Mark woke up at 6:35 the next day. He was in Jennifer’s bed again. She was still asleep. Mark realized he had had his arm around her neck, probably the whole night. He felt kind of funny, the feeling he always got when he knew someone was staring at him but he didn’t know whom or where.

He rolled over. Mr. Rey had his eyes fixed on him. Oh, shit. He’s gonna kill me.

Mark smiled weakly. "Uh, good morning?"

Mr. Rey laughed. "Don’t worry Mark, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you."

"Look, uh, we weren’t…"

"I know. It’s okay." His expression became more serious. "Listen, I can tell that the two of you are really in love, and I know that I can trust you. And, I respect both you and my daughter to make the right choices, whatever those may be. So don’t worry about it. You might not be alive a year from now, and I’m not going to stop you from having the relationship you would have had in the future. In fact, if we are alive in a few weeks, I think that the two of you should get…"

"Don’t finish that sentence! I want that… to be my decision. I want to be able to tell when the time is right, and then ask her. But I’m glad I have your consent."

Mr. Rey nodded. "All right then. You can ask her whenever you feel the time is right. I won’t push you or tell you what to do." He stood up and left the room.

Next to Mark, Jennifer started to stir. Mark leaned over her and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey Jen. You awake?"

Jennifer shook her head and mumbled sleepily, "No, of course not. Why would I be awake? I’m clearly asleep..."

Mark laughed. "When did you wake up?"

"When you kissed me on the cheek."

"Oh, sorry."

Jennifer sat up, shook her head, and grinned. "It’s okay, don’t worry about it." Her eyes closed and her mouth opened, and a loud yawn came from her throat. "Well, now I’m awake. What do you want to do?"

Just then, the door swung open and Mr. Rey strolled back in, a bowl of steaming oatmeal in each hand. "Is anybody hungry?"

"Dad, I thought we weren’t allowed to eat in here?" Jennifer reminded him.

"It’s my house, and I say it’s okay."

Mark grabbed one of the bowls. "Well, I’m gonna get something to eat before you convince him that we shouldn’t," he told Jennifer. He ate quickly, scooping the spoon into the delicious warm food and raising it into his mouth. The oatmeal was excellent, just like the day before.

With a laugh, Jennifer grabbed her bowl and started eating too. Mr. Rey shook his head and walked out of the room.

When Mark and Jennifer were done eating, Mark got up and carried their dishes into the kitchen. Mr. Rey was reading the paper. "They still haven’t figured out a good way to increase the temperature. Personally, I think a good nuke would do it."

Mark laughed. "Yeah, if it didn’t incinerate or contaminate everything that was in the blast radius."

"Maybe if they detonate it in space?"

"Uh, no offense, but how would that help us?"

"Mmm, good point. Well… I don’t know, actually. Maybe they should use Napalm."

Mark slapped his forehead. "Napalm is a great idea! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I wonder if the government has. Probably… I hope they try it soon."

"I’ll watch the news and keep you two posted. You can do whatever you want for now."

"All right, thanks!" He turned and walked back to Jennifer’s room.

Jennifer was changing when he walked in. She was facing the other way, pulling on a clean t-shirt. Mark stood there for a second, admiring the beauty and symmetry of her back. Then he blinked, and suddenly felt that he was doing something wrong by watching her.

"Oh, sorry…" Mark apologized, embarrassed. He turned to leave.

As he reached his hand for the doorknob, Jennifer’s hand rested softly on his shoulder. "You don’t need to leave. We’re dating, and we love each other," she explained to him in a loving voice. "We should feel comfortable with each other. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna do a strip dance for you, but you don’t need to be embarrassed if you walk into the room while I’m changing."

Mark grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, you’re right. But do you want me to leave so you can finish?"

With a laugh, Jennifer shook her head. "No, I’m done. And I trust you to look the other way anyway. You’re mature enough. In fact, I don’t care if you do watch me change. It’s no big deal. Just don’t be all perverted."

Grinning again, he threw her a quick wink. "But being perverted is the only reason I ever do anything!" he protested jokingly.

