Before she got in, she gave me a serious look. “You know, I never thought I’d ever see you giving up on something you truly wanted, Garrett. Please don’t give up.”

I smiled weakly. “Yeah, I know, but it’s hard to fight for someone who doesn’t feel the same.” I glanced up and saw my mother standing on the porch.

Margie turned around and gave my mother a wave before getting into her car. I shut the door and leaned down to say good-bye.

“She really doesn’t like him, and she only went out with him the one time. And, Garrett?”

“Yeah, Marg?”

She looked away and then back at me. “Please don’t stay away from your friends.”

I gave Margie a weak smile and nodded my head. “I promise, I’ll be there tonight.”

She smiled and wiped a tear away. I wasn’t sure why she had gotten upset, and I began to worry that she knew more than she had told me about Emma. I stood there and watched as Margie drove off before I turned to face my mother.

“Garrett, was Margie upset? Did you say something to make her upset?”

Walking up to my mother, I shook my head. “No. To be honest with you, I’m not really sure what’s going on anymore, Mama. The only thing I do know is that women were placed on this earth to drive men insane, and I don’t really give a shit about them anymore.”

My mother placed her hands on her hips. “Garrett Thomas Mathews, I should wash your mouth out with soap.”

“Sorry, Mama. I’ve never felt so twisted in my life. I best go help Dad with some stuff, so I can head to the dance this evening.”

She nodded her head and gave me a knowing smile. That was one of the things I loved about my parents. They trusted me and knew when not to push. I didn’t want to tell my mother that I had been chasing Emma Birk for months, only to have her turn me down time and time again before going out with a dick like Michael.

I turned and headed to the barn. My head was spinning, and I couldn’t figure out what I should do. Tonight, I was either going to walk away from the idea of Emma Birk or give it one last go.

I had a funny feeling this night was going to change the rest of my life. I just didn’t know if the night would change my future for the better or for the worse.

Margie hadn’t been acting right since she walked into my bedroom and sat down on my bed.

“What did you do today?” I asked as I looked in my closet to grab a skirt.

“I, um…I went to see Garrett.”

I stopped for a brief second to catch my breath. Just hearing his name did weird things to my stomach. Play it cool, Emma. “Oh, really? What did you go see him for?” I tried to sound like I was not really interested in her answer.

“His mom called my mom, asking for me to come talk to him. I told him the guys were worried about him. She has been worried about him because he has been pretty much sticking to himself ever since…”

I closed my eyes and held my breath. The moment I’d agreed to go out with Michael, Garrett had stopped talking to me. He’d stopped doing pretty much everything, and I knew his friends all blamed me.

I slowly turned around. “Ever since what?”

Margie bit down on her lip and tilted her head. “Can I ask you something?”

My hands started sweating, and I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I slowly nodded my head.

She took a deep breath and said, “Do you like Garrett?”

That was not what I had expected her to ask me. “Excuse me?”

She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “I see the way you look at him. You practically have to catch your breath every time he walks into a room or comes anywhere near you. Why are you fighting your feelings for him when he has been doing nothing but trying to win your heart?”

I stood there with my mouth dropped open. How dare she assume such a thing! But every word she’d said was true. I turned and grabbed the first skirt I could find. It didn’t really matter how I looked at this point. I knew Garrett wouldn’t be at the sock hop, and I’d already told Michael I wasn’t interested in going with him.

“I’m not interested in a relationship, especially one with Garrett Mathews. The way he has been looking at me lately is like he hates me. He doesn’t smile at me anymore, and he wouldn’t even let me touch him when he got hurt from the fire. Besides, earlier today, Anna mentioned that she was fooling around with Garrett again.”

Margie’s mouth dropped open, and she just stared at me. “Do you hear yourself? Honestly, Emma, you are coming up with every excuse under the sun to deny your feelings for Garrett! And what in the hell do you mean about Anna? That was months ago!”

I shook my head. “No, Anna said she—”

“I don’t give a crap what Anna said. Garrett is not interested in her. He is interested in you! Why are you denying how you feel for him? You are totally pushing him away.”

Now, I was getting angry…but I wasn’t sure who I was angry with—Margie or myself. I’d been so stupid all these months.

“Why do you care anyway, Marg? Let’s talk about you and your sex life, shall we?”

The door flew open, and Peggy came walking in. She quickly shut the door behind her.

“You are thicker than a five-dollar malt, Emma. I could hear you down the hall. What if your parents heard y’all talking in here? I don’t even want to think about what your mother and father would do to you, Margie. You’d be wearing more than that virgin pin you have on all the time. Now, what is this about Margie’s sex life?”

I looked at Margie and whispered, “How can you even wear a virgin pin when you’re not a virgin?”

Peggy started jumping up and down. “Oh my, when did you lose your cherry? And who was the lucky bastard?”

“Shh! For the love of all things good, Peggy, shut up!” Margie said as she grabbed both of us and pushed us down on the bed. She looked right at me. “I can wear it because I am a virgin.”

Peggy’s whole body slumped down, and she fell back onto my bed. “Damn, I thought we were going to get a good story out of this.”

I stared at Margie. “I thought y’all had sex.”

Peggy sat up quickly. “What? You and Billy finally bumped uglies?”

Margie hit Peggy on the arm as she sat down. “Shut up, Peggy. We are not talking about me! We are talking about Emma denying her feelings for Garrett.”

Peggy winked at me. “Now, come on, Emma. Have you looked at Garrett’s body lately? Tell me you haven’t dreamed of wrapping your legs around that boy.”