Nothing in Common

"Well, it was late, and it was cold out."

"Did you kiss him goodnight?"

"No! I told you, it wasn't a date!"

"Okay, fine. But your Mom wants you to invite him over to your house for your next 'not-a-date' right?"

"Ugh. You guys are impossible. Can we PLEASE change the subject?"

I refused to talk about Devin anymore. Whenever they brought him up I excused myself to go to the bathroom or get more snax or drinks, anything to stop them from talking about Devin. I was beginning to hate him.

+++

When I saw Devin in the Caf at lunch on Monday he smiled and said 'Hi' but slipped right back into conversation with his friends. That felt weird. On one hand, I didn't even want to acknowledge his existence because my friends would go all gaga over my love life. On the other hand, it felt like he'd done exactly that to me. Acknowledged my existence. But that was all. And it seemed, I dunno, dismissive? All through lunch I was fixated on that little 'Hi' and by the time I was done eating I was fuming. I can't even tell you why.

Just as I was about to get up a hand was laid lightly on my shoulder and I turned to see who it was. It was Devin.

"Hey, see you in Biology, okay?"

I think I glared at him for a second, then gaped at him, then shut my mouth, and finally swallowed and said "Sure." Why did this feel so unnerving? It was like the words my friends had been yakking at me were boiling around in my head. No, no, no, I do not have a 'thing' for Devin, and he does not have a 'thing' for me. We were just classmates. But then why did I feel so weird when he touched me or spoke to me?

I watched him walk out of the Caf with a couple of his friends, unmindful that my attention was being very closely monitored by Marissa and Theresa.

"Devin, you got it bad for that boy." Theresa said.

I practically jumped out of my seat in surprise. I'd forgotten I was sitting with anyone. "I do not!" I growled at her while at the same time I wondered what the hell was happening to me. I grabbed my stuff and left for my next class. After that one, I had Biology.

I dithered outside the door to Mr Stevens classroom, wondering if Devin was in there yet or not. "Hey. Join me inside?" he said as he walked up. Nope, he was not in there yet. I nodded and we walked in together and sat at our bench. Why did it feel like the entire class was staring at us? The lecture was like the one on Friday, lots of talking, lots of diagrams, lots of note-taking. Practical stuff like microscopy and dissection wouldn't start until next week. When class ended Devin said to me "You want to get together and compare notes again?"

I was torn between NO because I don't want anything to do with all the drama from my friends, and YES because I needed to do well in this class. "Okay. I'm busy tonight and tomorrow, how about Wednesday?"

He checked his phone. Obviously checking his calendar, after all he was the List Guy. "It'll have to be late, I get off work at 9."

"Just come straight to my house then." I was thinking that that would be easiest, and I didn't have to worry about getting home or anything. He said 'Thanks' and 'See you tomorrow'. Then he was gone, and I had to go too, for my last class of the day. And I was thinking Oh great, now my Mom is gonna be Mom-ing all over him when he got to our house. To say nothing of my slightly over-protective father. I just kept running the mantra through my head 'It's not a date. It's not a date. It's not a date.'

I managed not to let my friends find out Devin was coming over to my house on Wednesday, and I got through Tuesday without any more drama. I was beginning to think that my life was back on track. Pool, school, volleyball, dinner, homework, running, sleep. A normal day for me. That put me in a good mood for Wednesday. And again, the day progressed normally, nicely, predictably. Until right after Biology class.

Devin and I walked out of Mr Stevens' classroom and went down the hall towards our last classes. Just as Marissa hurried up beside me, Devin said "See you tonight then? A bit after nine?"

"Sure. See you."

Devin turned and walked away as Marissa grabbed my arm. "I knew it! You two are hanging out together!"

"We're studying Biology Marr, that's it."

"Oooo! A little Human Biology huh? Is that what you're up to?" She had the biggest shit-eating grin on her face.

"No. No. And No. We're just studying."

"Really? I saw the way you were looking at him in the Caf at lunch the other day. I think Bat Girl has found her Boy Wonder."

"Jesus Marr, let it go already."

"Fine. But you will call me tonight after he leaves. I want deets."

I laughed at her. Yeah, she'll get her details all right. Cell mitosis, membrane permeability, and waste vacuoles. "Sure, sure, I'll call you."

