Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

What exactly did he do? I’m sure he tried to kiss you, right?”
    I nodded.
    “And you like him, so you kissed him back. We already expected that.”

    What we?
I wanted to say.
It was me, me! I was alone with Kent, not we.
    “And the kissing was exciting,” she continued, “and he got excited because you were being so … what shall we say … cooperative? That’s a signal for boys. What did he try then? Did he try to get under your dress? What?”
    “No. He just …”
    “Just what, Semantha?”
    “Brought his hands around over my breasts.”
    She nodded. “Of course he did. And what did you do? Did you moan and groan?”
    “No, Cassie. I jumped up.”
    “And that’s what made him angry?”
    “Yes.”
    She smiled, and then she grew serious again. “How did you feel, Semantha? I mean, how did you really feel?”
    “I felt bad.”
    “Because you wanted him to touch you, right?”
    “No. Well, maybe, but I felt bad because he was so upset. I felt like I had tricked him.”
    “That is exactly how boys want you to feel. Exactly,” she said, and stood up to pace as she talked. “They get you feeling guilty for being sensible, for being cautious. These days, boys think if you smile at them, you want to go to bed with them immediately, and if you prove otherwise, they accuse you of being a tease.
    “Don’t you fall for that, Semantha,” she warned, waving her right forefinger at me. “You have your self-respect. Good for you. Now, when the timecomes, when the right boy is there, then things will be different.”
    “How do you know who’s the right boy?”
    “Don’t worry, we’ll know. This is good,” she said. “This is all very good. You listened well. I’m very proud of you. Tonight you were a true Heavenstone. Now, don’t you dare go to sleep feeling guilty about anything, understand? I won’t permit it.”
    I said nothing. She paced a little more, looking as if she was talking to herself, and then she stopped and abruptly said, “Good night.”
    She walked out and closed my door.
    What did she mean when she said, “Don’t worry. We’ll know?”
    What we?
    Was she going to hold my hand throughout my whole teenage life?
    What would she do when I went off to college and she was at her college?
    I wasn’t going to sleep feeling guilty anymore. I was going to sleep feeling terribly confused.
    And, without knowing exactly why, feeling a little afraid, too.

Tease
    C ASSIE SAID NOTHING more that weekend about my night with Kent, but when she looked at me, I could see she hadn’t forgotten a single detail. I wasn’t as angry at him as she wanted me to be, despite how he had behaved at the end of the evening. All weekend, I was hoping that he would call me to apologize for his behavior and maybe suggest that we try to be together again. I did feel bad about how I had behaved. I could just imagine how I had looked to him when I jumped up like that and insisted on leaving the stable. If I had a chance to explain, maybe he wouldn’t be so angry. Every time I heard a phone ringing, I prayed it was mine, but the only time mine rang was when Bobbi called to tell me how much she had enjoyed Eddie’s party and asked me how I had liked it.
    I said, “Yes, it was fun.”
    “It was fun? You don’t sound enthusiastic about it,” she quickly replied. I wasn’t sure if she was fishing for information or not. She gave me the impression that Noel had not spoken to Kent and then called her, because she seemed to know nothingabout the way my night had ended. I kept wondering if this was an act, so I wasn’t very responsive to her questions.
    “I guess you’re used to more elaborate, expensive parties, huh?”
    “No.”
    She waited, but I didn’t know what else to say.
    “Okay. I can see you’re not in the mood to talk,” she said, and ended the call quickly.
    I couldn’t help being very nervous on Monday morning. Surprisingly, Cassie was in one of her buoyant, happy moods. She was as nice to me as could be and even seemed pleased that Mother’s pregnancy apparently was back to being okay. She had nice things to say about the redecoration of what would be Asa’s nursery, too. Afterward, when we were on our way to school, she told me Daddy had promised to take her to see the work on the new store in Lexington very soon. She knew he hadn’t asked me, and Mother wouldn’t be going.
    “It’s going to be our special day,” she said. “We’ll go to lunch, of course. And he’ll