Couldn’t I?
 
 Pretending to be the perfect gentleman,
 
 Brendan arrived at my door,
 
 introduced himself politely.
 
 We told my mom and Scott we were
 
 going to dinner and a drive-in double feature.
 
 But food and movies were the last
 
 things on our minds.
 
 Not that we necessarily had the same
 
 things on our minds. As we drove up the
 
 mountain, his hand crept up my leg.
 
 I let it do exactly that as I watched for a safe
 
 spot to pull over. We drove back off the highway,
 
 deep into a grove of fresh-scented evergreens.
 
 Carried a blanket back into the trees.
 
 He pulled out a bindle, which looked a bit short,
 
 and a six-pack of beer. For the next twenty minutes,
 
 we snorted and drank, climbing to a very tall buzz.
 
 We talked and joked and giggled.
 
 And it all seemed just like it should.
 
 Until it didn’t anymore.
 
 It Started with a Kiss
 
 Crank-revved, pistons firing full bore,
 
 passion firecrackered in tiny bursts
 
 from thigh to belly button.
 
 Oh, baby,
 
 I want you so bad
 
 “B-b-bad to the bone?” We laughed,
 
 but it wasn’t a joke. Not for long.
 
 My shirt tore open. “Wait.”