The Drive-In

Summer before 9th grade, nearly 50 years ago, my family moved from Southern California to Eastern Massachusetts, just 18 miles from Boston.

Suburban Massachusetts was a big change from where we had lived in the hills above Los Angeles. It was dry in LA most of the time. We had lots of eucalyptus trees, oaks and black walnut trees. I was fortunate that there were lots of places in the hills to run and jump and throw things.

In Medfield, there were vast tracks of what the kids called “woods”, undeveloped areas between the various housing tracts. There were lots of pine trees, small lakes, streams and the forest floor was largely carpeted in blueberry bushes and ferns. There were a lot more mosquitos than we ever had in LA and black widow spiders hiding under just about anything.

The Charles River wended its way slowly to Boston Harbor just outside of town and lots of people canoed and fished in it throughout the summer and fall. There was shoveling snow and ice skating in the winter and beautiful fall foliage

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I spent that first summer meeting our neighborhood kids and I signed up for Jr. Varsity football, which began two weeks before school started. I figured I’d meet a lot of the guys and make some friends. Football practice was really hard, I mean really hard. I’d been a swimmer and run track, but football ate my lunch at first.

My previous school in CA was scholastically a bit ahead of Medfield High so I was put into AP math and science when classes started. Thus, I met most of the smart kids right away as well.

I was assigned a locker and I introduced myself to some of those who had lockers near mine. The locker directly to the left of mine belonged to a painfully shy, skinny blond girl. When I introduced myself, she darted her eyes toward mine for a second and said “Lisa.” I already knew that because she also sat in front of me in homeroom. Apparently, they assigned lockers and homeroom seats alphabetically because my last name began with BA and her’s with AR.

I don’t think we spoke more than a couple of words to each other that whole first year, but I always smiled and said “hi.”

When we started 10th grade, we moved to the Sr. High building and Lisa’s locker was, once again, next to mine. She had grown up over the summer and her body was still skinny but showing promise. She was still very shy, but we exchanged pleasantries and she laughed whenever I made a joke. She was able to hold eye contact for a few seconds. I found out how her older brother was doing at Amherst, and she told me when she got her learners permit to drive.

I was on the track team, and she ran cross country, so I saw her from a distance quite often. I remember watching her out on the track. She moved nicely.

I managed to make friends in every one of the recognized “cliques” in the school and was welcome to hang out with any of them. Jocks, Brainiacs, Stoners, Gearheads, etc. I think I had an advantage in that I had no history with these kids and could be who I wanted to be without all that “you were a real geek in 2nd grade” stuff.

Our lockers continued to be next to each other in Junior year. I only specifically remember one thing Lisa said to me that year. “I like those pants”, she said about a new pair of tie-dyed bell bottoms I had on. (Really, low-rise, tie-dyed bell bottoms were cool back then, or as the kids in Massachusetts had taken to saying, “Pissah.”)

At the time, I was completely oblivious to how hard that must have been for her to say. I’m pretty sure she was really saying, “I like the way you look in those pants.” It took me years to learn to pick up on subtle, or even not so subtle hints like that.

I liked them too, so I think I said something deep like, “Me too”. Her comment did prompt me to look closer at what she was wearing. It was plain, but I specifically remember noticing how her body was filling out nicely. She was still on the skinny side, but she was much more womanly than when we first met. The old Hip to Waist to Breast ratio was pleasant to my eye. I’m not sure why I didn’t ask her on a date, but I was, despite my many friends, still awkward around pretty girls. We continued to chat at our lockers and during home room, but that was the extent of it.

In the spring of our Senior year, a guy I knew named Bert pulled me aside one day. He and I had never been close, but he was insistent that we talk. He told me that Carla, Lisa’s best friend, had asked him if we, Bert and I, wanted to go to the movies with them, Carla and Lisa. They wanted to go to the drive-in two towns west. Apparently, Carla liked him, and Lisa liked me. Bert made it sound imperative that I accept because he wanted to, and the girls wanted to do the double-date thing.

He said they wanted to go the following Saturday night. Bert said he could borrow his sister’s car- which would put he and Carla in the front seat and Lisa and I in the back. “Wow, uh, yeah, I’m pretty sure I…”, was all I could mutter.

