Brenda woke up the next morning with a desperate thought. “Why did I do that?” her mind screamed at her as she got out of the bed, “I didn’t even bring a freaking toothbrush.” Her mind was focused on what happened, her unprecedented screw-up.
“Wait until marriage,” Brenda’s mother had hammered into Brenda’s head, “Boy’s won’t respect you if you just hand it out like a slut.” Brenda had believed her mother and didn’t want to disappoint her memory, but last night had been so magical and romantic. “How could I have been so stupid?” her mind screamed again looking at the clock, “I’m even late for school.” Brenda shoved her legs into her panties and rapidly put on her bra, “I didn’t even go that far with Ace and I was with him for 6 months.”
Brenda’s state was so that she couldn’t even get her bra on, struggling with the hooks in a fruitless attempt. “Shit,” she exclaimed slumping against the wall in tears, not even noticing Daniel wake up and walk over.
“Are you okay?” Daniel asked, kneeling down and gently placing his hand on her shoulder.
“Leave me alone!” Brenda cried shoving his hand off and hunching over even more.
Daniel stood back looking concernedly at Brenda huddled over and sobbing. Breaking his gaze, Daniel saw his state of clothing and walked over to put on some shorts. “I’m sorry,” he said apologetically, looking back at her, “I was just worried.”
Brenda stopped sniffling. “About what?”
“Well,” Daniel started, slumping down on the bed, “Usually I don’t see crying girls when I wake up.” Noticing a visible trace of anger on her face he asked, “Do you want to talk about last night?”
“I guess,” Brenda said, straightening up and crossing her arms over her chest, “Will you listen?”
“I promise I will,” Daniel said, staring at her with a warm face.
Brenda took a deep breath. “My mother was really my only parental influence and she was a pretty strict one. I respected her so much for being a single mom in charge of a little kid, so I followed her orders all the time.” Brenda gulped and continued, “And she was a pretty religious person…and she didn’t want me to have…well…‘relations’ before marriage.”
“So,” Daniel said, leaning forward, “You’re really having problems about what we did last night.”
“Of course I am!” Brenda snapped, “I’m sorry, but I’m just so confused right now.”
Daniel walked over, put his hands on Brenda’s shoulders and kneeled down. “Listen,” he said soothingly, “I really just want you to be happy. So whatever you want to do, I’ll help you through it.”
Brenda looked up, “Really?”
Daniel smiled, “I will always be there for you.” Then smiling, he added, “But first, I think I’d like a shower.” Daniel stood up and walked over to a place in the wall by the corner. She wondered why as he pushed in on part of the wall and watched it pop out of place. As he pulled out the door, he turned back “Would you like a shower?”
“Not really,” Brenda grinned, “But I’ll wait for you to get out before I leave.”
Daniel gave a slight smile. “Sounds fine,” he said ducking into the doorway, “Be out in a jiff!”
Hearing the sound of water beginning to rush, Brenda stood and walked over to the bed. She all of a sudden felt very tired realizing how late they had been up and had to collapse on the bed. As Brenda laid there, she reminisced about her mother’s hands. She remembered the talks the two of them had as her mother would knit and all Brenda would look at were her mother’s hands as they knitted and pearled. She remembered one talk in particular, where her mother told to her about things between men and women.
“My friends were talking about sex today,” Brenda remembered saying to her mother.
“What did they have to say about it?” Brenda’s mother asked.
Shifting her weight, Brenda said, “One of them had a sister in high school that got pregnant. Her boyfriend left her and she got really depressed.”
“There is a reason for that,” her mother said, putting her needle down, “The boyfriend didn’t care for the girl, so why would he stay around to be burdened with a child if he didn’t care for her?”
“So that’s why I should wait for marriage?” Brenda asked, still looking at her mother’s hands.
“You should wait until you’re in a stable and loving relationship that can take anything,” Brenda’s mother corrected, “Because sex can change everything.”
Brenda drifted back to hearing the shower and pondered about her new relationship, her Daniel. He was kind and polite, but still knew what to be serious about. After all their chats yesterday, Brenda knew they shared common interests. Maybe you should follow your instincts, her mind was reasoning, after all he is nice. But will he still respect me and stand by me, she wondered.
Brenda then remembered a slight part of a conversation she had with Tran from last night. “You know he really likes you,” Tran had said, “You can tell by the way he acts when you’re around.”
“What do you mean?” Brenda asked, not comprehending Tran’s insinuation, “Has he talked about me before?”
“Only when he talked about how you busted those cheaters,” Tran smirked, “He was real impressed with your guts, but he didn’t really know you.” She looked at Brenda, “You know if Daniel ever makes a promise, you can trust him on it. If he’s anything, Daniel’s a man with honor.”