The Cycle

Ash's to Ash's

July 1st, 2011

(Carter’s First Road Trip—Kinda)

So, are you a virgin?

“Err…” I hesitated, trying to block out the question reverberating through my head. “What are you guys doing on campus still? It’s July.”

“The apartment we leased requires that someone lives in it in order to keep it during the summer. Val was supposed to be the one to stay but she’s too much of a punk!” As she said it, she raised her voice so that Val, who was busy walking and giggling with her ‘Snooka-bear’, could hear her. “So now I’m stuck spending my summer here instead of lounging on a cruise somewhere.”

“I’m not a punk! You know my closet is haunted!” She yelled back.

“R-i-ight,” She said sarcastically but low enough so I only I could hear. “It’s funny how her closet didn’t become ‘haunted’ until after she watched Paranormal Activity.”

I shrugged, “To be fair, that movie was pretty scary. Invisible chicken-footed dragons are no joke.”

She stared at me, eyebrows raised and a questioning expression on her face. “Invisible chicken dragon?” Her lips tried to hold them back, but ultimately burst into a fit of giggles. “I’m not sure we were watching the same movie.”

“Maybe one of us was just paying more attention.” I smiled and nudged her playfully. She stumbled from the sidewalk we were on and onto a triangular patch of grass, islanded by sidewalks cutting through it. I was still laughing and walking when, like a human pendulum, her body came barreling back into mine in a cute attempt to knock me off balance—as if she could.

She totally could. Before I knew what hit me both of us were stumbling into the grass on the other side of me. One second I was just taking a step forward, the next my reflexes were desperately trying to stop me from falling and brace myself for the fall at the same time.

Thankfully, I caught my footing just in time. Ash and I were about a foot away from crashing into a budding tree on one side and some type of large decorative rock on the other. I guess it passed for collegiate art. Once I realized I was safe, I began to notice the position I was in.

I’d unconsciously gotten ready for the fall by trying to protect Ash from the brunt of the impact. My hands were wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her protectively close to my chest. Our reflexes must have had the same idea because her arms were wrapped around mine, clutching the back of my shirt in her hands. Her chest was pressed against mine, rising and falling with each ragged excited breath, and I could feel her heart racing. But oddly enough, instead of her breathing returning to normal as the adrenaline stopped pumping, it seemed to be growing more excited, like the beating of her heart

She wasn’t the only one excited. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest and with each breath I took, I was breathing in more of her fragrant shampoo; Vanilla with a hint of some type of fruit. I had to break our ‘whatever-this-was’ before she noticed me growing excited.

 As I walked back onto the cement path, I could only think one thing. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

A second later, Ash popped up on the other side of me, her cheeks slightly red but she was smiling. I returned her grin then asked her, “So, it’s your question right?”

“Yeah. It is isn’t it? Alright, my question is; are you a virgin?”

Seconds of silence passed as my brain had trouble registering that she had been the one, in the end, to ask the question. I caught myself before I let the moment get awkward, cleared my throat, and answered.