“It’s not real kissing, you know, if you don’t use the tongue. I can show you if you like? That way you won’t be embarrassed when you next kiss a girl.”

“Okay,” Jake said, his mouth instantly drying up.

As though she could tell, Mrs. Codd passed him her tall Tom Collins. “Have a sip of this. It will help.”

He drank the sweet, icy drink, and it did help, at least with the dryness of his mouth. Mrs. Codd slid down the sofa next to him. He was worried, more than anything, that if they got close enough to kiss, she might notice the hardness in his pants. Would she be disgusted, kick him out of the house, tell him to never come back? Would she tell his parents?

“Now just relax,” she said, taking the drink from his hand, sipping some herself, then placing the glass on the coffee table. They began to kiss, and just like she’d said, there was a lot of tongue. She tasted of gin and tobacco, and they kissed so long that Jake began to worry he would suffocate. When she pulled away, she said, “Not bad for your first time.” Her lipstick was smudged around her lips, and Jake thought of Margie Robinson in the cold, damp woods.

“Now let’s try it again, but a little bit closer this time.” She turned toward him, sliding a leg across his lap, and Jake shied away.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said.

“What for? This?” She put a hand on his crotch, and Jake nodded, feeling so ashamed that he was worried he might start to cry.

She laughed again, a deep, raspy laugh, and said, “That’s what it’s supposed to do, sweetheart. As soon as we’ve mastered kissing, I’ll give you lesson number two, okay? Trust me, you’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Jake said, but his voice sounded shaky and pinched.

“Leave it up to me, Jake,” she said. “I’ll teach you everything you need to know to be a man. Would you like that?”

He nodded.

“Okay. There’s only one rule, though, and it’s a big rule. You can’t tell anyone about us. Anyone at all. That includes your friends at school, even if they’re bragging about girls. It’s not that I’m ashamed, or that you should be ashamed, it’s just that some people would think it’s wrong. Do you promise, Jake?”

She was fully straddling him now, her stiff, satiny skirt bunched up around her waist, and Jake, heart tripping in his chest, promised her he would never tell another living soul.