8 – Date Night (2)

Jake was finally glad to have gotten somewhere with Axel. No more childish “over the underwear” stuff. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before Axel would be ready to experiment further. Not that Jake wasn’t happy with what they were doing. He was just used to going a lot farther a lot sooner.

Of course, dinner that night was the usual affair of a three course meal. Like anyone could eat all that food. Axel’s eyes had widened at the sight. He probably hadn’t seen that much food before. All for only three people. (Jake’s father arrived home just in time to eat.)

The amount of food made Jake self-conscious about how rich his father was. Especially in front of someone like Axel. Half of this food should be boxed up and handed out to poor people. Instead, it would end up in the garbage.

Axel acted strange throughout the meal. He hunched over his plate, not making eye contact or conversation with anyone. It confirmed Jake’s suspicions. To reassure him, Jake tried pulling a few moves under the table. Nothing erotic. Just touching knees or feet. Axel pulled away every time. He even scowled at Jake when he touched his thigh.

After dinner, Axel practically ran out the door. The sun had just set. Jake followed him to his van. “Hang on!”

Axel turned around, eyes darting all over the place. “What?”

“We’ve got plenty of leftovers. You can take as much as you want.”

“Sounds great.” There was a hint of a smile on Axel’s face. “Just one problem. How am I supposed to heat it up?”

Right. Jake hadn’t thought of that. “I’m sorry. You must hate how wasteful we are. I tell them to stop making so much food-”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“We have all this money we should be donating or giving away, but instead my dad wastes it all on this.” Jake gestured towards the house. “When I inherit the business-”

Axel set his hands on Jake’s shoulders. “I don’t care that you live in a fancy house with butlers and cooks. I’m actually glad you do.”

That wasn’t the response Jake expected.

“If anything, I’m upset at how ungrateful you act about it.” Axel let go of Jake’s shoulders. “You keep complaining about everything you have. Be happy you have it. Would you rather be sleeping in a van, having to wash yourself off in a bathroom sink every day?”

That was exactly why Jake hated having so many nice things. “It’s not fair for you. You work a lot harder than my dad. Why does he get all this, and you get nothing?”

“Because that’s how things are. Enjoy what you have. And don’t even think about throwing a protest over it.”

It was as if he had read Jake’s mind. “Fine.”

“I really need to go. I’ll text you later.”

“Okay.” Jake wrapped his arms around Axel, and kissed him deeply.

Axel shoved him away. He looked around frantically with rounded eyes.

“Now what?”

“You need to check before you do something like that!”

This again? “There’s nobody around.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

"It's dark out."

"Not that dark."

Jake threw his hands up. “Why does any of this matter? You’re already blacklisted!”

“Only for one more year, if I don’t get caught with a man.”

“Huh?” That was news to Jake.

“I never told you?” Axel ran his fingers through his hair, and sighed. “After 8 years of being blacklisted, you can appeal it in court, and get it removed from your records. I have one more year to go, before I can do that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And I can only get it appealed if it doesn’t happen again. Not only that...” Axel looked Jake in the eye. “Being blacklisted sucks, and I don’t want it happening to you.”

Jake failed to see how being blacklisted could affect his life. His father owned a business worth millions. It guaranteed him a job and housing.

Axel looked around again, then gave Jake’s lips a quick peck “Good night, Jake.”

