Lizette
The sight of the man sleeping beside Lizette, as if he didn’t have a care for the world, carried a delight like no other.
She had her concerns about doing this, her mother had warned her several times, but when the moment came, she couldn’t say no to anything he asked, and now she was glad she didn’t.
Paul stirred and opened his big eyes, which lit up as they fixed on Lizette. That drew a blush out of her, and she reacted by reaching a hand to caress his cheek.
“Now that we’ve taken this important step,” she said, “I can’t wait to take the next one.”
Paul let out a laugh, “Always running, aren’t you?”
“That’s how you met me, and that’s how I’ll stay. Any regrets?” she said, raising an eyebrow playfully.
“None at all,” Paul said as he leaned his body towards Lizette to change their positions, now having her under him, he sprayed her face with kisses.
She really didn’t want that moment to end.
But like everything good in this world, it did. He accompanied her on foot to her house. They said goodbye to each other at the door, despite Lizette’s eager invitation for him to enter and greet her mother, who was as enchanted by him as Lizette was.
Upon his departure, she entered home to find her mother waiting for her in the hallway, clad only in a nightgown with her dark hair woven into a side braid, her smile as radiant as ever.
Eagerly, she asked her daughter details about it, grabbing her arms and dragging her to the couch.
Lizette let out a sigh of satisfaction and let herself fall on it, disclosing all the details of that new experience. It truly made her feel like a new person, like a protective veil she had all the time had been lifted now, letting her see beyond what she usually saw, a whole new world that was hers to explore.
Her mother then prodded her to share more, including how he treated her during different stages of the act, at times she became too pushy, so Lizette called her out with a chuckle.
Still, she gave in mostly. His treatment was truly that of a gentleman toward the most precious thing in his eyes, so why wouldn’t she share it with her mother, who was also her best friend?
But as such, she always found something to dislike in him. When Lizette told her about the plans they made for their future during their intimate, quiet aftermath—about marrying right after graduating from college—her expression turned bewildered.
“Why does he want to wait? That would be, what—seven more years?”
“It would be five,” Lizette reassured her, “and, well… he wants to get married outside this city, when we both work and can afford the wedding of our dreams.”
Her mother tilted an eyebrow.
“And what other plans has he made with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“When will you open a bank account together? Will it be a joint account? Where will you live? How will he provide for you? And most importantly, any decision that involves the ‘C’ word.”
Lizette made another placating gesture with her hands.
“Mom, we have plenty of time to worry about those things, we’re just entering tenth grade. He said there’s no need to rush, we can let this evolve naturally.”
Her mother flinched a little when she heard those words, changing her unimpressed expression to a concerned one.
“Your father told me exactly the same thing when we started dating.”
Lizette opened her mouth to voice the offense she took at that statement, but her mother continued, “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts treating you coldly, considering his social and economic status, and the fact that you already surrendered the only power you had over him.”
Oh God… this again? They ironed that out time ago!
Growing up, Lizette came to understand the reasoning behind her mother’s neurotic behaviors, concluding that while her advice could sometimes hold water, it was always rooted in a bitter and pessimistic view of the world. As a result, she’d take every piece of advice with a grain of salt.
It was simple, really—just proceed with caution when a new experience came around the corner. It would be foolish to deny herself life’s pleasures just because her mother had lived through one bad experience.
But if there was one thing her mother excelled at, it was getting into her head and making her second-guess herself. Sure, that was every mother’s job in an entropic world, but not in this. Never in this.
“I didn’t surrender any power,” Lizette said. “There’s no power in this relationship. I love him, and he loves me. Paul won’t suddenly lose interest in me after so many years together.”
“Do you think that’s enough for his parents?” her mother asked in a gravelly voice. “The few times I’ve spoken to them were enough for me to notice the lack of any love between them. Clearly, their marriage was one of convenience, and I’m sure they’re waiting for Paul to break up with you so they can introduce him to a girlfriend—a future wife—that they approve of.”
Lizette’s heart thumped in a way that it shouldn’t, making her breath hitch.
She couldn’t deny how much truth her mother’s words carried. It was written in the way Paul’s parents acted every time she visited their home—speaking to her overly formal, frowning whenever she raised her voice in excitement, never once laughing at her sense of humor, only arching an eyebrow and claiming they didn’t understand her jokes.
They also corrected her table manners a lot when she sat down to dinner with them. No matter what she did, it was never enough for them.
