Building on Lies by T. Banny Page A

true. Ro was as serious a girl as you could get.
    “ OK, maybe not me exactly. But you know the reputation my family had," she pointed out, and I couldn’t argue with her. The town had breathed a sigh of relief when Ro’s brothers had left for Portugal. They'd always been loud, rude drunks. The rest of her family were no better. It was amazing Ro had turned out to be the well-mannered girl she was.
    “ When are you going to tell my mom?" I asked, knowing she hadn’t yet.
    “ As soon as Tommy gets the engagement ring," she said. “ He’s going to ask your Mom for my hand!” She giggled happily.
    “ Oh, Ro. A part of me is thrilled for you, but then…don’t you think you’re too young to jump into something as serious as marriage?”
    “ We’re not jumping into it, Nellie. We’ve given this a lot of thought, trust me. Also, I’m only two years younger than my mother was when she got married. And your Mom had you at nineteen, too. You know half of us are going to be married as soon as we graduate. So what’s the difference between now, and two years from now?" she asked.
    “ You’re right, I guess”. Both of our mothers had started families at a young age. It wasn’t uncommon in our community at all. But it was different when it was your best friend.
    It seemed like Channing and Ro and Tommy were all making adult decisions when they still had a few more years to be teens. I felt like we were all way too young to make decisions about parenthood, marriages, and careers, when we weren’t even done with high school.
    But I wasn’t going to put a damper on Ro’s happiness. Tommy was a great guy, and I was sure he’d make a good husband. I just didn’t think I was ready to see my best friend become a wife before she’d even gone to her senior prom!
    “ Don’t tell anyone, Nellie. Only Tommy’s immediate family knows. And Joaquim knows, too. But we don’t want rumors spreading," Ro said.
    “ Yeah, the last thing you need is for people to start counting on their fingers!" I teased.
    “ Can you imagine?" Ro laughed. “ No, Tommy and I decided we’re going to wait until I get my nursing degree before we start on kids. His parents already have six grand-kids, so there’s no rush for more!”
    The rest of the ride we spent talking about whether Ro should wait until her wedding night to have sex, or if her and Tommy should enjoy a pre-honeymoon experience.
    “ Practice makes perfect, and I want my wedding night to be perfect!" Ro said, practically.
    “ Yeah, but then you’ll be riddled with guilt." I pointed out. “ And you’d have to confess”.
    “ True, but we’ll be married anyway so it won’t be sooo bad confessing to Father David," Ro said.
    “Sounds like you really want to sleep with Tommy!" I teased.
    “ Hello? Have you seen his body? Working with his Dad in the factory has put some serious muscles on that boy. Not to mention I can barely keep my hands off him when he kisses me as it is!" she said, smiling devilishly.
    “ Ro! You bad girl!" I accused. “ Maybe you aren’t respectable after all!”
    “ Oh, get off it, Nellie. Tell me you haven’t considered hooking up with Channing?”
    I had to admit I had. But it was kind of difficult wanting to sleep with a boy who was probably sleeping with his girlfriend, too.
    “ You think him and Samantha still have sex?" Ro asked, as if reading my mind.
    “ I don’t know," I answered, not even wanting to think about it. “ They have so much history together, you know? I’d like to think they don’t even kiss, but I think that’s kind of naive. And it’s not anything I’d ever ask him anyway”.
    “I’m so glad Tommy is a virgin, just like me," Ro said. “ I think being with an experienced guy would be really difficult”.
    “ It is. But Chan never put any pressure on me to go all the way with him. I know he wants to, but he knows when to stop," I told her.
    “ I think Joaquim has only slept with Bruna Porto, but everyone knows