"Well, obviously." She laughed and threw her dirty pair of pants at him.

"Hey!" He ducked and grabbed them as they flew over his head. "That’s against the rules!" He jumped backwards and threw the pants back at her. Then he landed on his shoulder and executed a perfect roll, coming up into a crouch next to her door with his hands raised to defend against flying objects.

"What rules? Oh, never mind..." She retrieved the pair of pants and threw it into her laundry basket. "Now if you’d be so kind as to deliver these for me while I freshen up…" she asked, holding out the basket and pointing at the adjoining bathroom.

"Sure. What are boyfriends for?" He took the basket from her. "I’ll be with you again in a moment, madam." He bowed as deep as he could without spilling the clothes. Then he straightened, turned, and marched slowly towards the door..

"Thanks a lot. I don’t know how I’d get along without you."

He looked back over his shoulder. "Well, that won’t be a problem. I’m not going anywhere." He smiled, then completed his march out of the room.

Mark brought the dirty laundry to the Rey’s laundry room. He searched around for a minute before finding a suitable corner in which to place the dirty laundry.

After placing the laundry, he returned to Jennifer’s room. As he walked inside, Jennifer laughed and turned to him. She had a vacant expression on her face, as if she was thinking about some event long passed. "Hey, Mark, do remember how we first started going out?"

Mark sat down on the bed, remembering the event that had happened well more than two years ago. "How could I forget?"

Mark laughed at the memory. "Oh man, that was funny. And it was so stupid!" He blushed at the recollection of his sheer stupidity.

Jennifer smiled. "Yeah, it was. But at least you finally asked me."

"How long did you like me for before I asked you out?"

"About a month."

"Really? You did?" Mark was surprised. I hadn’t thought she liked me at all.

"Yeah. You were really cute, and I liked your personality, and… there were just so many things about you I found attractive." She smiled at him.

"Wait, why did you say all that in the past tense? You don’t think that anymore?"

"Well… I still like your personality…" She grinned, showing him she was just teasing. "No, Mark, you’re still cute, and I still love everything about you, and I love you."

"Thanks. I love you too."

Slowly they leaned together, until their lips met. The energy and emotion Mark felt at this simple contact was invigorating. He loved Jennifer, loved her more than anything. Mark found his mouth slowly sliding open. He could feel Jennifer’s mouth opening as well. He worked his tongue in the gap between his lips, where it came into contact with Jennifer’s. A warm, tingling feeling shot through him. The taste, the smell, the feel… it drew him in, until he was lost in the moment and time disappeared.

Finally succumbing to natural desires, Mark broke away, gasping for air. "Wow."

Surprising him, Jennifer suddenly half-dove onto him, driving him backwards slightly. He extended his left arm backward to catch himself. She kissed him again. He could feel all of her strength and passion and energy. Still holding himself up with his left, he raised his right arm and slid it around her neck, under her hair. He wanted to hold her forever.

As the kiss continued, Mark slid his left arm out from underneath him, causing him to fall rearward onto his back. Jennifer collapsed on top of him, ignoring the sudden drop and continuing the kiss. Mark wrapped the arm around the small of her back, pulling her even closer up against him. He felt her right arm work under his shoulder blades.

Suddenly a new feeling shot through him, an overwhelming desire he could not control. He began to slide his left hand up her back, under her shirt. He had to give into the desire, he had to…

The hinges of Jennifer’s door squeaked. Mark stiffened and instantly withdrew his hands from Jennifer, laying his arms flat at his sides. Fear and frustration raced through him. They were caught, they were dead… but this wasn’t as upsetting as being interrupted when they were so close…

Jennifer leaned back, propping herself up with her right arm. Her hair dangled down into Mark’s face.

"Oh God, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything…"

Mark sat up slightly, bending his arms and putting his weight onto his elbows. He twisted his head and focused his eyes on the person in the doorway.

Standing just inside the doorframe was a short girl with long curly black hair that came down nearly to her waist. Her velvet black skin was partially covered by loose beige pants and a white tank top.

"Oh, you’re just…" She coughed. "Hey, what’s up Mark? You having fun there?" Her mouth opened in a big smile.

