Robin, Boy Virgin: Original Series

I bought Cora (and myself each) a screamer. I endured her wonderful, sexually suggestive comments, trying to keep a boner in check. Then I drove us over to a community center park. It had a big oval track for running, a playground, a baseball diamond, a great big field for any activities and a public garden to walk through on the other side of the field. It was pretty much a gem of a place to take a date.

I parked the Charger near the entrance of the park and we drank our screamers and walked around the track oval. Even though it was pretty cold out, we had our jackets and, like I said before, screamers are enjoyed in any weather at any time of the year. Cora became a fan of Danny’s screamers instantly.

“You know that old Coke commercial song, like “I’d like to teach the world to sing-”?” I started to sing. Cora nodded and swallowed the mouthful of ice cream and slurpee she had in her mouth.

“In perfect harmony. I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company,” She chimed in. Slightly off key, but charming.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, nodding. “I’d like to buy the world a screamer. Screamers for everyone,” I said, waving my arm to symbolize masses of people. Cora laughed and looped her free arm through mine.

“Aww! That’s so sweet, BW,” She giggled. “And totally awesome. I’d like to buy the world scream-ers,” Cora said, singing again. “For all it’s big dream-ers,” She rhymed. Wow, go Cor. Give Barry Manilow a run for his money. I chuckled and we finished our screamers. Cora took my empty cup from me and she threw out our garbage.

It suddenly felt like we were at a turning point in the date, like we’d finished one activity, what should we do now? And I thought about tackling her (playfully) and making out on the grass. But I mentally smacked my forehead. No. Focus. I needed to get Cora to commit to me. And, actually, this date-scenario would be a good time to ask her about that whole drunken “I love you, Robin” thing.

“Race. On your mark, get set, go!” Cora suddenly proclaimed and took off sprinting around the track. My brain didn’t think as instincts took over and I ran after her: both not wanting to be away from her and… yeah, I wanted to try and win the stupid race.

Cora and I tore around the entire track. Since she’d gotten a pretty major head start and has those crazy long legs (and some power in her; I remembered the helluva punch she’d given Brandon), she kept up her lead. I caught up to her, but didn’t quite make it past her. We were both wearing shoes that weren’t meant for running at all.

By the time we’d made it all the way around the track, my music geek body was pooped. I flopped down right on the ground as Cora threw her arms victoriously over her head.

“Victory! Boy Wonder, what the hell was that??” She barked teasingly at me. She jogged over to me and straddled my body, swinging her arms tiredly. She leaned over me, on the balls of her feet, to brace her palms on either side of my head, her small perky butt right up in the air.

“Huh?” She giggled, out of breath, grinning at me. I just smiled back at her. She is so beautiful: I watched her hair fall around her grinning face as she looked at me, her hard blue eyes shining, and the light from high voltage sports event lighting shining behind her and making her profile glow.

Yeah. Siiigh.

“You kicked my ass. You’re just outta my league,” I chuckled. That’s true on several levels. Cora grinned.

“I love you, BW. You make me crazy,” She laughed at me and stood up straight again, swinging her arms. I grinned and raised my eyebrows. What and what? She loves me and I make her crazy?

I scrambled to my feet, playfully crashing into Cora while I did it. Man, though, that race took it out of me. Cora linked her arm through mine and we wandered (slowly, since we were both tuckered out from the race) over to the playground. Here’s the thing with playgrounds: every single age group loves them. Ok:

1.) Little kids love them because they give those crazy bundles of energetic and imaginative monsters a place to be crazy, energetic, and imaginative monsters.

2.) Teenagers love them because it gives us a place to run around and get physical with the gender we’re attracted to. We love that.

3.) Parents love them because they tire out their bundles of energetic monsters.

4.) Grandparents love them because grandparents love everything. And they find the little bundles of energetic monsters running around on playgrounds charming.

And

5.) Everyone loves swings. Period. Even if they make you sick, you still love swings.

Cora and I wandered around on the playground, chicken fighting and laughing a lot. Eventually, we walked over to the swings. I plunked down in one swing and Cora perched on the edge of the swing next to me. Ok, time to play this right:

“So Harold and Minnie, huh?” I started. Kind of a lame start, but that had been a big event today.

“Yeah. Isn’t that something? They really are very cute together,” She told me, assuring me from the observant female perspective that they were cute together. I believed her. I knew it for myself.

“Yeah,” I said thoughtfully. Cora snaked her arms around the chains of the swing and experimentally lifted herself up off the swing, holding her weight.

“Cor?” My mouth began. Whoa, hang on, Robin’s mouth.

“Mhm?” She grunted girlishly, still floating over the swing’s bottom.

“You remember last weekend, actually exactly a week ago, when we got drunk-” I went on anyway. Cora dropped herself down into the seat.