The doorbell rang at twenty past nine. Of course my Mom knew I had Devin coming over, because she knows exactly what questions to ask and when to ask them. Uncanny. So she was right beside me as I opened the door.

"Hi Devin. Oh, hello, you must be Mrs Adams." he said.

"And you must be Devin, the young man I've heard so little about." my Mom said, giving me her best Mom-glare.

"Come in, we can work in the kitchen. Mom this is my classmate Devin. Devin, my Mom. Please tell her we're just classmates?"

"We're just classmates, Mrs Adams."

Mom looked at me with that knowing smile of hers and said "That's nice dear."

I rolled my eyes and Devin made a face that I interpreted as smothering a grin. He kicked his boots off and hung up his coat and followed me to the kitchen. On the way he stopped to look at my shelves full of trophies. "Wow. The pictures you showed me don't do this justice. Are you up for any scholarships?"

"Yeah, a couple, depends on where I want to go. How about you?"

"I'm not good at any specific thing, at least not good enough to rate a scholarship."

We sat down and spread out our Biology notes. Once again, we'd both picked up different aspects of the material over the last few days, and it took us half an hour to go through it all. Dad made an appearance and chatted briefly with Devin. Mostly about his car. Apparently he'd seen it in the driveway, and it was a classic. I thought it was just old. He seemed impressed that Devin had done most of the restoration work himself. At least my Dad wasn't getting all over-protective and grilling Devin, looking for 'character flaws'. Hooray for small miracles.

It was just after ten PM when we put away our books and I grabbed a couple of drinks from the fridge. Mom came into the kitchen and said "Well, now that your work is done, maybe you can show Devin your room."

Show him my room? Where did that come from? The look on his face was priceless. My face was probably not much better. "Mommmm! Geeze. Really?"

"I, uh, I guess I better go. It's getting late." Devin said.

By now all the hints and suggestions and nagging had reached a peak for me. I was done with everyone assuming Devin and I were together or even compatible. This crap was going to end tonight, one way or the other.

"Come with me." I said, leading Devin upstairs to my room. I shut my door, pointed at my bed, and told him to sit down. I paced back and forth a bit, trying to marshal my thoughts. I stopped and stood there, looking down at him.

"Devin, everyone around us has been pushing me at you all week. My friends, my Mom, my teammates. And I keep telling them that we're too different, we're not compatible. And I keep telling myself that too. But every time I say 'no' to myself, I keep wondering if I might be wrong."

I stopped talking and watched his reaction. He looked scared. Like a pitcher facing me for the 4th time in a game after giving up 3 homers. I was never good at subtlety. Time to be direct. I swung at the next pitch. "Do you like me? As in romantically?"

I saw him swallow nervously but his eyes were fixed on mine. He wasn't shying away from me. "Yeah?" he said, in a barely discernible whisper. He didn't sound too sure, but he was saying yes.

Dammit, I did not need this kind of complication in my life. "Shit."

Oops.

When I said 'shit' his whole demeanor changed. He slumped, deflated, defeated, wrecked. That wasn't my intent. I sat down next to him and took his face in my hands and kissed him. Yeah, I know, all my protestations were out the window, all my denials were garbage. Clearly, my friends and my Mom knew me better than I knew myself. But I just had to know, you know? So I kissed him to find out.

Devin's arms went around me, gentle but firm, and he kissed me back. Holy shit, this was sooo much better than any other kiss I ever got. I'd had boyfriends before, and we kissed, but none of them ever made me feel like this. What the hell was it about this scrawny drama nerd that made him better than the broad shouldered hunks I'd dated before?

I pulled back from our kiss and our eyes searched each other. I had to be sure. I had to ask the question. This was not the time to be subtle. "You want to be my boyfriend?"

"Damn. Yes, I do."

I smiled, but that didn't last long, because we came together in another kiss. An even better one than before. Devin was putting all he had into it I think, because I felt like I was on fire. He was touching me just perfectly, and his tongue was doing exactly the right things with mine. And I was getting wet. No, I was getting soaked. Okay, so maybe we had more than our names, our birthdays, and our choice of pizza in common. We had this perfect kiss thing in common too.

