt like he was trying to read my mind and me his, “You look great, Eric. I love the tux.”

  He smiled finally moving his lips, “You are beautiful, even more so than I imagined. The color is beautiful on you.”

  My mom quickly grabbed the camera and made me move into position so she could take a picture of us. Eric grabbed a box and removed my wrist corsage. It had red roses in it to match my dress and smelled wonderful. He gently placed it over my hand and set it into place.

  “Come on Emily, stand with Eric,” My mom said starting to snap pictures. She took a lot of pictures and I knew she would start crying as soon as we left, I walked over to her and kissed her cheek as we were leaving, “Don’t forget I’m at Sam’s tonight.”

  “Right, have a wonderful time tonight guys and be safe,” She said shutting the door behind us.

  We arrived at our senior prom in fashion. The limo pulled up at the hotel and Eric helped me out and walked in with me hand and hand. I walked through the lobby and headed into the huge ballroom. My eyes scanned the room seeing the huge chandeliers and tables everywhere. It was beautifully decorated with our school colors.

  “It looks awesome, doesn’t it?” I asked Eric.

  “Doesn’t hold a candle to you,” He smiled kissing my cheek.

  I smiled, “Good answer.”

  We walked around the room and found a table for us and a few friends. We laughed and talked all through dinner. The music played as pictures were taken and everyone was hugging and laughing. As dinner ended, Eric pulled me onto the dance floor as the first slow song played.

  “Are you ready for tonight?” He asked me.

  “Yes, I am,” I said looking into his eyes, “I know that it will be so special.”

  He smiled at me, that smile that melted my heart every time, “Well, I have the room, it’s all ready. Did you want to go see it?”

  I looked at him, “Yes!”

  We left the prom and headed towards the elevators. As we got to our floor, he pulled the keycard from his jacket pocket and went inside. It was simple but nice. I dropped my purse on the end table and looked around. Eric was staring at me as I explored the room. I finally moved in front of him and draped my arms around his neck.

  “Are you happy right now?” I asked him.

  “Yes, as long as you are.”

  “Of course I am this is what I want.”

  He smiled at me as he leaned down and kissed my lips. I felt the pressure but it was so gentle. His lips moved with mine as they parted. I moaned into his mouth as I felt his hands move down the back of my dress pushing me into his body. He responded to my moan with one of his own. My hands slid under his jacket, I could feel his muscles through his dress shirt.

  He stopped briefly, “Baby, we need to go back downstairs, we can’t start this right now and you don’t know how badly I want to though.”

  I smirked as my lips moved to his again, I grabbed his hand from my waist and moved it slowly up my body until I placed it on my chest, I felt his body tighten against mine as he deepened the kiss.

  He muttered, “Damn you.”

  I smirked under the kiss as I finally pulled away, “You ready to go back downstairs?”

  “Tease.”

  “I wanted to give you something to look forward to.”

  I grabbed his hand and my purse and headed back downstairs to see our friends.

  We danced the night away, everyone was having a great time. It was the perfect night. Sam and I excused ourselves as we headed to the ladies room. I could feel Eric’s eyes burning a hole into the back of me. I knew I had made the right choice deciding that tonight was the night.

  Sam and I walked into the fancy hotel ladies room with the crowds of other classmates. We found some privacy at the end of long mirror.

  “Are you ready?” Sam asked.

  “Yes, we already checked out the room, it’s nice.”

  Sam smiled, “You nervous?”

  “Not as much as I thought I would be.”

  “You need to call me when you get home tomorrow. I want to know everything.”

  I laughed, “Really? Everything?”

  She laughed at me as we touched up our makeup and turned to leave. I saw Janice on the other side of room, glaring at me. I wasn’t going to let her ruin my mood as I walked by her and turned to Sam, “Tonight will be the best night of my life.”

  We returned to the guys, watching the entire football team try to dance. It had to be one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Sam and I headed back to our table to grab something to drink. I watched as Janice entered the ballroom and walked over to Eric. My eyes never left her as she weaved her way through the dance floor and found him. He stopped dancing and turned towards her. Clearly, they were talking about something.

  Sam looked at me, “What is that all about?”

  “I have no idea but I don’t like it, that’s for sure,” I said as I continued to watch them. She moved her arms around him and before I knew it she was lip-locked with him. My heart stopped immediately. I started to move when Sam grabbed my arm.

  “Don’t make a scene he’s already pushing her away.”

