'd the boys andagreed to let them take their girls out. They walked the boys to thecorner where the boys nervously kissed his "girl" on the lips, just...aclumsy peck, but a kiss none the less. It was the first for any ofthem. Hal and Henry turned and started walking home, "See you inschool tomorrow." They said over their shoulders. Sandy and Jennyscreeched and jumped up and down hugging each other. Hand in handthey hurried back home. In their room Jenny asked Sandy, "Are yougoing to tell your. They wanted the “birthday boy” to get his moment of limelight. Val urged them to have some fried ice cream, which was something that she liked to share with her son and best friend. For some reason, it had always seemed normal to the single mom and her small circle to eat from the same plate. There was no shame or worry in it. It was just three people sharing a dessert, with two of them planning to share more than that later.When Jason, Val, and Melina returned to Val’s two-bedroom apartment,. I felt humiliated without Rick. Other women were judging me just as I had judged women before. I knew what they were thinking. But ... weren't they right? Wasn't I a whore seeking male attention? But this felt different somehow. I was learning to serve men, not devour them one after another for conquest. Of course, Rick and I were the only two people who knew this or would understand it.Mr. Johnson was a handsome man, but right from the start he had an air about him that bothered me. He was. .. It’s ... It’s too much.”“Exactly. You need to go. To get it out of your system. You need to be able to go and see them without it being a Big Deal. Trust me, it helps. Whenever I have something I’m not sure about or something I’m worried about, I go and talk to Daddy. It helps. It really does. Trust me. And besides, if you can’t go see them today, of all days...” Now she shrugged. “Look, if you really, really don’t want to go, then we’ll skip it. But I think you should. Even if it’s just for.