Amused, Mark nodded. "Yeah Tamara, definitely." But I would be having more fun if you weren’t here. The girl was one of Jennifer’s friends, and Mark had met her before. She was a nice person but Mark was so aggravated. He just wanted Jennifer…

"Well don’t you be getting’ too pushy on my girl now. What about you Jen? Doing all right? You’re a lucky woman, you’ve got a nice man here." She grinned at Mark again. She was intentionally overdoing the stereotypical personality to amuse them.

When he first met Tamara, he had gotten the impression that she was flirting with him, and it had made him very uncomfortable. However, after getting to know her better, he realized she just had a flirty personality, and she wasn’t really interested in Mark, although she did find him attractive.

Jennifer climbed off of Mark and sat down on the edge of the bed. Likewise, he rolled his legs off the bed and ended up in sitting position. "Hey Tamara, how are you?" Jennifer asked.

"Good, good. A lotta stuff’s been happening though, you know? Some nasty things have been going down…"

Giggling, Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "‘Going down’?"

"Hap’ning. Hap-pen-ing. Which is what I hear you two are doing."

Confused, Mark jumped in. "Huh?"

At this Tamara frowned and reverted to her normal personality. "Sorry Mark, am I overdoing it?" she asked with less gusto.

"Nah, it’s fine… just, what did you mean?"

Satisfied with this, she continued in her exaggerated method. "Word is you two are happening… ya know, getting together…"

"In what sense?" Jennifer interrupted.

"Whatever sense you want to take it. Seems like you two are movin’ in together. How far along are you in..."

Mark coughed loudly into his hand. At the same time, Jennifer groaned and looked irritated. "We haven’t."

"Yeah, I know my girl. I just wanted to make sure you’re stickin’ to your principles. But even so, I mean, it’s around that you’re one hell of an item, always spending time together and such. And I’m excited for ya, and I just wanted to see how things are goin’." She paused. "Looked like they were going pretty well when I walked in."

Next to Mark, Jennifer’s cheeks started to turn red. "Yeah."

"But you weren’t…?"

"No," Mark cut in. "We weren’t."

Tamara nodded. "All right. Looked like you were about to, though. Be careful."

The burning desire in Mark was slowly fading. He still wanted to be alone with his girlfriend, but he could control himself. Next to him, Jennifer appeared to be relaxing as well. Her muscles slowly loosened and she slumped forward very slightly.

Taking no notice of this, Tamara continued. "So yeah, things are going good? Treatin’ each other right?"

"Yeah, things are great," Mark replied.

Jennifer giggled. "He treats me well enough."

"That’s good, that’s good."

For a few moments no one spoke. Finally, Tamara cleared her throat.

"Actually, I didn’t just come over here to see how you two are doing," she explained, dropping her act at the same time.

In response, Jennifer raised an eyebrow and quipped, "Oh, you didn’t?"

"Ed is throwing a party tonight, and I’m here to invite you two. You all wanna come?"

Mark’s mind raced but he couldn’t remember whom Tamara was referring to. "Who’s Ed?"

"Rich kid. Lives in a big house."

"Ah, so he’s trying to pack everyone he can into his house? Will his parents mind?"

Cutting off Tamara’s response, Jennifer laughed. "They would if they were in this state. James is nearly twenty, and his parents have already retired to Florida."

Tamara accentuated this with a nod. "They left him a friggin’ mansion."

"What kind of party are we talking about?" Mark inquired. "A rave? A beer-bash? Or is this like, play video games, eat chips, and talk?" He hated parties involving beer because someone always came on to him or Jennifer. Additionally, he had seen too many people he once respected heading off to a bedroom with someone they’d just met. Drunks, violence, and casual sex unnerved him, and parties often involved these things.

"No beer, no sluts, no bad boys. He’s trying to keep his house in one piece. Things will probably eventually get out of hand, but Ed takes pretty good care of himself and his guests. If there is a problem, he’ll settle things down and kick the troublemakers out."

"What if someone crashes it?"

Slowly Tamara’s lips curled into a grin. "You’ve never seen Ed’s house, have you?"