  I watched Eric say something to her as she smirked and turned around and walked towards me. Eric met my gaze and started after her. As she approached me as she had the nerve to say something to me, “I just had to remind him what my lips felt like, plus give him a memory of our first time.” She left as quickly as she came.

  I wasn’t breathing, I couldn’t think straight. Sam pulled out my chair and sat me down. Eric ran over to me and sat in his chair, “Emily,
what did she say to you?”

  I didn’t speak to him I couldn’t find the words that I was looking for. He lied to me. He’s been lying to me since we started dating. He had slept with Janice. Janice!

  “Emily, please talk to me,” He begged me.

  “You tell me, what do you think she said?”

  He looked into my eyes, the tears were starting and he knew.

  I whispered to him, “Why did you lie to me?”

  “You are so innocent, I was falling in love with you, I wanted you to be comfortable with me and I knew how you felt about her,”

  “You lied to me, Eric.”

  “I know, I’m so sorry,” He reached for my hand and I moved it away quickly, “Please don’t be like this. We have such a great evening planned and this time I’m in love, it’s going to mean so much more to me.”

  “You mean we had a great evening planned, I never want to see you again, Eric, its over.”

  “No Emily, I’m not letting you leave me like this, please.”

  Just as I was about to leave the ballroom, the principal headed to the stage to announce Prom King and Queen. My eyes quickly found Eric’s and I couldn’t stop crying. Sam grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side.

  “Emily, you know that you and Eric are going to win, right? What are you going to do?”

  I didn’t have an answer for her, I couldn’t stop crying. I was barely paying attention as the principal read through his speech. I heard the class erupt in cheers as they called Eric up on stage to receive his crown. My heart sunk into my chest as I looked at Sam, “I don’t know what to do.”

  Sam hugged me, “Just go up there, get your tiara and do your dance. We will leave as soon as it’s over. I promise, Emily.” I nodded as we made our way closer to the stage.

  I looked up at Eric, who was staring at me. I could tell he wanted to talk to me and I could see the hurt on his face. I saw the principal open the envelope and call my name. I just stood there, feeling Sam’s arm go around my waist and give me a push.

  I slowly walked up the stairs and moved next to Eric as he put the tiara on my head, never breaking eye contact with me. He grabbed my hand as we moved to the dance floor, his arms wrapped tight around me. My body wasn’t responded, I didn’t want to be here, all these eyes on me, not realizing how badly I wanted to run away and hide from the world.

  “Emily, please listen to me. I don’t want to lose you. Please listen to me.” Eric begged as he tried to make me dance.

  My legs weren’t moving and I could feel everyone staring at me, “I can’t do this. I can’t be here. Sorry.” I said as I ran out the door and directly outside. The air had cooled down and I tried to calm down but the tears wouldn’t stop. I felt like my world had come crashing down.

  GRADUATION

  The week after prom was the hardest, avoiding Eric at school was next to impossible. We were the talk of the school and everywhere I went, I felt people staring at me. He was everywhere and every time I saw him, he wanted to talk to me, beg me to come back to him. I always managed to work my way out of the conversation and go the other direction.

  Graduation was only a few days away. Finals were nearing an end and summer was here. I had picked my college and decided to go to the University of Buffalo. My mom was having a hard time lately since my dad was in town and I knew she loved having me around so I figured I would be close by in case she needed me. I managed to get into the dorms at the last minute and requested Sam as my roommate. We were both excited that we would be living together.

  When I got home, my mom was making dinner already as she gave me a quick hug and asked how my finals went.

  “Good, I’m officially done with high school, just need to get that diploma,” I said smiling at her.

  “Great! Have you talked to Eric yet?”

  “Mom, we have been over this, it’s over between us.”

  She didn’t mention it again, she knew it upset me. She was there when I cried myself to sleep every night. She just hoped that I would listen to him and give him another chance. But, she didn’t know the real story; she didn’t know how much he broke my heart by lying to me.

  I snapped out of it when I heard the doorbell, “You expecting Dad tonight?”

  “I hope not, I’m in no mood for him or that bimbo.”

  I laughed at her as I went to the door and opened it.

  Eric.

  “What do you want? It’s not a good time.”

  “Please, give me five minutes,” He said, “Please.”

  I walked out the door and shut it behind me, I had a feeling that I didn’t need my mother to hear this conversation.

  “Five minutes.”

  “I just wanted to say that I was sorry again,” He said walking into my garage after me.

  “I’ve heard this before, don’t you have anything new to say.”

  He stared at me, “You know this is a place that I hold dear to my heart, this was the place that I realized that you were mine after you kissed me that way.”

