There had been a strong sense of inevitability about this ever since they knew they would be moving on to different schools, meeting new people, probably forming new relationships. The tension had been there. It was something they both felt but they never really talked about it. It seemed they both knew it would happen and it also seemed that they both knew it would happen sometime this summer. It was a large part of why they decided to take jobs at the camp together, so they could get away and be by themselves before their paths took them in different directions. Deep down, maybe they both knew that after this summer it would be over for them. It didn't really have to be, but it would be hard to keep things going with all the changes that were coming. They had to go for it while there was still time, but they had never talked.

'You gotta go for it!' one of Jack's friends at school had said when they discussed their girlfriends one evening in a locker room after basketball practice.

'I mean, you gotta ask yourself,' Jack's friend had said, 'What are you waiting for?

'I'm waiting for it to be right,' Jack replied.

'Yeah, you could wait forever that way,' warned his friend.

'I don't want to pressure Marcie,' Jack said.

'Did it ever occur to you that maybe she's waiting for you to make the move?'

'Yeah, sure. I thought about it but—'

'But what? You're gonna to be going to State. Marcie's gonna be going to Boston. You think she's not gonna meet new guys up there? You think you're not gonna meet new girls?'

'Well, If that's the way it's gonna be, then maybe we shouldn't do it, you know? I mean, if it's not gonna lead to anything…'

'Who says its not gonna lead to something? What are you sayin? You wanna get married? For Christ's sake. You wanna wind up sittin' all alone in your college dorm some night and thinking about what might have been? Al right, so you're waiting for her. I can understand that I guess, but you ever think that maybe she might be getting tired of waiting for you? You gotta go for it man. Life's too short.'

Jack took another long drag on the joint. Maybe his friend was right. Well, the tension was over now.

They done it and it had been great. Better than could ever have imagined and he didn't feel sorry that they'd done it. No sorrier than he felt that they'd waited. But doing it had been the easy part.