“Did I say something mean?? I’m so sorry if I did. I was wasted,” She interrupted quickly, looking at me. Oh, drunken nights: making you so uninhibited you blurt out opinions you’ve never even thought of before.

“No, no, nothing mean,” I assured her. “But you said... uh,” Oh shit, I couldn’t get it out!

“What?” She asked, concerned and curious, her blue eyes staring at me.

“Well, you said you loved me? And I’ve been kind of wondering what exactly you meant,” I managed to get out. Well done, Robin. Pat on the back for you. It was awkward, but I asked it, damn it.

To my surprise, Cora suddenly chuckled and started swaying in her swing.

“Ohh. I said I love you because I do love you,” She said, looking down at her legs as she lightly kicked them around to make her swing move. Well… no. That clears up nothing.

“Ok,” I said slowly. “But… like, do you mean you love me like a friend orr…?” I drew out the word ‘or’ because I obviously wanted her to say more than a friend.

“Well of course I love you like a friend. You’re my best friend,” She said, smiling and looking at me out of the corner of her eyes. Hmmraa. Is it my questions or is she being ambiguous with her answers?

“You’re my best friend, too,” I said. It’s pretty much true. “But… is that what you meant?” I asked, looking directly at her. Tell it to me straight, girl, I can handle it. No I can’t. Yes I can. No I can’t. Yes I can. No I ca- say something!

“… to be honest. When I said that, no that’s not all I meant. I mean, I do love you as a friend,” She said carefully. “But when I said that, I meant it, like as more. Like I love, love you,” She confessed, shrugging one shoulder. She looked at me.

Wow. Holy cow. I must be dreaming. This can’t be real, it just can’t. Any second now, it’s going to strike midnight and I’m going to turn back into a pumpkin. Oh wait, Cinderella wasn’t a pumpkin to start with, right? Um, like a scullery maid or-

REPLY TO WHAT SHE SAID RIGHT NOW, DUMBASS, my brain shouted at me.

“Really? Wow,” I said. Ohhh man. I actually said that out loud, fack. Cora smiled a half smile at me and raised her eyebrows. Oh!

“Oh! Oh, well, of course I love, love you too. Like, c’mon,” I chuckled at myself. “I’ve loved you, like big time, for awhile, actually,” I said, frowning up at the night sky. There you go, Cora. Now you know.

“… really?” I heard Cora say softly. I looked at her sharply out of the corner of my eyes. Get real, beautiful. Of course, I love you. You’re incredible. Cora smiled at me. Then she suddenly frowned.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” She demanded, smacking my arm, and being very Cora again.

“Ow! I dunno,” I exclaimed, laughing through my surprise. “It might have had something to do with you making me date Minnie to prove that I didn’t like you. And this whole best friends with benefits situation,” I said obviously. Whoa! I actually just confessed that. Cora made an unhappy face.

“… oh, man. You’re right. I did that. I’m doing that. I’m so sorry. I’m all over the place. You’re always right. I don’t know how you do it,” She said, shaking her head and chuckling at her knees. I wanted her to be smiling at me.

“You wanna be my girlfriend?” I asked, in a joking/casual way, but I meant it. Wow. Go me: what happened then, in Whoville they say, Robin felt his proverbial balls grow three sizes that day.

Cora pressed her lips together and looked at me. Her crazy blue eyes bore into mine, trying to sort out all the things in her beautiful, crazy head.

“Could we just… not ruin this awesome night with all the relationship stuff? I don’t understand any of it and it’s just really complicated and all messed around in my head,” Cora said, apologizing unhappily.

At first, my heart grew heavy, because she was technically rejecting me. Then, I actually listened to her: she’d confessed she loved me, loved me and she didn’t want to ruin the awesome night. You know what? Fine. We’ll sort out her crazy issues another night. Fine. Boy Wonder can live with that.

“… ok,” I said, actually genuinely ok, and smiled at her. Cora paused then smiled at me. Then she got up out of her swing and moved to sit down in my lap, straddling my hips, and facing me. She held the swing chains higher up then I did and we looked at each other: me up at her and her looking down at me. She smiled, that beautiful Cora smile, and then leaned down to kiss me. And I kissed her back.

It was one of those tender, really soft kisses. The kind of kiss for an in love, Cinderfella dork like myself, getting kissed by my princess Charming. Cora’s hands slid down the swing chain and when they touched mine, I moved my fingers to touch her hand. After a long moment of that amazing kissing, Cora drew back. I opened my eyes and she was smiling at me, her eyes thoughtful.

“I love you, Robin. Really,” She said quietly. Ohh man. That husky voice of hers was going to give me a boner and wreck this wonderfully romantic moment. Dead kittens! Sarah Jessica- there we go.

“I love you too, Cor. Really, really, really,” I said, like the super dork I am. But Cora grinned and took her hands off the swing’s chains to hold my face while she kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her back. Really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really…