I lied on my back in the grass, holding a cigarette between my index and middle finger and staring up at the blue sky. It was peaceful. Sort of. I pointed to a cloud drifting by. "Elephant," I said, before passing the cigarette to Rhoda.

She narrowed her eyes. "Eh..."

"That's definitely an elephant, I'm sorry."

She rolled towards me and tickled my nose with a daisy from the field. "Kinda looks like a boner from the side," she said, balancing the flower on my cupid's bow.

I looked at it again, specifically at the elephant's trunk. I cracked a smile, making the flower fall. I could see it. I turned to a new one. "Cat?" I guessed as I took the cigarette back. I'd been smoking for a while now, but I couldn't blow the rings of smoke she did all the time.

"Aw, it does look like a little kitty," Rhoda said in a cute voice. That made me think of Kitty the person and I scowled. "Weird lizard dragon thing," she said, pointing to an entirely different one.

"Alligator," I said. "I've never seen an alligator."

She flipped onto her stomach, making the flowy blue skirt she was wearing flip up a little. "Neither have I. I'm pretty sure they only live in, like, Florida."

"It's hot there," I said simply.

She looked up from where she'd been picking more flowers and smiled. "Yes, it's hot there," she agreed, and I blushed. She reached over and dropped the flower on top of my head so it stayed propped up in the tips of my hair. "I'm highkey jealous of this hair, man," she said. "Like, that volume."

"I just brush it and that happens," I told her. I pressed my lips together and seized my opportunity. "I think your hair's very pretty," I said.

She picked up the second flower and threaded it behind her ear. "We should make this our spot," she said. "I mean, it's kinda my spot, but it can be our spot. If you wanna keep coming here."

"Okay," I said happily. I wondered if that meant no, she didn't fuck other people here. That wasn't exactly something I was going to ask. I looked back up at the sky. "Tree," I said. "Palm tree." There were large whisps of the cloud that spread out from the largest clump.

Rhoda took the cigarette from me and took a drag. "You like the Florida theme, huh?" she said. "I've never been. I know it's lame and all because every kid goes for Disney World, right? I don't know if we were just poor or, like, unloved but..."

"Hey, I never went to Disney World, I understand," I said. "I was definitely poor and unloved." I realized after I'd said it maybe I shouldn't have. That was kind of dark.

She laughed. "I mean, you could still go," she said. "They say it's not the same going as an adult but if you ever have kids you could bring them. Or you could just go with friends or... a girlfriend." She raised her eyebrows. "Kinda romantic, somebody should take me."

"I mean... if I ever get rich and all..." I said, grinning.

She raised herself up on her elbows and dipped the cigarette back into my lips. "Alright, I'll just wait for the next forty years to go by..." she sighed with a mock-sadness.

"You could always find some old dude that'll take you on a private jet in exchange for getting to suck your toes or something," I said.

She giggled. "Okay, yeah, but then he's ugly and gonna die soon anyway."

I thought about what it would be like if I could take her on vacation. I wasn't sure why; I barely even knew her, but here I was, imagining the whole thing out. We could go to the beach and go on rides and eat ice cream and have the best time of our lives. We could stay out at night and I could hold her in my arms as we watched fireworks. I thought about it again and substituted her with any other random girl. It had the same feel.

I guess having a girlfriend would be fun.

Then, just because I wanted to see what would happen, I went through the whole scenario a third time imagining a guy. It unsettled me at first, but eventually I figured lying in someone else's arms watching fireworks would be equally as enjoyable. So, having someone would be fun.

"Butterfly," Rhoda said, which I was grateful for. I didn't want to get too sad. I looked up, wondering whether I would see an actual butterfly or a cloud that looked like one. It turned out to be the latter. I smiled. She looked over at me, twisting her lower lip. "So, like, what are we doing here?" she asked.

"Looking at clouds," I said, keeping her eyes on them.

She snickered. "Oki doki."

"Would you... want to do something more?" I murmured. I quickly realized she was waiting for me to take charge and that was just about impossible.

She went back to spinning her flower around between her fingers. "Well, like, do we have something between us here or am I just a fool kidding herself?"

I bit my lip. I had assumed she was one of those people that didn't date. However, if she did want to date me, that would just mean another person to go out and do things with, so I wasn't complaining. "I thought you had something with a lot of people," I said finally.

She grinned. "I mean, yeah, I like to have a good time. I also think I like hanging out with you."

We didn't really hang out, I thought. We talked about clouds. No. I needed to shut up and stop cockblocking myself. I sat up with a certain determinedness I was uncomfortable with. "Do you think someone's gonna see us?" I asked, my voice dropping a little.

Her lips twitched up at the corner. "This far out? No. Besides, everyone's in class like the good kids they are."

"Sorry I missed history," I whispered.

She snorted and picked a petal off the flower. "Bruh, I didn't even go."