Truly a difficult situation, but Paul wasn’t his parents.
“He will fight for us against anyone. He told me several times he wants no one other than me.”
Her mother still looked skeptical.
“Oh Liz,” she said, “you underestimate how easy it is for men to deceive us just to get their prize, they don’t respect the sacredness of sexuality like we do. No man, especially as a teenager, will want to be with one woman his entire life, he will want to taste other mouths, other… things. And one day he will say shamelessly to your face that it’s just physical pleasure and you’re the only person he really loves.”
“Mom, stop thinking those things about Paul! He’s an honest person! Just because you got played like a fool doesn’t mean I will too.”
For a moment she wondered if she pushed too far, and after confirming she did, Lizette braced herself for the inevitable scolding.
Instead, she found herself pulled into her mother’s embrace.
“Baby,” she murmured to Lizette’s ear, “the only thing I want in this world is for you to be happy. I’m only begging you to be careful.”
Lizette’s heart started pumping faster, not in the way it did with Paul, but in a different, ailing manner, like it was crying for help.
Ever since her attraction to boys awakened, she vowed to never date a man like her father and, thankfully, Paul was the opposite of him, despite her mother’s reservations when she introduced him as her first boyfriend.
After a few months of relationship, Paul impressed Lizette’s mother with several gifts, making her admit to Lizette that she could be right about him, and so, she gave them her complete and absolute blessing.
Paul’s affluence likely influenced her opinion as well. Once, she had told her, “At least you fell for someone who will give you the life you deserve. That’s all I want for you.”
“Don’t worry, mom, I will be,” she said, patting her mother’s shoulders.
With that feeling of fullness, Lizette went to sleep, only sending a quick message to Paul to thank him lovingly for that special moment, he replied back with matching energy.
Everything was fine.
The next day, as soon as she arrived at school, Lizette looked for Jo and Melannie in their usual corner where they gathered between classes. Both were eager to hear about her first time with Paul.
Bit by bit, Lizette unraveled every detail, and of the three, Jo was the most excited for her; she screamed and jumped along with Lizette, gripping her hands with enthusiasm.
But Melannie, being who she was, mirrored her mother’s indifference. She frowned and kept her arms crossed throughout the entire story.
“I don’t understand why you give so much importance to losing your v-card with someone,” she said, interrupting the little celebration between the two friends. “It’s the same as driving for the first time—it’s only special because of the anticipation you felt for years.”
“That’s not true!” Jo said, horrified. “It is one of the most beautiful things you can experience in this world. You never forget it, and if it’s with the person you love the most…”
Right as she said that, Jo trailed off, all light faded out of her expression, and neither Lizette nor Melannie had to guess the reason, once again, Jo reminded herself of the pitiful situation she and Seth found themselves in.
Lizette frowned at Melannie, making it clear how harmful her comment was, but Melannie just rolled her eyes.
Seeing as Jo lowered her head and her back started to shake, Lizette took her hands back.
“Well, well,” Lizette said, “we’re not talking about that; we’re talking about beautiful things!”
And just like that, Jo’s face lightened up again, turning back to Lizette.
“That’s right, Lizzie! And how was it?”
“He took me to heaven,” Lizette said, dancing in the middle of her daydream. “Every single thing he did was better than the last.”
“Oh,” Melannie said, “so he’s experienced, huh? How curious.”
Lizette squinted, “Don’t start, Melannie.”
“Oh, come on,” Melannie insisted. “I’m just saying that, in my experience, virgin boys leave a lot to be desired when it’s their first time.”
Jo laughed at that comment.
“Well,” she said, “it’s clear that her boyfriend has thoroughly researched what makes a woman feel good.”
But Melannie clicked her tongue, looking to the side.
“Please, no matter how much men read or how much graphic material they go through, they need to physically experience that to become experts, and you have been dating for two and a half years.”
“Three, actually,” Lizette said, crossing her arms.
Melannie let out a laugh that got on Lizette’s nerves, forcing her to fight the urge to reach out and tousle those little, curly, blonde locks.
If it weren’t for Melannie’s family having a deep friendship with Paul’s, as well as the fact that she paid for most of their lunches and that Lizette and Jo were the only ones who tolerated her in the entire school, Lizette would’ve left her with some good bruises all over her face already.
