Best Of Me

Chapter 1

Several beers down, several more to go. The more I drank, the more nostalgic I became.

I couldn't remember a time when Wade and I were not friends, Hell, I can hardly remember a time I didn't know him. He was there, right next door when my family moved to High Point, North Carolina from our native Ohio. We were the same age, so of course we would become friends.

All through primary and part of the way through middle school it was just Wade and me.

The summer of our thirteenth year, the house on the other side of me got new occupants. Much to my, and to Wade's dismay, one of those occupants was a girl our age. Not just any girl, a short, skinny girl with braces and glasses. She wore her long brown hair in a ponytail and the Atlanta Braves ball cap perched on her head nearly covered her big brown eyes. Both of her knees were skinned up and she looked like a classic tomboy. She wasn't even that cute. Then I realized I had no room to talk. I was also short, skinny and had a mouthful of metal, as did Wade for that matter. She approached us as we were shooting hoops in my driveway.

"Hi, I'm Hayleigh. We just moved in." She said with a big grin.

"Who cares?" Wade muttered under his breath, and I was a bit shocked. My mom and dad would have both kicked my ass if they had even an idea that I was that rude.

"I'm Ryan and this is Wade." I replied, hoping to make up for Wade's rudeness.

"Can I play?" She asked, snatching the basketball out of my hand and showing off some pretty impressive dribbling skills.

"Whatever. Be prepared to get your ass handed to you little girl." Wade snickered, grabbing the ball back from her and showing off his own skills.

I couldn't help but smile over the memory. Hayleigh ended up kicking both of our asses that day. Even Wade had to admit she wasn't that bad, and from that day on, we were inseparable.

Then the summer between sophomore and junior year happened. Hayleigh spent almost that entire summer at the beach with her family. When she returned, I didn't even recognize her. Her glasses were gone, her braces were off. Her dark brown hair was loose and falling in waves down her back. She was actually wearing makeup. Whatever had happened to Hayleigh over the summer, it was a drastic transformation. She was beautiful. I was suddenly seeing one of my best friends in a whole new light, and it was a bit disturbing to be honest. It made me a little uncomfortable. I was confused by these new feelings, yet I was put somewhat at ease because underneath the makeup and perfectly styled hair, she was still Hayleigh. She was still slightly awkward, still silly and a little dorky in her own cute way. She was just so damn pretty. I wasn't the only one affected by her either. Wade also couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Wade had also gone through a transformation of his own. When we entered high school, he hit a growth spurt and began buffing up. He joined the football team as a quarterback, and was now team captain. I was still a bit on the short side, still skinny, no matter how much I ate. I didn't participate in school sports because I was too busy on the weekends. I drove race cars. I had been racing since I was eight. I was now driving late model asphalt cars. Paving my way towards my future. I was following in my dad and my grandfather's footsteps. In that race car, no one cared that I was this short, skinny kid. I was named rookie of the year and finished second in points last year. Now in my second season, I had picked up my first and second race wins.

Hayleigh, Wade and I hung out all of the time, except for weekends. Wade had football, Hayleigh had joined the cheerleading squad and I was racing. Although our lives were leading in different directions, we were as close as ever.

Wade flirted mercilessly with Hayleigh, but she laughed it off because he was a jokester and a notorious flirt. I was too shy to even think about flirting with her. I had no idea how to flirt anyway. I was just that awkward. Besides, she was my friend. Sure she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen, but I didn't see her that way. Or did I? Yeah, maybe I got a little flustered when she looked at me or smiled at me a certain way, but that's just because I was a guy, an awkward guy and she was pretty and popular. It didn't mean anything.

At least I didn't think so.

Then something changed. Something big. Something that would change the way I saw Hayleigh forever.

Hayleigh ended up being my first. We lost our virginity to each other. Although not in a romantic way. Crazy, I know.

Hayleigh had been talking to a few college guys. She was not dating anyone exclusively, but one of those guys was taking her to prom. I couldn't help but worry for her. This guy was a couple of years older, and way more experienced.

One afternoon after school, she showed up at my house looking a bit flustered.

"Ry, I need to ask you a favor. A really big favor. This is really embarrassing for me, but you're the only one I trust enough to ask this." She ran her hand through her hair nervously.

"What is it Hayles? You can tell me." I prompted.

Her cheeks reddened, and I realized she had never looked prettier. I chided myself for even noticing that. She was my friend.

"I'm a virgin." She confessed, lowering her head.

"Oh Hayles, that's nothing to be embarrassed about. You're only sixteen." I replied with a laugh. She still didn't lift her head, so I made my own confession. "It's okay really. Look, I'm a virgin too." I admitted, hoping maybe that admitting this to her might put her at ease. It wasn't something I was proud of, but I had never had a girlfriend. I tried to tell myself that it was because I was too busy with school and with racing on the weekends, but the truth was I was just too shy. Other than Hayleigh, I didn't talk to that many girls.

This got her attention, and she finally lifted her head and looked at me, but she still looked flustered. "Chris is taking me to prom, and he's....experienced. We've done some stuff, a little stuff, really just kissing and a little touching, but we have not done that. Not even close. I'm not stupid Ryan. I know what happens at prom, I just want to be prepared."

"First of all, what happens at prom, you don't have to do. You don't have to do anything you are not ready for." I said to her, trying to reassure her.

Her cheeks reddened again. "But what if I want to? Everyone talks about how virginity is such a virtue, that you should save it for someone special, but I don't feel that way Ry. I really don't care. It's just something that I want to get over with." She rolled her eyes slightly, and that led me to the original reason of why she was even talking about this to me anyway.

What exactly is it you want from me Hayleigh?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Have sex with me Ryan. Just as friends. That way we can lose our virginity together and not be so inexperienced when it comes to having sex with an actual boyfriend or girlfriend. What do you say?"