Shopping with girls wasn’t fun. Sure, it beat staying at Melinda’s house home alone, but waiting for her to try on endless sundresses was boring. I should have gone with her little brother. Not that I wanted to troll for girls with seventh graders, but maybe I could have convinced them to go to the arcade.

I had my phone in my hand, about to ask Melinda for her brother’s number, when a girl emerged from the dressing room beside Melinda. Her backless yellow floral dress was many inches above her knee with a plunging neckline, showing a perfectly toned body.

Ignoring me, she examined herself in the three-way mirror. With a frown, she turned side to side, her blonde hair swishing along her waistline with the movement.

I moved behind her. “I like it.”

Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “Yeah?”

I nodded. “It looks good on you.”

“Glad you think so.” Turning, she glanced around the empty dressing room. “So, you waiting for your girlfriend? Or do you just enjoy spending your afternoon in dressing rooms?”

Laughing, I gestured toward where Melinda was changing. “My friend is trying on clothes. I told her I’d wait.”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Girlfriend?”

“Nah. I’m in between those at the moment.”

She bit her lip playfully. “You think your friend would mind if you ditched her to help me pick out clothes?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Melinda exit the dressing room. How much had she heard?

Before I could ask, she hung some dresses on an empty rack and turned to the girl with a shrug. “I don’t mind, but I have to warn you. Walter’s not really that much help. He just says, That looks good, even when it doesn’t.”

I winced. Sure, Melinda was right. But I was pretty sure this girl had no interest in my fashion advice.

She took my arm in both of hers. “I promise I’ll have him home by midnight.”

Melinda laughed. “I’m pretty sure my mom wants us home before then. But, whatever. Text me later, okay?”

When I nodded, Melinda grabbed her shopping bags and returned to the mall. I turned back to the girl beside me.

“You know? I don’t think I caught your name.”

Smirking, she disappeared into the changing room. “You can call me Astrid.”

“Is that your name?”

“It is today.”

***

After Astrid decided against purchasing the yellow dress, we wandered the mall making small talk. I, of course, told her very little personal information. My goal today was to be as average as possible. She didn’t really divulge that much about herself, either.

But we got along well. When I took her hand, she didn’t seem to mind. She swung it gently as we entered the food court.

Before I could tell her I wasn’t all that hungry, Astrid led me away from the restaurants to a quiet booth in the corner of the room. I was going to sit across from her, but she motioned for me to sit beside her instead. As soon as I placed my arm around her, her lips were on mine.  

There was an energy and excitement to kissing her. While we didn’t necessarily have the spark of a long-term relationship, there was definitely the spark of something new. I could tell by her intensity that she felt something similar.

Eventually, I sat back. “Astrid, as much as I’m enjoying this, I think I need a break. Maybe we can go for a walk?”

She shrugged. “Sure. You wanna go to the movies?”

“Where?” I glanced around. Unlike the mall at school, this mall didn’t have a theater.

She sent me an incredulous look as she pointed out a window. “The multiplex down the street? I was thinking we could see”—she emphasized the words with air quotes—“Unicorns and Rainbows.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You’re not serious, are you?”

She laughed. “What? You’ve never gone to a movie and not watched it?”

I had thought she seriously wanted to see the cartoon. But I still didn’t like what she was implying. “No. I haven’t. and I’m not really sure I want to. Besides, I don’t have a car.”

“Boo.” Astrid definitely looked disappointed, but she shrugged it off. “Well, let’s walk around. Maybe we can find something else to do.”

The mall was small. I was pretty sure I had already visited all the stores. But after a few minutes, Astrid tugged my arm. “Oh, hey. I need to stop in here for a second.”

Without waiting for my reply, she pulled me into a pharmacy, dragging me straight to the aisle with feminine products. I could feel my face grow red.

She must have noticed, because she started giggling. “Relax. I’m not here for tampons. I needed to grab more of these.” She frowned at the selection of prophylactics before pulling a box from the shelf. “Here we go. These are my favorite.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Your favorite? As in, you’ve used these before?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Why? Which ones do you like?”

“Uh, none? I’ve never, uh, used them.”

She scowled. “Oh. I’m not sure then. I mean, I’m not on the pill or anything. I’m not comfortable not using them.”

I quickly shook my head, my face growing ever warmer. Were we really having this conversation in this aisle? I just hoped no one I knew walked by.

“No, I meant, I’ve never used them because I’ve never…”

She could figure it out, right? She sent me a sweet smile. “Oh. I’m your first? That’s so cute. I figured you’d been with a bunch of girls.”

“No, Astrid. What I mean is—” I sighed, glancing around. I needed to get out of this place. “Can we not have this conversation here?”

She let out a huffy breath. “Fine.”

I expected her to return the box to the shelf. Instead, she brought it to the register. Not wanting to be associated with her at the moment, I waited for her in the mall.

There was a bench on the bridge overlooking the lower level. I sat there. A moment later, Astrid sat beside me.

She frowned at me. “So, what’s going on? It’s okay to be nervous, you know. I was my first time.”

“Astrid, I’m not sleeping with you.”

She looked perplexed. “But I kind of thought you wanted to.”

“I mean, I guess I want to. But not today. We just met. And besides. I’m just not ready. I don’t think I’m going to be ready for a while.”

She shrugged. “I guess I can accept that. Do you have anything against making out in a department store dressing room?”

Yeah, I did. I raised my eyebrows, but she was dead serious. “Astrid! I’m not doing that!”

She huffed out a breath. “Fine. Then, come on.” Standing, she reached for my hand.

I took it as I got to my feet. “Where’re we going?”

“Someplace we can be alone.”

We walked in silence to a nearby exit, where Astrid led me into the parking garage. I looked around.

“Please tell me we’re not looking for a random unlocked car.” After some of her other suggestions this afternoon, nothing would have surprised me.

She giggled. “No, silly. It’s just over here.”

We were on the second story of the garage. A lot of cars were passing through, heading for the exit ramp. A few others were vying for spaces near the doors we had just exited. No one seemed to be in the corner where Astrid was leading me.

So they had no need for the concrete stairwell in the corner. As soon as the door closed behind us, her lips were on mine. I had to admit, there was a certain thrill to kissing in a public location. Even though I wasn’t about to yank her shirt over her head, I had no problem allowing my hand to go underneath it.

She uttered a small moan of satisfaction as her hands wandered along my back. When I pulled her close, she took a few steps until she had sandwiched me between her and the wall.

I laced my fingers in her hair, pulling her mouth even closer to mine. Her hand traveled down my chest to tease my stomach and unzip my fly.

Her motions were so slow and subtle, it took a few heartbeats for me to register what she was doing. I pushed her away as I grabbed my shorts.

“What are you doing?”

She rolled her eyes as I redid the zipper. “Relax. I was just going to play a little.”

“Astrid. I just told you. I’m not ready.”

She shrugged. “I was hoping I could help you change your mind.”

“You can’t. And if you’re going to keep trying to convince me, then maybe I should just leave.”

She huffed out a breath. “Gah. I never expected you to be such a prude.”

She flounced down the stairwell without a second glance. I fled toward the nearest mall entrance. I wasn’t far from the food court. I definitely needed some comfort food.