This Is Not Your Playground, It's My Heart

"Honey," my dad smiled as he kissed my forehead. "I feel like I haven't seen you since you got here. Where have you been? With Sean?"

"I wish," I mumbled. "I've been with the girl across the street. She's pretty cool."

I had officially been back in my old house for two weeks, and I'd only seen Sean once. I suppose I just didn't mean as much these days. Only one good thing came out of him ignoring me. I'd found a new friend in Shana. Every morning when I went outside, she was already waiting for me. We'd venture off into town and spend our day doing almost nothing, and it was the best thing in the world. It was almost like having Sean, only she could relate to more of what I was feeling than he could.

"What's her name?" My father thought outloud. We were finally sitting down together to have a late meal. The only thing that sucked was being stuck beside Judith. "Sam? Shirley?"

"Shana," Judith cleared her throat. I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't think much of Shana. She actually looked pretty bitter. "Her name is Shana, Don. I work with her mother."

"Oh!" I smiled brightly to Judith. "You work!"

My father gave me a sharp glance. In my defense, she was being rude about my new friend. She nodded her head and sat her fork down on the table. I suppose she was slightly like my mother, because she began to fill her glace full of wine when she hadn't even taken a single sip yet.

"Yes, Jennifer." She took a long drink. "I do work. And I've heard a lot of things about that girl. You'll want to stay away from her."

"Why on Earth would I want to do that? I know," I gave her another fake smile. "It's because her favorite color isn't pink, right?"

"Jenny!" My dad snapped. "Cut it out! What's wrong with the girl, Judy?"

Judith tilted her head up. It was more than obvious that she was gitting sick of my remarks, but the more they bothered her, the more I enjoyed it. After another long sip of her drink she sat her glass down and tapped her lips dry with a paper towel.

"She's funny, that one." Judith finally spoke. "Not someone you'll want to be seen with, Jenny."

"Well, what's wrong with her? She's the nicest person on this street. She's even turning out to care about me more than Sean. She's kind of my best friend."

"That's no surprise!" Judith gave a shrill laugh. "Just trust me on this one, Jen. She's no good."

Now I was just starting to get angry. Shana was a sweet girl, and she understood all the things that no one else did. Whenever I needed a break from Judith and her annoying voice, I went over to Shana's and snuck into her bedroom. We'd spend the night just laughing at the most random things and having very serious girl talk.

"Some might say that you're no good," I commented. "Does that mean my father should make you get in your ugly pink car and leave?"

"Jenny!"

"No, dad. She doesn't even have a good reason."

"Fine, Jenny." Judith huffed. "If you really want to know, the girl is..." She put her hand over her mouth for a moment to gain her composure. "She's a lesbian!"

I could feel the smile come to my lips as I stared at Judith like she was the biggest idiot in the world. Her face had gone red and her attitude was flaring. That was it? That was the reason Shana was such a bad person? I suppose that was also the reason that no one around here liked her. They all had closed minds like Judith. I let out a laugh and stood from the table.

"Where are you going, Jenny?"

"I think I'm going to go crash at Shay's house, because she's my friend and all." I turned to Judy. "But don't worry, if by some chance we decide to have disgusting lesbian sex, I'll make a tape just for you!"

"Now, Jenny," my dad got up to follow me through the house. He stopped me before I could throw open the front door. "I think Judy is right on this one. People like you don't belong with people like her."

"People like her? Why is she so bad, dad? Because she doesn't have to worry about getting pregnant? Maybe it's because she's the only person that I've met that doesn't have a drinking problem. Oh, I know!" I laughed loudly. "It's because she's not fake or stupid just like all your friends, right?"

"Jen-"
"Dad, please. I love you, but you are driving me crazy. You used to be a nice guy. Where'd you go?"

I left my dad standing at the door alone with a stupid, blank look. I don't know what the feeling running through my legs was, but the more I thought about Shay, the faster I ran. She made it a habit out of leaving her bedroom window open for me, so as soon as I saw her curtains flying in the wind, I climbed through. She was sitting on the bed watching a movie, and when she noticed me running towards her, she rose her eyebrows.

It could have been the adrenaline pumping through my bones or the fact that I thought so highly of the girl, but the moment I made it to the side of her bed I ripped her up from her seat. I felt like I had lost control of my actions, but I didn't want to fight the feeling in my gut. Before Shana could get a single word out, I pushed my lips hard against hers. My hands went directly for her hair. My fingers laced through her brown strands.

Her hands found their way to my hips, and the moment I felt her lean in closer to me and deepen the kiss, my knees gave out. We stumbled onto the bed, but we never missed a beat. She slid farther back on her bed so that we weren't hanging off of it, and my lips connected with hers so fast I could barely comprehend what was happening. By the time I started to loosen up and enjoy the taste of her lips, she pulled away from me. I thought I had done something wrong until I saw the grin dancing on her swollen lips.

"Hi," she breathed.

"Hey."

The excitement of kissing her had stolen the air from my lungs. My body was shaking, but I was still smiling.

"Rough night?" She questioned with a smile. I noticed from the light of her TV that her eyes were the brightest I'd ever seen them.

"Little bit," I admitted. "But I'm better now."

"Did I have anything to do with that?"

"You might have," I gave her a grin as I pulled my body off of hers. As I lifted myself up, I could feel her body shaking just as hard as mine. "I'm sorry."

"No, no. Don't be." She sat up on the bed next to me. "I've been dying to do that since I met you."

With a large smile, she laced her fingers through mine and planted a soft kiss on my lips. It was the most insane feeling I'd ever had. I was scared, but I was happy. I was nervous, but I was excited. More than anything, I had a feeling this would turn out to be one of the best Summers of my entire life.