"Greg, get the fuck out of here!" I laughed. "There's no way."
"Come on man, it will work!" he insisted.
"You know, the sad part is that you actually believe that," I said, shaking my head, but still laughing. "You must to keep bringing it up."
"What have we got to lose?" he asked.
"Hmm, lets see," I answered. "My dignity? Self respect?"
"Jerry, all I'm saying is that we tell Meg and Jen that we've decided we'd prefer to switch who we're dating," he said. "It's no big deal."
"Yeah, sure," I snorted. "I can just see it now. 'Excuse me Meg, we've been dating for three months now and I think it's time we changed things around. I'm going to try dating Greg's girlfriend Jennifer. Oh, by the way, Greg has no problem with it. In fact, he wants to date you in exchange. You see, he's still a virgin and wants to lose it before high school is over.' Yeah, I sure that will go over well."
"Fuck you," Greg said without heat. "I lost my virginity before you did asshole."
"Yeah," I shivered. "With Sara May Kalwalski, the biggest slut in the world. I hope you got checked for STDs afterward."
"Jealous?" Greg grinned.
"Are you kidding?" I asked. "Sarah May is a neighbor. I could fuck her easy, but she just isn't my type."
"And Meg is?" he asked in reply.
Megan was a bit of a surprise. She was this quiet little thing when I met her freshman year. She was pretty and surprisingly funny when you got to know her, but Greg was right, she wasn't my type. That didn't stop us from being good friends throughout high school. I think it surprised us both when we ended up hooking up. It probably had more to do with the situation and our loneliness than anything else.
It was Valentine's Day and I had recently broken up with my previous girlfriend. Meg and her ex-boyfriend stopped dating around Christmas. She took it hard. I think he was her first love. They certainly dated long enough for it to be true.
In either case, we both showed up to this party that a mutual friend was throwing. It quickly became obvious that it was mostly couples. We weren't the only unattached people invited, but we were two of the four. It quickly became obvious that the party was a set up. Oh, not for Meg and I. Not even our friends could see us together.
The set up for me was with Hilda Lowenstein. Megan's unofficial 'blind date' was a guy named Kyle Habner. They were obviously someone's idea of a match for us, but whoever decided that clearly didn't know either of us particularly well.
I guess Hilda and Kyle were both nice enough, but I just didn't click with her, not even on a friend basis. She was just a little too intense for me. I don't know what Meg's issue with Kyle was, but she was obviously not happy with what was going on either.
"Hello?" Greg asked when I didn't respond.
"Sorry," I smiled, coming back to the present. "Let me think about it." His idea was crazy and I doubted I'd go along with it, but Greg could be stubborn. He wasn't going to stop harping on it anytime soon.
"Okay, but don't take too long," he said. "Next weekend would be perfect!"
"You're kidding, right?" I asked in amazement. "You want to trade dates on Prom night?"
"Just think about it," he insisted. "Everyone knows what happens on Prom night and we are going to Dave's beach house afterward. Can't you just picture it?"
"Sure," I snorted. "Oh wait, aren't you the one who keeps telling me Jennifer won't let you get past second?"
"Hmm," he said in mock thoughtfulness. "There is that. On the other hand, although you won't talk about it much, it's obvious that Megan and you are doing it like bunnies."
"No comment," I said, but I was smiling.
"Lucky bastard!" he snapped. "I've been dating Jen for almost two months and nothing. Do a friend a favor and give me a shot at Meg?"
"Asshole," I sighed, shaking my head.
Greg and I were best friends. We had been since first grade. He was a horny son of a bitch and could come across like a jerk when it came to girls, but I knew him well enough to know the truth. He really was interested in Megan. He hadn't known her very well until we started double dating. That was also when I got a chance to know Jennifer. There was something there, or maybe just the possibility of something. I wasn't sure, but I couldn't deny I was interested. On the other hand, I hated to give up sex with Megan. She really was something else! I know that sounds cold, but you need to understand the basis of my relationship with Meg before you judge.
"Let's talk tomorrow," I said. "Let me think about it over night."
"Thanks!" he grinned. Greg knew me well enough to realize I was at least going to seriously think about it.
"You know," I sighed. "Even if I agree, Megan and Jennifer might not. In fact, they might dump us both and tell everyone what kind of jerks we are."
"So?" he shrugged. "It's senior year."
I laughed. I couldn't help it. Greg's view on things just did that to me.
"We meeting at the gym in the morning?" he asked.
"Sounds good," I smiled.
"Then I'd better be going," he sighed and then climbed off of the couch.
"It's not even eight," I frowned.
"I want to give you time to think about it," he grinned. "Besides, I promised my mom I'd be home early tonight. She was really pissed after last weekend."
"You did throw up on the front lawn," I grinned.
"And whose fault was that?" he asked in annoyance. "Some best friend."
"Hey!" I cried. "I didn't let you get behind the wheel. In fact, Megan and I were supposed to hook up and I missed it because I had to drive your drunken ass home! How was I supposed to know you were going to lose it in your own front yard?"
"Next time," he said. "Take me to a diner first and get some food in me."
"Okay," I said shaking my head. "But do me a favor, don't get that drunk again soon."
"I was pretty bad, wasn't I?" he frowned.
"Yeah," I said honestly. "What got into you? You don't usually drink that much."
"It was a bad week," he sighed. "Jen and I were fighting. She's a great girl, but..."
"You're a horny asshole and you need to get laid!" I interjected with a laugh.
"Something like that," he smiled, but from his expression I saw that there was something more. I frowned as I stared at him.
"It wasn't Jen," I finally guessed. "You got drunk because you realized you were falling for your best friend's girl." He didn't bother denying it.
"I know you said you weren't in love with her, but..." he said, not finishing.
"That didn't stop you from 'jokingly' bringing up this great idea of yours of switching dates the next day," I said pointedly.
"I couldn't help it," he shrugged. "Besides, it's not like you weren't interested."
"Being interested and willing to actually do it are two different things," I said pointedly. The truth was that I wasn't particularly happy when Greg brought it up, at least not after I realized he was serious. I did laugh at first, but only because I thought he was just joking around.
"Just think about it," he said.
"I will," I smiled. "See you in the morning."
"Thanks," he said and left.
My parents and little brother were out at friends, but they'd be home sooner or later. I decided to go for a drive. I needed to be alone to think for a bit.
It took me a few minutes to get out of my neighborhood, but once I hit the highway I let my mind start to wander. I thought about a bunch of things. Certainly, the idea of dating Jennifer interested me at least a little. She was far more my type physically than Megan.