The kissing continued. And continued. For a very long, very wonderful time. And I was a bit worried about what he'd do next, now that I'd kinda given him the green light. A needless worry. He didn't push. Not at all, he just followed my lead. I know I don't have big tits, not like Marissa, but any other guy would have tried to get his hands under my shirt by now. I always stopped them, but this time I didn't need to.

All good things must come to an end, they say. And this good thing came to an end just before midnight. A knock on my door broke our smoochy embrace. "Devin honey, I think your friend needs to go home now. It's getting late and it's a school night."

"Okay Mom." I looked at my clock, and it really was late. Holy shit, where did the time go? I made sure my hair wasn't a total mess, and straightened my clothes a bit. I looked at Devin as he got himself in order. I especially watched as he adjusted that lump in his pants. I hadn't had any experience with one of those yet, and wondered if he was indeed the one with the punch for my V-card. No, No, No, do not go there, do not even think that.

I walked Devin to the front door and kissed him goodnight. After he got his coat and boots on I kissed him again. Once he'd gone, I turned and found my Mom standing there with a bemused expression on her face.

"So. You two were awfully quiet upstairs, for an awfully long time."

"I, uh, yeah. I guess I have a new boyfriend."

Her eyebrows went up. "Oh, really? And all that 'not a date' stuff, and 'only studying'? What was what? Denial? Exaggeration? BS?"

I sighed and said "Denial. Sorry. I didn't think we had anything in common."

"What makes you think that it's the common stuff that makes people like each other? Why do you think they say opposites attract?"

And now it made sense. Devin was so different from the sports jocks I'd dated before. So very different. Everything about him was new to me. "I wish life wasn't so complicated." I said.

Mom smiled and said "Oh honey, life isn't complicated unless you make it complicated." Then she glared at me. "And I don't have to tell you that teen pregnancies are complicated, do I?"

What the hell? "Mommmm. We just kissed like for the first time. I don't plan on going that far until I meet the man I want to marry."

"Okay, I'm just making sure you understand that there are consequences when you make bad choices, or even good choices."

"I know, I know." I said.

Mom had sat me down when I had my first period and explained in shocking detail all about sex, pregnancy, and birth control. Everything from A to Z. When my friends or teammates talked about sex and stuff I heard the most outlandish things from them. All kinds of misinformation and outright crap. But I knew better. I had the facts.

Of course, when I got to school on Thursday I had to face both Devin and my friends. It was glorious and excruciating at the same time. I was walking to my first class with Marr and Theresa when I encountered Devin and a couple of his friends.

We slipped an arm around each other and smooched. "Good morning!" I said.

"Great morning, you mean. It was already good before you kissed me."

"See you at lunch?"

"Can't wait. See you." he said, followed by another quick kiss as we separated and went off to class.

Marissa and Theresa were beside themselves. I think the only thing that kept them from screaming was that they were in shock so deep that they were unable to breathe. "I knew it!" Marr hissed. Then she glared at me and said "You never called last night like you said. You owe me words, lots of words."

We'd arrived at our class so I said "Later." When the class ended Marr and Theresa cornered me. I told them Devin had come over to my house last night, we'd studied, and then I took him up to my room and we made out until like midnight. "It was so late by the time he left I didn't have time to call you."

"Weren't your parents home?"

"Yeah, so what? My Mom was the one who suggested I take him to my room."

"Oh My God! He must've made quite an impression on your parents to allow that."

"You know my Mom, she'll let me do anything I want as long as I'm prepared to accept the consequences. And Dad, well, Devin has a classic car and Dad was too busy drooling over it to even notice us kissing goodnight."

The students for the next lecture were starting to arrive, so we rushed off to our classes. I was not going to hear the end of this from Marr, that was for sure. Well, Devin had said 'see you at lunch' so if I ate with him I'd be away from my usual group. And maybe I could avoid my friends' histrionics.

Lunch was different. Devin and I met in between our usual tables. I looked at him, and then his table, where some of his friends were staring at us. He looked at my friends nearby, who were literally gawking slack-jawed at us, and said "Your place or mine?"

"Neither. Let's go over there." I said, pointing towards the far corner of the Caf.

"Good idea." he nodded and we walked away from our tables full of dumbfounded friends. We sat at one end of a corner table, near a couple of Goth girls. They glared at us at first but otherwise ignored us after that.

"So, how are your friends taking our new status?" he asked.