"Oh," I said, smiling. "We're going to have to start making a plan before we go so we only show up when the other one's there."

She laughed. "Yeah, there's just one problem. You never show up."

"Can you blame me? I usually sleep right through it. Or don't sleep at all."

"Oh? Why aren't you sleeping?" she asked.

I couldn't say the truth obviously, so I just smirked. "Reasons," I answered coyly.

She sat up on her knees, fixing her skirt so it fanned out over her thighs, and gazed down at me. "You should go out with me," she said. "Soon. It'll be fun."

"Alright," I said. "Text me."

"Answer my text," she responded.

I smiled and smoked my cigarette in silence and admired her brown hair cascading down her bare, tanned shoulders in waves. She watched me watching her, my eyes tracing her shape in her gray halter top unapologetically. Her arms were slim and toned, dotted with almost undetectable freckles.

I picked up the daisy and slid it into her hair, hoping it wouldn't stay for long. "Pretty," I whispered.

She turned slightly, moving her hair to one shoulder and slowly, teasingly pulling the string that held the back of her top on her neck. Another on her lower back and then I could see her breasts tumbling free. At just the sight of them I started getting hard again.

She leaned onto her side, letting her hair trickle across her body, tilting her head at me. "Still think so?" she asked. Sitting there like a fucking exotic goddess.

"I think you're beautiful," I said, blushing. I wondered how cheesy that sounded. It was true.

She flipped herself over onto her back, and her boobs, which I'd been watching more closely than I probably should have admitted, flattened themselves out. She looked at me intently, then reached up and traced her thumb around the curve of them, studying my expression.

I slowly let my eyes travel up to hers. A moment passed between us, looking into her eyes, in which my breathing almost stopped. I knew she was lying there, waiting for me to do something, anything, to make a move, and I was frozen.

"So," she murmured. "Want to kiss me?"

I jumped up and crawled over to her, sliding my hands under her arms and up her back before firmly planting my lips on hers. Adrenaline rushed through me, just like every time I kissed Michael, but unlike with him, Rhoda immediately wilted under my weight, opening her mouth for my tongue.

The two of them would be a perfect match.

"You know," she said, panting a little when I finally let go, "you're one confusing son of a bitch. First you act all shy and then you do that."

I forced a chuckle and dragged my hand up her scalp through her hair so I was holding a good chunk of it. "I was waiting to see what you wanted," I whispered.

"I just want a man who can fucking..." She slowly took my other hand off her chest and wrapped it around her throat forcefully instead. "Mmm. This. Please."

Shit.

"Um," I mumbled, still holding her throat. What was I supposed to do? Say you're a worthless whore and spit at her? I didn't want to do that. I felt bad.

She smiled at me. "Whatcha nervous for? You've done this before, right?"

"Yes," I said quickly, and probably too loudly.

I'd had lots of sex. Lots of horrible, horrible sex, but there was no need to tell her that. Just the memory of Patty's untouched forest made me want to throw up on the spot. Stop. Don't think about that right now.

I leaned back and tugged my own shirt over my head, letting it fall behind me onto the grass. I absolutely despised the idea of having sex in broad daylight, in the middle of a very accessible-to-random-people-just-trying-to-walk-their-dog place. But there was no turning back now.

She placed both her palms on my ribcage and ran them up admiringly over my chest. "You have that skinny skater boy with the cigarettes vibe," she said. "And the edgy kid hair. Look like that and you can be the biggest asshole on the planet, you're still a chick magnet."

"Don't they have tattoos?" I said.

She laughed. "Please, please don't get a tattoo. You look so pure this way."

I didn't think I was so pure. I had so many scars, mostly mental, but some physical too. Maybe everyone thought that because I looked so young. I leaned back, looking at her, with her pretty boobs and little skirt where the daisy had fallen into her lap. "You'd look nice with some tats," I said.

"Really? Or would I look like a biker chick?"

I shrugged. "That's not bad."

She took her hand off mine and twirled the flower around between her fingers almost sadly. "I'm already a trashy slut, might as well be a badass trashy slut."

I scooted over so I was next to her and brushed her hair behind her shoulder. "You're not trashy at all," I said as kindly as I could.

She giggled. "Yeah, I am. Now." She took my hand in hers and slid it under her skirt up the soft skin of her bare thigh. "Stop being nice to me before I do something dumb like start to like you and fuck me already."

"You don't like me?" I joked, turning myself over so I was positioned between her legs.

She smiled and leaned up a bit, just so our lips touched. "Of course I do," she whispered, looking deep into my eyes.

I leaned down further, so I could smell the soft flowery scent that was buried under the coat of slowly dissipating smoke. "Good, because I may want to see you again," I said with a smirk.

"I may want to see you again," she whispered back, her lips right next to my ear.