Back then, all 18-year-olds know what drive-ins are for. Today, 18-year-olds don’t even know what a drive in is. Everyone knew they’re for making out and if things go well, more. I’d had a girlfriend and had done some fooling around (never at a drive-in), but our limited intimacies had been furtive and rushed and in the dark. Thinking back, it couldn’t have been very fun for her. Beside the heart-palpitating levels of testosterone flooding my bloodstream, it hadn’t been very fun for me either. Extreme awkwardness about our intimacies were a major reason we broke up. I just knew I could do better.

My mom had always told me that girls aren’t all that different than guys. They just want you to talk to them and they want to know what you’re thinking. As a guy, I usually wasn’t thinking about much of anything, but as excited as I was about the upcoming weekend, I decided to give it a try. I figured I didn’t have anything to lose and potentially quite a lot to gain.

When I saw Lisa at our lockers the next day, I said I was looking forward to the movie. She smiled, blushed a little, and said “Me too, I hear the movie is really good.” I’m sure I knew what it was at the time, but I just cannot recollect the name of the movie today.

I told my folks that I was going to the movies with Bert. I was a good kid and so was he, so they had no reason to doubt me. It wasn’t even a lie- I was going to the movies with him and his parents knew it. He and I had never been close buddies, so our folks probably thought we both had a new friend- how nice.

I walked the half mile or so to his house, and after saying hi to his folks, we got into his sister’s car and headed off to Carla’s house. Apparently, her parents were away for the evening which avoided the need for parental explanations. We were all 18, but we all still lived at home, and the parents of 18-year-old girls DEFINITELY knew what drive-ins were for.

The evening was the warmest we’d had since winter. As the last sunlight filtered through the trees, we both walked up to Carla’s front door and knocked once. I was very nervous. We heard a shout, some giggling and shuffling around inside before Lisa answered the door. Both girls were wearing skirts and sweatshirts. Lisa was wearing short black boots, leaving bare skin from there to just her pleated plaid skirt which ended just above her knees. Her sweatshirt proudly proclaimed Boston University.

“You guys are early,” Carla said, “you want a beer?”

“Sure,” Bert answered.

“I’ll give you a tour of the house,” Carla offered. Living room, kitchen, dad’s study, family room, “my” room, and the back patio/yard. They had a pool which was still covered. The tour took about 5 minutes- barely time to make a dent in the cold can of Pabst. I hated Pabst anyway.

Carla voiced what we were all thinking, “Let’s go, we don’t want to miss the shorts.” She seemed as excited to get there as we were. Lisa had a big grin on her face, as did we all.

Bert turned up the radio for the 20-minute drive and we all sang along- a little louder than necessary. It was silly, we knew it at the time, but we were all nervous and this helped break the tension a bit. Carla sat right next to Bert as did Lisa and I.

When we arrived, I noticed that the young woman who took our money peered down into our car and smiled, “Y’all have a good tahm” she offered with a thick southern accent. The place was about 1/3 full and Bert directed the car toward the back and to the side, slightly away from the prime viewing spots and not near any other cars.

I said, “I’ll get popcorn, you guys want anything to drink?”

Bert answered, “Get me, er, us, a big Coke.”

Lisa said, “I’ll come with you.” As we walked, I reached out and took her hand. It was warm and she held mine without complaint. We didn’t talk the whole way there and back- we just grinned at each other. It was feeling awkward, and I didn’t want it to be that way.

When we got back to the car, Bert and Carla were already kissing. They broke long enough to accept their snacks. Carla said thanks. Lisa and I piled into the back seat. We hadn’t gotten a soda because there was no good place to put it (drink holders had yet to be invented), but I put our popcorn in the far corner of the back seat.

The front seat was at it again and Lisa looked a little nervous, wondering how this was all going to go. The window speaker sprang to life as the first of the short features and previews began. Our attention was diverted to the screen for a minute or so. We were sitting close together, and I put my arm around her shoulder. She snuggled against me and put her hand on my knee.

Remembering I had planned to talk to her, I screwed up my courage and quietly said, “Thanks for inviting us out.”

“It was Carla’s idea, but, yeah, you’re welcome.”

“We’ve known each other for a long time, and I’ve always liked you,” I started. “I know we both know what happens at drive-ins, but I’ve never done this before and I gotta say I’m nervous. I really don’t know that much about girls and what they want. “You know I dated Robin for a while, but we didn’t do a lot of talking- especially about anything, uh, physical. It all felt rushed and, uh, like we were doing something wrong. I was never comfortable and I’m sure she wasn’t either.”