"Lunatics, all of them. My love life is now their most prized possession. They pick it up and play with it, and talk about it, and pick it apart and put it back together in the weirdest ways they can think of."

He laughed, almost choking on his sandwich. "My friends are all warning me off. They've spotted a dozen red flags already and they've only got started."

"Red flags? For what? I'm perfect, I'll have you know."

He started ticking points off on his fingers. "You're a Jock. They think you'll be like some dominatrix and turn me into some weak and whiny simp. Like THEY aren't exactly like that, pfft. You're too tall. Your friends are too bitchy and weird. Hah! Like my friends aren't just as weird. We got nothing in common, like that matters. And on and on."

"What about my, uh, my chest?" I said, pushing out my meager bust.

"Yeah, that too. Apparently I can do so much better than Flat Girl. Sorry."

"No. They're right. I am Flat Girl."

He looked a little angry all of a sudden. "Hey. Devin. Look, I like you, I think you're cool. I like how you look. I, uh, I like your breasts. I wouldn't change anything about you. At least not yet. Maybe I can find something that needs work, if I look real hard."

I stole a glance at the Goth chicks but they weren't paying us any attention. "You like my breasts? Really?" I whispered.

"Yeah. Really."

"Well. That's a first."

"'That's a first'? That's a crime. Wait till I get you alone again."

Jeezus. Devin knows how to find, push, and crush all my buttons. I've had guys be forward with me, but it always felt slimy and I'd brush them off. Devin does it, and I feel all hot and bothered. And I wanted more.

"And when would that be?" I asked him.

"I guess we have to compare schedules." he said, pulling out his phone. I pulled mine out and he raised an eyebrow. "You know a schedule is a type of list, Miss No Lists?"

"Maybe your list about me is incomplete." I said archly. That made him laugh.

We compared our very busy calendars and discovered that we had only a few times a week when we were both free. Few, but not none, thankfully. Mostly late in the evenings, like after 9. He was working this Saturday, so tonight and Sunday were our best options this week. And we could always squeeze in an hour or two like last night. My insides quivered when I thought of those kisses. Yeah, even an hour or two here and there would be great.

+++

Both groups of our friends were now acting like loonies, as if our relationship was the most newsworthy thing that had ever happened in all of history. That was tiresome to say the least. The only silver lining was that the two groups didn't mesh well, so they never got together to gang up on us. That would have been unbearable.

We didn't really have much of a social life together, at least outside of hanging out at each others' house whenever we could. School, sports, rehearsals, and jobs took up most of our time and kept us apart. Our relationship was new enough that we spent a lot of our time together just talking. Yeah, there was some smooching, which made me all hot and bothered, but no more than that. That was something we talked about, too. How far we wanted to go, and when. It's not like we made a schedule or anything, we just agreed to keep our hands above clothing. Groping was OK, but no skin.

Valentines Day was amazing. Damn, my whole romantic ideal thing was rung like a bell when Devin arrived to pick me up for the school dance. He was just everything I ever wanted out of a date. Stylish, polite, and romantic. And he could dance! Oh my god, could he dance! What the hell should I have expected from a Drama Nerd? We had an awesome time, and I kissed him goodnight hard enough to make him stagger back to his car like he was wasted.

When the seasons change, so does my sports schedule. That meant finding time to get together changed too. But it was spring, so nice weather was happening, and we could hang around outside or go for romantic walks in the park to see the trees and flowers in bloom. Again, a Drama Nerd is pretty much guaranteed to be a romantic. I ain't gonna say I was in love, but I liked him a whole lot and we had fun together.

+++

Devin was coming over for dinner, so I was in the driveway shooting some hoops while I waited for him. He pulled up out front when he saw me out there, instead of pulling into the driveway and squeezing me out of my court. I had a boyfriend last year who would just roll up and I'd basically have to jump out of the way. I liked Devin better every day.

"Hey you." he said.

"Hey yourself. Wanna shoot a few?"

"I dunno. I'm not very good at this."

"Come on, give it a try. I'll go easy on you."

"All right. What are the rules?"

"We take turns making plays for the net. Winner is the first to score five baskets."

"Okay. I guess."

"Here, you go first." I said as I bounced him the ball.

Devin dribbled a couple of times then went towards the net. He telegraphed his moves so much I couldn't help but take the ball from him. And he ended up on his butt.