Mouth to mouth. Oh, God! Was I expected to kiss him? How was that going to go? To say that I began to feel some stress would not do my shaking body any justice at all. I was coming undone. Why hadn’t I gone out with any of the ugly boys who’d asked me to go on a date, so I wouldn’t be such a newbie? Why had I saved kissing a boy until now? He wasn’t even a boy and I wasn’t even a girl. We were well into adulthood!

“Hey, are you okay?” he said.

“Um, sure,” I said. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re all flushed. Did I say something stupid?”

He reached over and put his hand on the back of mine.

“No, not at all. I’m the stupid one,” I said.

“Your hands are like ice, Holly. Tell me what’s wrong. Please.”

“Oh, hell, I may as well tell you.” I took a deep breath and a big sip of beer. “When I told you I’ve never had a serious boyfriend, I wasn’t exaggerating at all. In fact, I’ve never had a boyfriend, period. I know that seems crazy, but there are reasons why, other than me being picky and shy. But there it is.”

It was his turn to lean back in the booth and take a deep breath. And he got awfully quiet for a while. Then he leaned across the table.

“Holly? Are you a virgin?” he whispered.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Wait a minute. Don’t apologize for that. Are you kidding? You know, sometimes I have night duty and I get the pleasure of riding around the island and tapping on the car windows of couples engaged in, you know, having sex. Can I just tell you how many of those are the same people all the time except they’re with somebody else?”

“Good Lord,” I said.

“Yeah, it sort of cheapens the whole thing, doesn’t it? There’s nothing forbidden anymore. People are doing drugs, getting drunk, full of road rage, and generally acting like there are no rules. And those are the people my parents’ age! You go on the Internet and there are oceans of people filled with hate, saying things I’ve never wanted to even think. And to perfect strangers! I think it’s totally gross.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty disgusting,” I said. “It all makes you wonder what ever happened to having morals and integrity. Or kindness. Not to bring up my lovely neighbor again, but kindness toward these boys? She doesn’t have an ounce of it.”

“Holly, when I said you were a breath of fresh air, I wasn’t kidding.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and don’t worry. I don’t have any crazy expectations.”

“Well, that’s good, because I wouldn’t have the first clue how to meet them.”

“Can we eat now?” he said.