“I guess I want to say, I don’t want to make the same mistake with you if I can help it.” A very loud ad for the movie snack bar came on halfway through my sentence and I had to repeat that last part after it was over.

“My mom has always told me that girls just want to know what you’re thinking… so that’s what I’m thinking.”

She looked directly into my eyes but stayed quiet. “Are you okay” I asked.

After a few seconds, she said, “Uh, wow, yeah” (long pause) “She’s right, I didn’t even know it, but that’s exactly what I wanted, er, needed. I’ve never had a boy talk to me like that, not even Brad- you remember Brad.”

“Yeah, Brad. What are you thinking right now?”, I ventured.

“I’m pretty nervous too. I don’t know much about boys, uh, men either, but I want to.” “We’ve been talking about asking you guys out, it seems like forever, but I didn’t think we’d have the nerve. I’m glad we did and I’m glad it was with you two. Carla really thinks Bert is cute.”

“I can tell” I said referring to the sloppy wet kissing noises, heavy breathing and occasional giggling coming from up front. “Sounds like they forgot about us.”

I noticed that with the movie going and the windows completely fogged up, the light was bright in the front seat. In back, we could see each other’s heads and shoulders, but it got darker below that. I imagined how our car looked from the outside with all white windows.

I turned back and leaned in for a kiss. She came toward me and our lips met for the first time. I kept my eyes open so I could see if girls do that “close their eyes during a kiss” thing. She didn’t. She watched me the whole time.

It was a nice kiss. Soft, exploring, and wet. We’d both had kissing partners in the past and she was pretty good. I hoped she felt the same about me.

When we broke, she pulled slightly back and said, “Thanks for talking to me. No guy has ever done that before. It’s like a weight’s been lifted off my chest. I’m not near as nervous as I was.”

She took a deep breath before continuing. “I’ve been in therapy for years because of something that happened to me when I was a kid. Its not like Freud, and how your mother screwed you up, Marilyn is like a friend I can talk to about my feelings.”

“When I was 6, my mom caught my uncle, her brother, with his hand down my pants in the back yard. I knew it was wrong- it felt wrong- but I’d known Uncle Bill all my life and he was family. “I’m not even sure how long it went on, but my mom tells me she gave him a choice, either leave the state immediately and never return or face charges for child molestation. He left, went to Arizona or something, but for years, I had trust issues and secretly thought it had been my fault.”

“I started seeing Marilyn when I was 12 and she’s been great. Now I see her about once a month. She’s been telling me that I’ll someday meet someone I trust, and that I should consider opening up to that person. I talked myself into thinking it might be Bill. I dated him because he was a football jock and popular and he asked me, but I never really trusted him. I finally ended it and felt good about my decision.”

“What I’m trying to say is, I think it’s you. I was hoping it was you for a while now, but I think I’m right. You’ve always been nice to me. You’ve always seemed interested in me. You’re honest and kind, everybody likes you and I trust you. Oh, and you’re very cute too.”

All I could get out was, “Wow, that’s a lot. I’m really sorry you’ve had to go through all that but thank you for telling me. I’m going to do what I can to be worthy of that trust. I think you’re pretty cute too.”

“Earlier I meant to tell you that whatever happens between us stays between us. It seems even more important that it did then. I won’t tell anyone- well, maybe Bert, but he’s here and knows already.” I kissed her again. This time she was more insistent. She leaned against me and pushed me down on the seat.

“I’ll have to tell Carla. She will hound me for details until I tell her at least something. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s been watching us.” She glanced toward the front seat. “Nope, she’s busy.”

I put my arms around her, and she put her hands on my face as we continued to kiss. This formerly timid little girl was all confidence. I worked my hands up under her sweatshirt in the back, looking for a bra to unsnap. I’d learned to undo a bra clasp with one hand with Robin, and I was keen to demonstrate my abilities- but I quickly came up empty.

Lisa pulled away a little and said, “That was her idea too. I can’t believe we….”

“It just saved us some time” I said as I brought my hands around front and held her breasts. She giggled. First thing I noticed was how soft and warm they were. Second was that they weren’t very big- in retrospect, maybe B cups. Third thing I noticed was her tiny hard nipples. Fourth was how sensitive they were as she groaned a little louder than the level set by the occupants of the front seat.

