My parents named me Dallas; I think it was because my dad loved the Dallas Cowboys. He was somewhat of a sports fanatic. I was the only boy in the family, but I did have three sisters: one older than I am and two younger. Being brought up in a house full of girls sure gives a guy a different perspective on life. In order to get away from the girls, who seemed to be always bickering with one another, dad made a man cave in the basement with a beer fridge, a pool table, and of course a large TV with cable to watch sports. I spent as much time with my dad as I could.
I dearly loved my sisters but too often they simply got on my nerves. I can't stand whining and I hate it when girls get catty.
My mom would always say, "respect your sisters, always treat them nicely, don't argue with them all the time." It sounded easy but it really wasn't that easy to do. When I got older, they always told me to get out of their room. It seemed silly to me. I didn't need to go to their room, so nothing was lost to me, except the feeling being respected. (I think mom forgot to tell the girls that to work, respect must be a two-way street.)
During my teenage years I wasn't one of those guys that chased after girls. I didn't even like to look at porn like some of the guys at school. Mom and dad were good about teaching us about the birds and the bees. I'd accidentally seen my sisters naked more than once, but it just never meant much to me; it wasn't like I was always trying to sneak looks.
I preferred sports, instead of chasing girls. I played football, basketball (even though I wasn't all that tall) and baseball. In high school I played on all the teams but was never a standout player, just a guy who played to make the team better, doing whatever the coaches asked.
I had a lot of male friends and generally I hung out with them. I never really dated one on one, but did go to the dances after the games; mainly it was just to hang out with my teammates. I was somewhat of a wall flower when it came to dancing. I still hadn't developed my full coordination so I felt very clumsy on the dance floor.
In high school my friends never called me Dallas. Instead, they nicknamed me "Tex" and it stuck. Though I was born and lived my whole life in Ohio no one cared; to my friends I was Tex. In fact, to this day most of my friends still call me Tex. On the other hand, to my family, I'm Dallas.
In my senior year of high school my mom approached me to ask Mary Lou Jacobs to the prom. Her mother and mine were good friends. I'd known Mary Lou pretty much my whole life since we started school together in kindergarten. She was athletic and from middle school through high school she was the best cheerleader. By 10th grade she started dating and let me tell you, she dated a lot. Many of my friends dated her and said they thought she was somewhat loose, but nobody ever told me how she was loose, though at the time it didn't really matter to me as she wasn't really part my world.
Mom explained to me that Mary had been asked to the prom but then she and her boyfriend broke up and she needed someone to take her. Well, I was sort of trapped because our moms were friends and in collusion, so I told my mom that I would ask her the next day. I was honestly surprised that no one else had asked her. Anyway, I stopped by her locker before school and asked her if she wanted to go to the prom with me. She seemed really surprised. She looked down and sounded embarrassed as she mentioned that her old boyfriend Rick had asked her, but wouldn't take her now since they recently broke up. I guess none if his friends would ask her because it was against the 'bro code' about not dating a bro's girl or even his ex., while most of the other guys were afraid to ask her because Rick was known to be very possessive and had a terrible temper. Eventually, still looking down, she mumbled, "Yeah Dallas, I'll go with you. I will admit that I'm surprised you asked since I always thought you didn't date. You know Rick will get pissed at you for asking me."
"I'll be honest with you Mary, my mom as you know works with your mom. Your mom was worried that you wouldn't be going since you broke up with your boyfriend last week. She said that you already got your dress and shoes. So, your mom asked my mom to ask me if I would ask to take you. You always seemed nice, so I thought I should at least ask you. You are right about my dating; you'll be my first date ever. I'll do my best, but if I do anything wrong, please let me know. As far as Rick is concerned, I'm not the least bit afraid of him. He can't bully me and he knows it."
Mary agreeing to go with me made both my mom and her mom very happy. Mary was always a beautiful girl and I guess I should have felt privileged she would be with me at the social event of the year, but at the time it was no big deal to me. At least everyone would be shocked to see her with me.
When my sisters heard, they pulled me aside and told me all about how I should treat her. They said a girl liked to feel at ease with their date so they could relax and have fun. They didn't like to be pawed or grabbed while dancing. They didn't want to feel like they were in a wrestling match with an octopus while out on a date.