“You already know what you want,” said Melannie. “You think about your future. Paul can’t even plan beyond today, much less care about long-term consequences. Maybe he’s been cheating on you all this time. I mean, what fifteen-year-old boy would want to wait three years? Especially when he has opportunities everywhere—in his American football team, with all those cheerleaders, his special events, his vacations…”
A concerned expression etched on Jo’s face, and she remained silent. Lizette’s face turned quiet and dangerous.
“Did he ever tell you anything? Or was all that ′I only see Paul as a friend’ bullshit?”
Melannie turned serious again.
“I told you, I don’t give a single, flying damn about him or his parents. But I’m forced to interact with them way more than I would like, so I notice details about him even if I don’t want to, as such, I’m also allowed to point out his flaws all I damn well please.”
Wow… how could someone be so mean even when being comforting? Melannie seemed ecstatic about finding ways to test Lizette’s limits. For a moment she seriously thought of giving that girl a piece of her mind.
But just in time the bell rang, and the three of them went to their respective classrooms. Jo said nothing else, and just smiled relieved that the matter didn’t escalate.
After that burning sensation in her stomach calmed down during the first lecture of the day, she smiled again, not allowing herself to fall for stupid scenarios inside her head, she was surrounded by people that wanted to see the worst in others because they could not fathom the idea of two souls that were just meant to be with each other.
Lizette held onto that self-advice for as long as she could, but it came to a point where it wasn’t enough, because as the next weeks passed, she did feel a change in her boyfriend’s treatment.
The only moments when Paul agreed to see her were those when Lizette offered her body again, which soon turned into an almost daily occurrence.
“It felt dirty at times, but she ignored it. That wouldn’t become the norm, of course. Paul was just excited to repeat the experience after doing it for the first time. She just had to enjoy those moments with him—not hard at all, as Paul knew exactly what made her feel great—and after a while, everything would be back to normal.”
But it didn’t, as now, not only Paul stopped taking her to places that she liked, but he didn’t even buy her gifts any more, aside from a rose he brought when classes ended, just before they went to that same place to do that same thing.
Part of her already missed that stage of their relationship when things were new and fresh—where he took her to parks, shopping malls, and restaurants. The place never really mattered, as long as she had him close to assure her that she was the only one.
So when the next weekend came around, she decided to rekindle that initial spark.
After school was over, Lizette looked for Paul at the exit gates and found him talking from a distance with his friends, whom he seemed to intend to follow.
“Hey, I was just looking for you.” Paul said to her, barely looking away from his friends.
“Me too,” she replied with a sweet tone, “I feel nostalgic today, you know? So I was thinking, how about we go buy something to eat and watch a movie at the same place we had our first date? ”
“Oh, I’d love to,” he said, “but I already have plans today.”
The alertness and danger at the back of her mind began to stir with that comment.
“Plans for what?”
“I’m going to meet my friends to practice for the next game we have, after that we’re going to karaoke.”
“You… you didn’t tell me about that, what’s the special occasion?”
“We’ll have the big game next month.”
“And you prefer to celebrate it with them instead of me? What happened to our tradition for these important events?”
“This is different, I was invited.”
A new anger sparked inside of her, it was so infuriating how Paul’s friends always found a way to displace her.
Reluctantly, Lizette accepted that she had to share Paul with his parents; they were, after all, the ones responsible for gifting her that man in the first place.
But with his friends? The ones that latched onto him to reap the benefits of his company and gave nothing in return?
And no, it wasn’t hypocrisy on her part, first, because she never put her friends above Paul. If Lizette prided herself in something it was in the balance she had between hanging out with her friends and with her boyfriend as well.
And second, because Jo was her childhood friend, her sworn sister, Lizette wouldn’t abandon her, ever. The thought of having to choose between her and Paul never came across because of that balance she ensured to always have.
Paul’s friends were not the same. Lizette could hardly recognize a face or a name because of how fleeting their friendships were with her boyfriend.
At first, it didn’t really concern her, she had no say in it. But now that they reached a new level in their relationship, a level that tied them until the end of their days, things would have to change.
Didn’t mean she had to fight hard to get it.
“What a shame,” she said, pitching her voice higher and running a finger across his chest. “I would have loved to spend this day with you.”
She knew that every time she made that delicious voice, Paul wouldn’t resist and would beg her to go with him.
Or at least, the Paul she fell in love with.
“I know, but it will be another day, okay?” he said, then kissed her cheek goodbye before chasing his friends.
After that moment, Lizette found herself unable to string together a coherent thought. Her mind went blank as she watched the man of her life vanish from her sight, slipping through her grasp.
