“Do you have a condom?” I asked. In that moment, I knew he would be the one before anyone else for me.

We went upstairs to my bedroom where we each removed our own clothes. Griffin only stopped to say, “You have a beautiful body, Bailey. Where have you been hiding it?” I led him to my bed. Our kissing became elevated and urgent.

“Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” he asked. I certainly couldn’t tell him that from the time I was a young girl I had dreamed about this. As dreams go, this was vintage. Old but precious.

In some ways, it was everything I wanted and needed it to be. In other ways, very surprising. Griffin was kind. And patient. And tender. It was as if he felt the responsibility to make this okay for me.

Around ten o’clock, Griffin was getting dressed when the phone rang. He answered it immediately like he’d gotten caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing.

“Oh my God. What? Who? Oh no. You did what? Sure. Of course.”

My heart lurched. “What happened?”

“George was chopping onions and apparently sliced the top of his finger off. Your dad came to the rescue and put his finger on ice and took George and the finger to the hospital. George is in surgery now to reattach the finger, and your dad is there with him.” He paused for the rest. “Your dad cannot find your brother.” We both exchanged meaningful glances. Henry could be off doing something neither of us approved of. It worried me.

“What else did Daddy say?”

“He said he’d be home in the morning and for me to stay here and look after you.” A small but telling smile crossed Griffin’s face.

“Well, that’s a little like putting the rooster in charge of the henhouse, isn’t it?” I said. He relaxed again and looked at me.

“Any regrets?” Griffin asked. I knew he wanted an honest answer. One that had been fully considered. I wanted to tell him this had been the easiest decision of my life. And while I had no idea then, it would remain so. In the years to come, my sex life would take many twists and turns before ultimately crashing and burning, along with the rest of my life.

“None. However,” I started inching closer to him. He looked aghast at my forwardness, and yet I could tell he appreciated it.

“Really? Well, there may have been one little fact we left out of our biology lesson. You’re going to have to give me a few minutes. On second thought, maybe one minute will do.”

I just smiled and waited.

The next morning, he put his jeans back on and his customary V-neck T-shirt. It worked for him. It exposed just a few chest hairs to make a girl curious. He looked rugged but also nonchalant. That was quite endearing.

Griffin stood in the threshold of my door as if putting a punctuation mark on the occasion. He just looked at me for a moment and said finally, “Are you sure you’re okay?”