“Wow” Carla observed.

“You’re one to talk” came her friend’s retort.

“Good idea, eh?”

“Shut up, I don’t want to talk to you now” Lisa retorted with a smile in her voice.

“Ooooh, Ooooh, Ooooh” Carla groaned quite loudly.

“Shut up” Lisa said as the front seat erupted into laughter.

“I think it was a good idea” Carla finished.

During this conversation, Lisa had shifted to straddle my hips with her legs. I could feel the warmth of her against my hips. I had a sizeable erection lying straight up my front. I could feel it poking its head out from the waistband of my Jockeys. I was certain she could feel it. I felt certain she was making sure to feel it. When she came back to kiss, she slid backward, moving her panty clad pussy against the bulge of my fully clothed member.

The car had a very wide back seat, so we were fairly comfortable, but I probably could have been laying on bare rock and felt no discomfort at this point.

I slid my right hand off her breast and around to her back. I rubbed her lower and lower until I got to the top of her skirt then continued down and rubbed her skirt over her butt. “Huhhh, huhhh” was her quiet, encouraging response.

Eventually, I reached down and pulled her skirt up and repositioned my hands directly on her derriere. Her panties were on the small side so there was plenty of skin exposed. “You didn’t skip the panties, I see” I quipped- not knowing if that was funny or not.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Carla suggested it, she pleaded with me, but I…” she whispered. “In fact, she may have left hers off- I really don’t know.”

I slipped my hand under the waistband of her cotton panties and moved it around her butt. Once again, her breathing rate and volume increased, “Huhhh, huhhh”.

I couldn’t really get anywhere near her pussy in this position, so I was contemplating how to initiate a movement, when Carla said, “Shit, shit, shit, SHIT- I’ve got to pee.” Lisa looked up as Carla peeked over the seat. “Come with me?” she suggested. I chuckled.

The girls crawled out and took off, laughing. “You having fun?”, Bert asked.

“What was the movie again? I’m going to have to answer at least one question about it when I get home. Yeah, this is great.”

“Did you and Carla ever go out before?”

“No, first time- you?”

“No, I never dated Carla…or Lisa either. Her locker’s been next to mine since 9th grade, but that’s it.”

“You think they’re talking about us?”

“You can count on it.”

“Did Lisa do the no-bra thing?”

“Kind of daring for a first date, eh? At least she wore panties.”

Bert started laughing, “Carla didn’t. She says she brought a rubber and wants to use it.”

“Here, on a double date?”

“We’ll see. I’m up for it. Lisa’s really into you too, or so Carla says”.

I wiped at the window in the direction of the concession stand and saw the girls coming back. “Here they come. Round 2.”

When Lisa piled in, I directed her to lay on her back. I laid half on top of her with one knee between her legs. I pulled up her sweatshirt and began to fondle her breasts. While groping one breast, I leaned down and took the other nipple between my lips. She put a hand behind my head and pulled me in closer. “Can’t believe how good that feels” she breathed. I switched my lips to the other nipple.

She was squirming under me. I took that as a sign that I was doing it right so I just kept sucking.

After a few minutes, I pushed my knee up a little tighter against her skirt in front. She reached down and tugged her skirt out of the way- knee on panties. My knee was noticeably warmer. After a few more minutes I reached my hand down around my knee and was greeted by a bare and moist vulva- no panties after all.

“You left them off after going to the restroom.” I observed.

“A real time saver” she quipped as I indiscriminately rubbed between her legs. “That really feels good, but you want to learn about what girls want- so let me show you.”

She pushed me off the seat. I was kneeling on the floor next to her. “You’ve made me feel so confident. I’m enjoying myself more and more. You’re going to need this information when you go to UCLA next year.” She widened her knees, took my hand and brought it over her sex and had me feel the various parts as she narrated.

“This is my clitoris. It is really, really sensitive, especially right now.” “They call these my labia majora and this is my labia minora. We just call them pussy lips.” “Here is my vagina. Most of the time its small, but it can expand a lot.” “Right next to that is where I pee from.” “It’s all very close to my ass, which is just back here. Even that feels really good when you touch it.” “That’s it for the parts, now you need to know how to work it.”