In high school when he helped out he used the excuse that he wanted to free Iris up so she could help him with homework. She was always a little ahead of him in school. When she was a sophomore, she didn’t make cheerleading, was devastated and he even let her cry all over him. In fact, it shook him up—Iris hardly ever cried. Even when she took a softball in the face!

The Sileski family did well financially. Flower shops in small towns are not the hottest ticket. Gas was a necessity, flowers were a luxury. Plus, there were no men in the McKinley family...except Seth. He cut their grass and was the guy they called if something heavy had to be moved or lifted. Since Iris’s mom and Seth’s mom were best friends, this pleased them both.

And Iris was the one Seth talked to. His brothers didn’t have a lot of time for their baby brother, except to burst their buttons proudly when he played some amazing football. Seth and Iris never walked to school together—they stuck with their friends of the same gender during school hours. They were only friends. Good friends and neighbors. But away from school, dates—which Seth had a lot of—and practices, they spent hours together. Iris had more girlfriends than usual her junior and senior years because Seth lived right next door and all the girls were hot for him. Seth had his buddies, but when it came down to confidential stuff, important stuff, they had each other. Of course, by high school Seth was confiding in Iris about girls he crushed on. He asked her advice all the time. Sometimes he fixed her up so they could double date, a special kind of torture.

Then in the spring of their senior year, when homecoming king Seth was planning to take homecoming queen Sassy to the prom, there was a little crisis. Sue Marie Sontag, known to everyone as Sassy because she was, cheated on Seth. She snuck out with Robbie Delaney and let him touch her boobs. Seth and Sassy had a big fight and they broke up.

Seth, destroyed by hurt and betrayal, went to an unsupervised party and downed a bunch of beer, something he was not known for. By some miraculous twist of fate, Iris had been at the party. She was hardly ever invited to cool parties. She didn’t drink, not because she wasn’t any fun but because she was a little nervous about what the cool kids might do to her if she got drunk. She’d heard tales. And since she had no experience with alcohol, she was afraid to sip a beer because they might strip her and nail her to the door.

But there was Seth, stumbling, falling down, blabbing his head off about Sassy cheating and dumping him, and good old Iris grabbed him. “Jesus, you’re disgusting,” she said. “Come on, let’s get you out of here. You’re trashed.”

She put him in the flower shop van. “I can’t go home yet. I’ll get in trouble,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, because you’re wasted,” she said. “Smart.”

And then he poured his heart out. He couldn’t believe Sassy did that, went out with another guy and let him feel her up and everything. And the guy was someone Seth thought was a friend!

Iris couldn’t believe Seth hadn’t known that Sassy had the most handled boobs in the senior class. And Seth went on and on and on, as though Iris enjoyed these conversations about other girls. He actually nodded off now and then in the middle of his tirade.

He was completely toasted and she saved his ass, as usual. She drove out to a popular make-out spot, a lookout just off Highway 101, and parked the van that said Pretty Petals all over it. She listened to him moan and groan about his lousy luck with girls.

Then there was a twist.

“Why am I not with you, Iris? Why isn’t it you and me? We’d never do that to each other. You’re the only girl I ever loved anyway. You’re at least the only girl I ever believed in. Or trusted. You’ve been my best friend forever. I’m taking you to the prom, that’s what I’m going to do. It’s what we should do anyway.”

He started snuggling and nuzzling her. It occurred to her to push him away, but it was the first time he’d made sense as far as she was concerned. They had been best friends forever. They always got along better with each other than anyone else. And he was right—they’d never cheat on each other. If they went to the prom together, he wouldn’t have to worry that she’d flirt with other guys or pout or sulk. She’d have fun every second and make him laugh all night long. Of course, she wasn’t sure she could afford a prom dress, but she could work that out later. She had the love of her life telling her he’d finally seen the light and knew she was the right girl for him. At last.

He was kissing her. Not just nuzzling but full-on kissing, pulling her closer. Iris’s insides went all squishy. He was literally climbing on her, but there was a steering wheel in the way.

“Come on,” he said, pulling her out of the driver’s seat and onto the passenger seat on the other side of the console. He made room so she would be under him. He reached down to recline the seat as much as he could, hovering over her, resuming the hot, wet, fabulous kissing, his hands running all over her. He was pushing his pelvis against her and it felt so good she pushed back. She instinctively assumed a kind of pelvic circular, rhythmic motion.

She considered stopping him. She knew she could tell him he was just drunk. But that squishy feeling inside traveled through her whole body and she was overwhelmed with yearning.

“You’re the one for me,” he said, kissing her neck, her shoulder, pulling her blouse apart so he could kiss the top of her breast. The next thing she knew he was licking her nipple. Then he had it in his mouth and she went crazy. She had absolutely no idea br**sts were magic. It was as if there was a silk cord that attached her nipple to her girl parts and pulled tight. It was fantastic!

Iris had never been so far with a boy. She knew she was behind all the other girls, but she hadn’t dated that much and she sure hadn’t dated anyone who could compare to Seth. She would never forget the night the boy she’d loved for years finally realized they were meant for each other.

He fussed with her shorts, trying to open them. She honestly wasn’t sure what he was thinking, planning. She thought he might want to slide his hand in there, but frankly she’d rather they just resume that lovely grinding thing they were doing. “Come on, honey,” he said, kissing her. “I need you.”

Well, she’d always been there for him. Through thick and thin. If he needed her, she was there. She kissed him back and felt her shorts slide down. Her panties went with them. Then he was probing against her, pushing into her, groaning and saying things like ah, God and holy God and oh-oh-oh, God.... Then he trembled, panted and went a little limp.