I kissed her then, finally, cupping her breasts in my hands. I tried to squeeze them just gently enough, grazing my fingers over her nipples. She giggled a little and kissed me twice before rising up and looking at me, almost expectantly.

I lowered my body on hers and crept my fingers up her legs, feeling her body twitch slightly under my lingering hands. At last I touched her, rubbing my hand over her underwear like a sacred treasure. Her skin was soft, warm. Alive.

She sucked in her breath and sighed a little, watching my face as I ran my hand over her. It was a sweet, light sound and I shivered. I inched my hand up further and found the band of her panties, then pulled them down her thighs.

I reached up and stroked my fingers through her folds, feeling the hot wetness of her. Her skin there was just as soft and smooth as her thighs, and I could feel myself straining against my pants.

She turned away from kissing me for a moment and crushed her cigarette against the ground, then pulled her face back to mine and reached her hand forward to expertly unbutton my jeans. I slid them down a little, then my boxers, and she smirked down at me, wasting no time to take me in her hand and start circling her wrist up and down.

"Nice," she commented. My ego just about tripled in size. Then she grabbed my hand with her other one and pushed it back between her legs, and I felt a twinge of embarrassment.

"Sor-" I started.

"It's okay," she whispered, pressing her lips to mine again. We kissed for a long moment, both breathing heavily, my one hand on her shoulder to hold her in place and the other lost somewhere in her core. I eased my fingers inside of her, exploring, and kissed her full lips as she opened her mouth and moaned.

She was fun to kiss. Her lips were round, plump, and fit easily with my small ones. She parted them as she reached up into my hair and squeezed while I pumped my fingers in and out of her.

I was acutely aware that, despite Michael's sad attempt at educating me, I still had absolutely no idea what I was doing. "Um," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "What exactly-"

She smiled. "Like this," she said. She reached down and touched my hand, pulling it up so my thumb was on her clit and rubbed it back and forth a few times, making her squirm.

I kept doing this as she leaned all the way back, pulling me with her, and finally pulled her skirt up so the flowy part rested on her stomach. I could see all of her now, in broad daylight, and I sincerely hoped to God no one decided to wander into the park.

I reached down into my pocket, which was now at my knees, and pulled out the condom. She looked up with a grin and watched as I tore it open and rolled it onto myself. I lowered myself over her, the blades of grass all around us tickling my skin as I sank down.

"You, uh, you ready?"

"Mm, yes," she said, a heavenly smile blooming on her face.

So what was next? Divide and conquer.

I placed one hand on each of her knees and spread her legs wider, her feet planted firmly on either side of me. Holding myself in my hand, I grazed along her folds, getting her moisture on me before pushing in.

She moaned again, her thighs hugging me, and I groaned at the intense feeling and slid myself deeper inside her, still rubbing her clit the exact same way. I didn't know if that was good or bad, but she didn't seem to be complaining.

I lied on top of her, kissing her neck and jaw and whatever part of her my mouth came into contact with, trying not to explode from the heat and tightness of her body suddenly being around mine.

"Fuck," I moaned, my face tightening. I sat up and grabbed her hips, picking up my speed as I started thrusting into her.

We rocked back and forth, flattening the tall grass. "Oh, oh god," she cried, uprooting whole stalks of grass as her hands searched for something to clutch in place of sheets. Her legs trembled around me and she clenched herself tighter. I leaned forward and grabbed her hand, keeping the other on the crease in her right thigh.

She reached over with her other hand and pulled mine down on her arm, so I was gripping her wrist instead of her fingers. And so, like some maniac, I held her wrist instead of her hand.

The harder I went the closer to climax I could feel myself getting; my breathing had become rapid and erratic as I tried to hold on. I had no idea how long it had been and my goal had, obviously, been to last as long as possible to look good but it seemed to no longer be an option.

I held her as I released, moaning, pressing my cheek against her hair, my eyes rolling back slightly. I gasped, convulsing, and she brought her lips to mine a final time. I kissed her slowly, then fell down into a blissful calm.

After that I rolled onto my side and took the condom off, then lied back down next to her, panting, looking at the little broken pieces of grass in her hair. It was kind of oddly sexy, I thought. I played with a strand of her hair and she turned and looked at me, smiling. We said nothing, just enjoyed each other's warmth, lying and watching the clouds.

She spoke first. "We should probably put some clothes on. Someone will walk by and think we're insane."

Fine, let them, I wanted to say, but I closed my eyes. "You're right," I mumbled reluctantly. I sat up and looked down at her, sweet but alluring and so, so beautiful. "Did you... um..." I asked, biting my lip, scared of her answer.

She snorted and knocked my shoulder playfully. "Yes..." she murmured, rolling her eyes to the side slyly. I smirked, a tiny glimmer of pride sparking in me, though I accepted she could definitely be lying. "C'mon," she said. "Let's get out of here."