Blooming by Peyton Fletcher Read Free Book Online Page A

come to rest against the door. “You were telling me the other
night that you got pulled out of school after you were bullied.”
    “Yes, well
pretty much after that I lost contact with everybody I knew that was my age and
I just studied by myself. I spent a lot of time on my own because mom was
working long hours.”
    “Didn’t you
have any hobbies or anything that got you outside?”
    “Not really,
I’d always been shy even before everything that happened. I did horse riding
and ballet when I was a lot younger but never stuck to it; I love reading and
movies that’s about it. I know it’s hard to understand but I spent a lot of
time not very well after I came out of school. I had to see a psychiatrist and
I was on medication for a long time, I had panic attacks that would come on out
of the blue. I spent a lot of time just coping and getting by.”
    Todd had a
sudden flash of enlightenment, “Jen did you date much when you were a
teenager?”
    “No.”                                                      
    Todd processed
this for a second, “did you date at all?”
    There was a
long silence and Todd thought he’d gone too far, and then she started speaking
again.
    “When all
this happened to me I lost out on that time in your life when you figure out
what you want to be, who you are, but I guess the worst thing was I didn’t get
the chance to go through the whole first love, dating, relationship drama you should
have as a kid growing up. I didn’t develop the confidence teenagers take for
granted, I don’t think it’s possible for me even now as an adult to think about
having a relationship.”
    “So does that
mean you’ve never dated?” Todd wanted to get a firm answer from her, again
there was a pause.
    “If I tell
you this now you have to know it’s something I find very embarrassing.”
    “I know you
don’t trust me yet, but you can, I can keep a secret Jen.”
    She gave an
exasperated sigh on the other side of the door, “I’m 27 and I’ve been on a sum
total of two dates, both failed miserably because I panicked because I was
afraid. Other than that I almost allowed myself to be kissed once, by a friend
of my neighbours who I wasn’t in the least bit interested in, just because I
forced myself to try.”
    Todd whistled
long and low, “When you warned me this wasn’t going to be easy, you weren’t
kidding were you?”
    “No and now
you know why I try not to intrude on people’s lives. I don’t want to try and
have relationships anymore; I can’t give people what they need.”
    “I think you
can, you’ve just convinced yourself it’s too hard to try.”
    “Todd, the
older I got the harder everything became, it seems like you’re pretty much
supposed to sleep with someone on the first date and not bat an eyelid now. I
couldn’t make myself try with that kind of pressure. I’d be the butt of the
joke when somebody figured me out.”
    Todd was no dummy
and he pressed for the last bit of clarification – “Jennifer are you still a
v..”
    “Yes Todd, A+
on the perceptivity test, there’s no flies on you – Jen’s a virgin, are you
happy now, you got all the information you want?” Jen’s voice vibrated with anger
and embarrassment.
    There was
another long pause, then Todd spoke quietly, “I’m still not going anywhere, and
I still don’t want you to go anywhere either. Maybe you just need someone who
is willing to let you go slow and gain some confidence, and this is me
volunteering in case you’re wondering?”
    “Look can we
just change the subject,” Jen pleaded. “I saw Lily yesterday and she wanted me
to go with her on that date you said she couldn’t go on. Did she talk to you
about it?”
    “Yes, she
said you told her to change it to a coffee date and that you’d wait around to
make sure it was ok.”
    “So is it
ok?”
    “I guess, but
I’m still not happy about it. I don’t like being responsible for