The light of a bright full moon illuminated the wide dirt road as Michelle walked along the edge. In the distance behind her, she could still hear the music from the North Shore Country Club - site of the Senior Prom. It seemed to the 18-year-old brunette that she had been walking for well over an hour, but a glance at her watch told her it was only five past two. Only a half-hour had passed since she'd broken up with her boyfriend, Bobby.
The night had started off perfect enough, much like that of any Senior Prom. All the girls had looked radiant in their prom dresses, the guys dressed to kill in their suits. At the center of it all had been Michelle Petrocelli and Bobby Fortuna, everyone's odds on favorites to be elected King and Queen of Prom Night.
All through senior year, they had been the perfect couple. Bobby, the star quarterback of the All State Championship Team, and Michelle the leader of the cheerleader squad. Behind the scenes they'd had their ups and downs, but no more than any other couple their age. Bobby was always trying to score both on and off the field. Michelle always on the defensive, letting him score a first down now and then, but holding the line against a touchdown.
That had been her game plan, but one which she planned to change tonight. Unknown to Bobby, Michelle had made up her mind to let him have her 'precious pearl' as her grandmother used to refer to it. Up to this point, they had confined their activities to heavy petting and recently the addition of oral sex to their back seat adventures. Of course Bobby's definition of oral meant that Michelle performed it on him but he didn't necessarily have to reciprocate.
So it was no surprise to Michelle when Bobby announced about one o'clock that they should get out of there and he had something really special planned. It was no secret that several couples had already relocated to various motels in the area where several of her classmates had already surrendered their pearls.
With a smile in anticipation of what she knew was ahead, Michelle followed Bobby out into the parking lot. What did surprise her was finding Bobby's best friend, Jack Nelson, waiting by their car.
"What's Jack doing here?" She asked Bobby in a low voice as she held tightly onto his arm. "Are we giving him a life home?"
"Well I figured it would be more fun if we all went down to the Lantern Inn together." Bobby replied.
"I guess we could give him and Connie a lift." Michelle answered as she looked around the parking lot for Connie Foster, Jack's girlfriend. "Where's Connie?" she asked when she saw no sign of her classmate.
"Connie's parents already picked her up." Jack said nonchalantly, "It's just going to be the three of us."
At first, Michelle thought it was a joke, until she saw the serious look on Bobby's face. He really expected her to let Jack join the two of them.
"Are you out of your mind?" She yelled, pulling her arm away from him and taking a few steps backward. "Do you think I'm some whore who's going to roll over for one of your friends?"
"Calm down baby," Bobby hushed. "It's not like that at all."
"It better not be!" she replied, trying to regain her calm.
"Of course not," he continued. "It's not like I want you to spread your legs for him or anything like that. I'm saving that special treat for me." he added with a little laugh.
Michelle's face registered only confusion.
"I just want you to give him a little head."
"What?" she gasped; sure she had heard him wrong.
"It's not like you've never given a blow job before," he clarified. "And I have to say, you are good at it."
Michelle's normally pale face turned a bright crimson as her temper fared to a level she hadn't reached since she was twelve. All the nights she had laid awake planning how special she wanted this to be, and now Bobby expected her to act like she was some cheap hooker.
"Are you out of your fucking mind!" Michelle exploded, her voice carrying across the parking lot.
"Baby, quiet down." Bobby intoned. "Someone is going to hear you."
"I don't care." she replied, unable to believe that this was the guy she was going to give up her virginity for.
"You don't understand," Bobby went on in a lower tone, hoping she would follow suit. "I'm in a lot of trouble. The only reason I got to play in the Championship Game was that I managed to pass the Math and English finals. And the only reason I was able to do that was because I bought copies of the tests from Jack. Now I owe him five hundred dollars."
"You cheated on the finals?" Michelle asked.
"If I didn't play in the Championship I could've kissed that scholarship to Northern State goodbye. Then where would I be?"
"I don't understand any of this. What does that have to do with us and Jack."
"I don't have the money." he answered. "My Dad had promised it to me as a graduation gift, but when he found the copies of the tests in my room he said I wasn't going to get it."
Michelle still didn't understand.
"Jack and I worked out a deal." he concluded. "He's always had the hots for you, ever since freshman year. You take care of him, just this once and he'll give me all summer to get the money. Otherwise some of his friends are going to break something on me that's going to make my playing days over for good."
Full clarity finally filled her face.
"You lousy goddamn bastard!" she thundered as she slapped Bobby's face with all the strength she could muster. "If that's all I ever meant to you, then you can get down and blow him yourself!"
With that she turned and ran as fast as she could down the walkway leading back to the road. Bobby made no effort to stop her, even though he knew it was a ten-mile walk back to Ridgewood Falls.
"Stupid cunt!" she heard him call after her as she ran. "There's a dozen girls at this dance alone who'd lift their dresses in a minute to be my girlfriend!"
So there she was, less than a half-mile down the road and already tired of walking. Prom dress and heels made a lousy outfit for hiking. The gown had been a gift from her parents, costing more than Bobby had paid for those tests. By the time she made it home, it wouldn't be worth more than a washrag.
"Shit!" she muttered under her breath as her heel caught in a small hole. "The way this night is going it'll probably rain next."
Fifteen aching minutes later, Michelle heard the sound of a car coming down the road from the direction of the club. Moving to the other side of the road to give it plenty of passing room, she could soon see the headlights come into view.
"Oh God," she though as the lights grew larger. "What if it's Bobby?"
When he hadn't come right after her, she figured he'd taken the other road home. Now she didn't want to face him.
As the car approached and slowed to a stop, Michelle saw that it was definitely not Bobby. Instead of the battered old Tercel that her now ex-boyfriend drove, Michelle was standing next to a 1999 chrome blue corvette convertible.