My sisters made me laugh; they acted like I didn't know anything about girls. The truth be known in some ways I really didn't, but I had really learned a lot from being around my sisters. Donna, my oldest sister suggested I should get a couple of condoms, just in case. I laughed since sex wasn't really on my radar yet. My two younger sisters showed me how to dance slow with a girl. They said there were basically two ways. One was the way our parents used to dance where the guy holds one hand and put his other hand on the girl's waist. The way young people dance today is the girl puts her arms around the guys' neck and he puts both of his arms around her waist.
I must have danced a dozen songs with my sisters till they were happy with the way I danced. They even showed me a couple of the latest popular line dances. They said everyone was doing them. They insisted she needed a corsage and even took me to the florist. They suggested that I get a wrist corsage with an orchid, cause girls love those flowers. Damn, I had some great sisters who really loved me and wanted to show me off to the best advantage.
The day of the prom I picked up Mary Lou and she looked especially beautiful. When I gave her the corsages she acted very thankful and very impressed. (She'd told me it was alright to call her Mary.)
I felt like one lucky guy. We went to a nice restaurant where a lot of my classmates were also dining. During the whole meal people were coming over to say "hi" to Mary, but most just kind of nodded at me, a few with looks of surprise. After the dinner everyone left to go to the gym where the prom was being held.
The gym looked amazing. The committee (mostly girls) had gone all out to make it like a dream place, all romantic like the way girls like it. We had our pictures taken and then sat at a table with three other couples. They were all friends of Mary's. My friends were there and came over to say hi to us. They couldn't believe Mary and I were together.
I got us some punch and we got up and danced. I put my arms around Mary and she said I could hold her closer, that she wouldn't break. She told me she was mildly surprised when she found out I was such a good dancer. (Thanks, sisters!) As the evening moved along, I noticed she held me closer and closer. My arms were tightly wrapped around her waist like they taught me. While we were dancing, we noticed her old boyfriend Rick dancing with another one of the cheerleaders. He kept giving me kind of dirty looks but I just returned it with a warm smile letting him know I was not intimidated.
Once when Mary saw him looking our way, she gave me a quick kiss. Wow, where did that come from? It surprised the hell out of me but it did make me smile. I figured she just did it to agitate Rick but I didn't care why, I liked it because it felt so special, leaving me feeling warm all over. Maybe girls were special after all. As we were sitting down drinking our punch a friend of Mary's asked her to dance. He came over with his date so Mary danced with him and I danced with his date. I knew most of the girls in the class and they all looked amazingly beautiful with their fancy dresses and awesome hair styles. Of course, to me they were just classmates not really friends, at least not close friends.
Mary ended up dancing with more of her friends and I danced with their dates. It surprised me that I was having so much fun. Of course, Mary was my date and I didn't dance with any of the girls unless Mary was dancing with someone else. Finally, we all got up at the same time and started doing some line dancing, Mary looked surprised that I knew the steps so well and was able to keep up with her and her friends. Again, I was so thanking my sisters in my thoughts. Family can be so great.
Later in the evening I found out someone had spiked the punch. I mentioned it to Mary and she thought it really tasted good. I stopped drinking it and switched to water since I was driving. Mary stayed with the punch. After a while she seemed to be acting a little different. She said she had me to take care of her and I would be driving her home. I asked her about her parents and she said they were going away for the evening and wouldn't be home till morning.
We danced till about midnight and every time she saw Rick looking at us, she kissed me. We left to go home and I thought we had enjoyed a pretty good time. Being a nice guy, I treated all the ladies respectfully, especially Mary. When we got to her house, I walked her to the door to say thanks and good night. I was really caught by surprise when she invited me in. She was right when she said her parents wouldn't be home. There was a note on her table from her parents telling her to call them when she got home.
She told me to be quiet while she called her parents. She told them she got their message and that she did have a wonderful time. She told her parents that I was the perfect gentleman and had just left for home. I felt funny standing there and wondered if I should leave. She told her parents that she would see them in the morning and that she loved them.
