All characters in this chapter are eighteen years old and graduating high school.
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She could not help herself. Linda grew up in church, but it just was not the life she wanted. She believed in God. Linda just had visions of her future that didn't involve being a religious girl.
Linda had an awkward friendship growing up. Her parents loved and respected their neighbors. They viewed their neighbors as a wholesome Christian family. Linda's parents especially loved the neighbor's son, Max.
Max was short for Maximillian. Unlike Linda, Max was much more reserved. Although he could be skeptical about religion, Max was committed to some of the more common traditions, because that's just how he grew up.
He was a good kid. The young man took his academics seriously and achieved good grades. Max also stayed quiet and wasn't very outspoken. He wasn't one who desired attention.
Because they were neighbors, and Linda's family liked Max's, they spent a lot of time together growing up. They went to the same schools, the same church, and even decided to go to the same college. Max often provided rides for Linda, since she didn't have a car. He was also forced to tutor her, since she didn't take her academics as seriously as he did.
Max thought Linda was a beautiful girl. However, it was rooted in him to not think about her in a romantic way. Since they grew up together, it was just different for him. He also intended to remain a virgin until he was married and did not see Linda as marriage material.
Linda, on the other hand, was not very attracted to Max. It's not that he was an ugly guy. He just wasn't the bad boy that she fantasized about being with. He was too nice, and she didn't want a goody two shoes. She wanted a guy who could be a jerk. A guy who wasn't afraid to be adventurous. Linda wanted a guy with muscles and attitude.
Though Max and Linda never considered being together, they were always associated with each other. They were from a small town where rumors started quite easily.
The young neighbors were graduating from the same high school. On the final day of class, they carpooled in Max's car, just as they did every other day. Linda had gotten quite used to making him the chauffer.
At lunch, Linda ran into her best friend, Jesse.
"Are you coming tonight?" asked Jesse.
"Of course, I'm coming to your party!" replied Linda.
"Is Max coming?"
"Of course, he is," said Linda. "He hasn't told me he's going, but he's my ride so he has to go."
Jesse laughed at her answer. "You guys are so cute together, but you're so mean to him sometimes."
"I don't think we're cute together," she responded, as she laughed off Jesse's claim.
"Have you ever thought about dating him?" asked Jesse.
"Maybe I thought about it briefly," said Linda. "But he's really not my type."
"I understand," said Jesse. "I think you can do much better."
"Me too," she agreed.
As the bell rang, and the seniors left school for the final time, Linda found Max as she walked to his car.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
"I guess so," answered Linda. As they got in the car, Linda stared out the window and sighed.
"Is something wrong?"
"High school just wasn't what I thought it would be," said Linda, staring off into space.
"What do you mean?" Max asked.
"it just wasn't as adventurous as they make it look on TV," she answered. "I thought there would be more drama and relationships. I've never even had a boyfriend!"
Max was confused. He never heard Linda speak like this before. "So, you wanted a boyfriend?" he asked.
"I at least wanted to try it," she responded. "I wanted the adventure. I wanted the drama. School was just too boring. I mean, what if I die and I'm still a virgin?!"
"Why would you want more drama?" asked Max. "Isn't drama bad?"
"It is bad, but I need some kind of excitement," said Linda. "I mean what movie or book do you know of has NO drama? If they had no drama, nobody would watch the movies or read the books."
Max went into deep though before responding with, "Cookbooks don't have drama."
Linda looked at him with confusion. "That's not what I meant," she said, as she rolled her eyes.
"What did you mean earlier?" asked Max, getting back to subject. "Are you afraid of dying a virgin?"
"Well, yeah," said Linda. "Aren't you?"
"I guess so," Max answered. "But I'm a long way from marriage anyways."
Linda looked at Max as if she knew he was lying. "You don't really expect me to believe you're waiting for marriage, do you?"
"Well, yeah," said Max. "Why is that surprising?"
"You're not even that religious," said Linda.
"It's not just a religious thing," said Max. "I just think it would be too weird to have sex with someone and then marry someone else. Don't you think so? I mean, what if my future wife is a virgin who waited for me. Then I have to live with the guilt of not waiting for her. That's not fair to her or me."
"But what if you meet the perfect girl, and she's already had sex," asked Linda. "Wouldn't you wish you tried it before, so you two would be on an even playing field?"
"I guess that's possible," said Max. "But I'm more afraid of the first scenario. And besides, I think the perfect girl would wait for me."
"Drop the good boy act Max," said Linda, as she rolled her eyes. It wasn't that she didn't believe him. It was more of her being tired of his boring outlooks on love and life.
"It's not an act," said Max.
Linda got serious as she looked Max in the face, though his eyes were still on the road. "So, you're not even curious about sex?" she asked.
A brief moment of silence ensued before Max finally responded. "No."
"You're lying!" Linda exclaimed. She then giggled at Max's persistence on the matter.
"Why don't you believe me?" asked Max. "I just want to save it for marriage."