  I blushed lightly thinking back to the beginning of the school year on that wonderful Sunday morning.

  “If I only knew what you were, you wouldn’t have gotten so lucky.”

  He sighed, “Please Emily. I know I was wrong. There were so many times when we were talking about it that I wanted to tell you the truth but could never think of the right words.”

  “It’s easy, hey Emily, I slept with Janice, you know, that girl that you hate so much.”

  He grabbed my hand tightly, “I regret not telling you, Emily, I swear, I feel so horrible that I ruined our prom night, I have to live with that, but I don’t want to live knowing that you hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you, I just can’t be with you, Eric,” I said as I started to walk away, he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms, his lips were quickly pressed against mine. It was passionate as I responded, tasting him again. I sighed as I realized how much I missed kissing him. Finally, I snapped back to reality.

  “No, no, you can’t make it all go away by kissing me, Eric,” I said wiping my lips, “I hope you have a wonderful college experience, I don’t wish you any ill will, please realize it’s over.”

  I left him standing in the garage as I turned away from him.

  **************************************

  Graduation morning arrived. I was so excited, I was done with high school and I just needed that piece of paper. My father and Beth were going to meet us at school, which made my mom happy.

  I put on the red summer dress that I bought last night and finished my hair, smoothed out the dress and grabbed my heels.

  I heard my mom enter the room behind me, “Red, huh? You aren’t trying to be mean, are you?”

  “No Mom, I just like this color on me. I could care less if he looks my way today.”

  “Emily, I just wish you would tell me what he did, maybe I can help. It’s your graduation day, I just want you to be happy and enjoy it.”

  “Mom, I’m thrilled. I’m in a great place, look how amazing I look,” I laughed as I kissed her cheek, “Come on let’s head over to school.” I grabbed my gown and cap and headed downstairs.

  We got to school and found my Dad, “Hey guys,” I said as I grabbed my little baby sister, “I’m so happy that you can see me graduate, even though you have no idea what’s going on.”

  Everyone laughed as I put her back into her stroller. My dad hugged me and smiled, “I’m so proud of you today, Emily.”

  “Thanks Dad. It feels good that I’m moving into another chapter of my life now.”

  He smiled, “Your mom told me about you and Eric. I’m sorry that it didn’t work out. She said that you took it very hard.”

  “Yeah, it was rough, but I’m fine now,” I smiled as I saw Eric’s parents enter the gym. He must be close behind.

  “Ok, I should go get ready and find my friends. I will see everyone after I have the diploma.”

  Everyone hugged me even Beth. I kissed my little si
ster good bye and headed out the gym doors and into the cafeteria where everyone was getting ready. I found Sam and Angie laughing at our lunch table as I headed over to talk to them. They jumped up and hugged me.

  “We’re done, Em! I’m so happy that high school is over!”

  I laughed as I helped Angie get her cap on, “I know the feeling,” I said as I looked around the room, my eyes caught his eyes. He was staring at me.

  Sam came over and grabbed my cap, “He’s been looking at you the entire time, Emily. You wore that color on purpose, you are cruel and heartless.”

  I laughed leaving his gaze, “I did not, I just love this dress.” She laughed as she helped me put the cap on and I zipped up my gown, “I need some water, be right back.”

  I walked over to the table that had bottles of water on it and grabbed one as I turned around, I ran right into him. Memories of the first day of school came flooding back to me.

  “Congratulations, Eric.”

  “Same to you, Emily, you look amazing today.”

  “Thank you. Well, have fun at Syracuse, see you around,” I said as I started to leave. I felt his hand grab my arm. I looked back at him.

  “I’ll ask one more time, Emily, please forgive me and come back to me. I can’t stop thinking about you; I’m still in love with you.”

  I just looked at him I didn’t know what to say anymore. “You already know my answer to that, Eric.”

  “I will win you back, Emily. I promise you that, you are my life. We are all entitled to a few mistakes. I made mine and I promise I will never make another one again.”

  I looked at him as he grabbed my hand, “Eric, go get dressed, your parents are waiting to see you graduate.”

  “Emily, tell me you don’t love me anymore and I will never say another word to you.”

  I looked away from him and saw Sam and Angie watching us, “Eric, I will love you until the day I die. You will always be my first love.”

  He smiled at me as he pulled me back to him, “Then come back to me, Emily, I can be your first and last love.”

  “I can’t, I’m sorry, you broke my heart and it’s still not mended,” I said as I walked away from him.