Puppy Love: The First Encounter

Wow! I am in love!" exclaimed Denise. "I am really in love, so much in love, I could die!"

"You are?" asked Tara, her best friend, who had just come over to spend the afternoon. Both girls were thirteen years of age. They had been sharing their secrets ever since they were young.

"You, are in love? With who?" asked Tara. "I can't believe it. Get real!"

"I am. I fell in love the moment that I saw him at the skating rink. I think his name is Brett. I hoped that he would ask me to skate."

"Did he?"

Denise shook her head. "Not yet, but he will. Oh, Tara, it was so wonderful! He's such a gorgeous guy!"

"That's only puppy love! I know it when I see it," Tara replied. "My dad says that a case of puppy love is like having an infection. It is highly contagious. You must have caught the bug!" Tara laughed aloud, but inwardly she was just a little bit jealous. "My dad says that young girls like us catch it all the time. Other young girls can get it from the same guy, too."

"Stop making fun of me. This is real love. I can tell by the way that he looked at me!" Denise continued, excitedly. "Oh, I am so much in love. He is just so adorable!"

"Like a puppy, right? Don't be so silly. It is just infatuation."

"I know that he feels the same way about me, too, as I can see it in his eyes. He has such a beautiful smile. When he smiled at me, my heart melted."

"Be careful," cautioned Tara. "You could get burned, you know." 

"Don't even suggest that!"

Denise did not want to hear any negative comments from anyone about the teenage boy she had just fallen in love with. She was crushed by Tara's comments, and felt doubly crushed when he did not show up at the rink, the next day.

"I know that he loves me. He will be back."

"Puppy love. Maybe he'll come back on Valentine's Day." 

And he did.