“Good night.” Jake watched him get in his van, and drive off.

~~~~~

Maple sat in a classroom, next to her friend, Kyra. They chatted as they waited for class to start.

“How was your date with the cop?” Kyra asked. “Or did you want to chase that one away too?”

“I want to chase them all away. I don’t want to get married or have kids.”

“It’s not bad. You’d be surprised at how nice marriage is.”

“You’ve only been married for four months. What would you know?” Maple still didn’t understand why they couldn’t have waited until Kyra graduated. Now, Kyra would get her diploma with a baby in her stomach. Somehow she had already gotten pregnant. It happened often. Girls getting married and announcing pregnancies a month later. Maple didn’t know how any of that worked, nor did she want to.

Kyra placed her hand on her stomach. “Wouldn’t you want to have a baby the same time as me? We could experience motherhood together.”

Maple grimaced. “I’ll pass.”

“You can’t avoid marriage and children your whole life. How else will you support yourself?”

“I’ll figure something out.” Maybe a miracle would happen, and she’d meet someone like Jake. Someone her brothers would also approve of, and he wouldn’t care about age gaps.

Maple and Kyra walked home from school together, as they did every day. Kyra prattled on in excitement over her unborn baby. Coming up with names, and plans for what the nursery would look like.

They ran into Jake. Maple brightened up.

Kyra gave the two an amused look. “I’ll keep going. See you tomorrow, Maple.”

Maple waved at her, and looked at Jake. Beautiful, sweet, handsome Jake. The only man she felt anything towards. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to talk. My brothers took my phone away.”

“I assumed as much.” Jake looked at her. “How have you been?”

“Awful. I had to go on a date with this guy. I tried acting terrible, but it only made him like me more. Now, he wants to go on a second date.”

“I’m sorry.” Jake walked off the sidewalk, towards a cluster of bushes. He sat down on a patch of grass.

Maple sat next to him. “He told me he knows I’m trying to push him away on purpose. Anything I try, he’ll know what I’m up to. And he says he wants me. That he likes a challenge.”

“Gross. Do I want to know how old he is?”

“I don’t know. But he looks like he’s in his 40’s. He’s a cop that was at the protest. My brothers talked to him about pressing charges against you. I tried telling them you didn’t do anything wrong, but they didn’t listen.”

“It’s okay. I got out of it,” Jake said. “I wish I could get you out of this. If he’s the cop I think he is, he’s a real creep.”

“He is.” Maple leaned her head against the tree trunk. “I don’t even want to get married. Ever. And I really don’t want kids.”

“Not all married people have kids.”

“Most do. Everyone I know who’s gotten married, got pregnant right after. Like, almost immediately.”

“Heh.” Jake stroked his chin. ’Interesting.”

“I know. You would think they’d wait until they graduate until they get married off. But even my best friend. She could have waited a few more months. But nope. She got paired with someone. They immediately got married. She immediately got pregnant. It was all so sudden.”

Jake covered his mouth in a fit of laughter. “Of course that would happen here!”

“What’s so funny?”

“This place is such a joke. I can’t take it anymore.” Jake caught his breath. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? Girls getting married out of nowhere. Then, they just so happen to get pregnant right after.”

Jake’s tone indicated that there was something more to the statements. Something Maple was missing. “I don’t get it.”

“They’re getting pregnant first. The parents find out and have to cover it up with a marriage. Make it look like their daughter is still pure and innocent.”

Maple tilted her head to the side. “I thought you had to be married before you could get pregnant.”

“How would that affect it? Your body doesn’t know if you’re married or not.” Jake shook his head. “Next you’ll be telling me you can’t get pregnant if it’s your first time.”

“First time doing what?”

Jake stared at her for a good minute or two. Maple stared right back, wondering why her question warranted such a response.

“You… you do know where babies come from, right?” Jake asked hesitantly.

“Yeah.” Maple patted at her lower abdomen. “They grow in here, and come out from… you know.” She lowered her voice. “Down there.”

“Okay. Do you know how they get in there?”

Maple never questioned that part, figuring she’d be happier not knowing. “Not really. I assumed something special happens when the woman gets married.”

“Something special happens alright. And you don’t have to be married to do that special something. It’s what your classmates have been doing.”

“Kyra didn’t say she did anything special.”

“Maybe she didn’t want to talk about it. It’s kind of a private thing.” Jake ran his fingers through his hair. “I hope it was consensual. How old is her husband? No, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”

Maple listened to him ramble on, still wondering what that special act was. She probably should know for herself, so she could avoid getting pregnant. “What’s the special thing that happens?”

“Sex.”

Maple had heard that word whispered a few times. She knew enough from context that it was something people who liked each other did. Other than that, she was clueless.

Jake watched her, as though trying to gauge her inner thoughts. “They don’t teach sex ed here, do they?”

“What’s that?”

“Of course they don’t,” Jake muttered. “Where I’m from, sex ed is mandatory. They start teaching you about sex and puberty in third grade. It gets more detailed in high school.”

“Here, they only teach us math, history, and english.”

“Not even science?”

“The boys learn it. Girls don’t. We’re too stupid for that. Math is hard enough for us.”

“I bet you’re smarter than half the boys in your class.”

Maple’s stomach swooped at his compliment. But she didn’t feel very smart. “I don’t even know what sex is.”

So Jake gave her a detailed explanation on it, using shocking language to go with it. Maple barely had to ask questions. And she finally understood that ache between her legs Jake sometimes gave her. She admitted to feeling it. Not that Jake caused it, but that she felt it. Jake suggested she touch herself there next time. “Only when you’re alone in your room, obviously.”

“I should go, before my brothers start suspecting I’m with you,” Maple said. “Thanks for sharing all this.”

“Not a problem. Your school should have taught you this ten years ago.”