Selena was in Mel's kitchen, helping her wash up the lunch dishes when Trevor drove into the yard in a sparkling clean Honda Accord. His wavy blonde hair glowed like yellow metal in the sunlight.

"You ride in front," Selena said quickly. I'll get in back."

"But." It wouldn't be right any other way, but Melissa didn't want Selena to feel left out.

"Don't be stupid. I'll be just fine. I want you to be with him. It's major exciting."

"Selina, you're the best friend..."

"I know, I know. Come on. Isn't he major gorgeous?"

They had decided, as long as Trevor had a car, that a walk along the river bank, fifteen miles away, would be neater than hiking around a familiar slough.

Melissa's heart sang with happiness as she buckled herself in next to this older boy. During the drive though she made an effort to include Selena in all the conversation.

Selena was, of course, the expert on selecting diamond willow. "The oldest, scabbiest ones are the best. They have deep diamonds."

"My Dad remembered a couple of diamond willow sticks from when he was young. He said they are considered family treasures and that some are quite valuable."

As he talked, Trevor had put his big clean hand down on top of Mel's on her arm rest. Mel felt like her heart had been jolted with electricity. For long moments she didn't move a muscle, and her two friends' conversation just blew by her ears without leaving any sensible impression. All of her awareness was wrapped up in his hand on hers.

She forced herself to hear the conversation. Trevor was assuring Selena that he had brought her a knife. Then Selena asked Trevor if he wanted to get a stick for himself.
"Yeah, I do. It sounds like fun, and my Dad even thought it was a good idea, if you know how to do it really."

"Oh don't worry about that. I know alright."

It was right then that Trevor started moving his thumb over the sensitive ball of flesh at the base of her own thumb. She thought her heart would pound itself out of her chest.

His voice remained very casual though, as he asked Selena, "Where did you learn how to make one?

"I learned from an old man."

Holding hands, such an innocent thing. Yet Trevor was making it a sensuous caress. She never dreamed such an ordinary thing could be so thrilling. She moved her hand under his, stretching it like a cat might stretch, then stroking the root of his thumb too. She wished this could go on for ever, but even now Trevor was slowing down because the turn-off to the river picnic spot was in sight.

When they were out of the car, Trevor handed Selena a Swiss army knife.

"Oh Wow. Great knife. Thanks. But for getting our raw material, the small saw will be best. She reached into the back seat and pulled the straight-backed little saw from the floor.

"Come on."

She led the way down a steep and narrow path to the water's edge. Her coffee-coloured legs, skinny and long, stuck out from her red shorts.

Trevor and Mel both had blue jean cut-offs. The sun shone on the golden fleece fuzzing his legs as he picked his way through shadow and light following Selena. Mel's heart ached for him. She followed after.

There was a narrow beach of sand at the water's edge, and Selena turned upstream, following it. The air smelled of the pungeant spring buds of balsam poplar. Waves lapped slowly on the wet sand. Though the three were officially together, Selena forged on several steps ahead and it was fairly plain that Mel and Trevor were walking as a couple. Mel felt sort of bad for Selena, but being so close to Trevor that she could, from time to time, sense the warmth of exertion from his body, made her almost dizzy with the desire to be held in his strong arms.

Bit by bit they lagged more and more behind. Till Selena, who had been chatting happily about this and that, seemed to give up the effort.

Melissa felt guilt, because she knew that if she were in Selena's place, she would be feeling a slight betrayal now. After all, the walk was supposed to be for Selena and herself at first.

Then Trevor took hold of her hand. She had this crazy desire to pull his hand up to her mouth so she could kiss his knuckles. She wouldn't let herself do that, but in conspiracy with the boy she did let Selena get farther and farther ahead. In minutes, Selena had disappeared into the thicket of head-high willow saplings.

There were the sun, the sparkling water, the hard wet sand and Trevor and herself. She thought of saying "Alone at last," but the thought made her feel very guilty. Selena didn't deserve that.

They kept walking slower and slower and the excited feeling that something was coming made her heart race again. They reached the edge of the willow clump and stopped just inside it. Here thin, red willow stems with tiny light green leaves made a wall of privacy around them. They were unable to see more than a few steps along the path in each direction and they couldn't see at all into the thicket where there was no path.

Without knowing how, she was in his arms. She thought she could maybe say, "I guess you want your reward for helping me on the bus," and then she could kiss him, but in thinking about it, she realized she had tilted her face to his and her lips had parted. That had been all Trevor had needed. Now his firm lips were covering hers and she was being kissed in a wonderful way by a boy for the first time in her life. 'I'll never forget this moment,' she thought. Her whole being was tingling with the excitement of Trevor's delightful kiss.

When their lips parted, she realized her hands were on his back. His body felt firm and strong. "Thank you for saving me on the bus. Thank you for being here now."

"No. Thank you for being so beautiful."

How happy she was. She just had time for a deep breath before his mouth was on her mouth again. She returned his kiss strongly and melted into happiness as she felt his hands stroking her back.

'Oh Trevor,' she thought. 'I hope this is special for you.' She hugged herself against his hard chest. 'I want this to be special for you, and I want for there to be a chance you could love me.'

The kiss left her panting and his chest heaved too. How long had they been here together? Was Selena doubling back now to catch them? Was she watching now, from a screen of willow? Was she hurt and angry?

"We'd better catch up with Selena. This isn't fair to her."

"Your mouth is like a rare tropical fruit. I have to have one more taste."

'Oh,' she thought, as his words made her feeling for him swell again in her chest. They kissed with open mouths, passionately linked. She blanked her mind and only concentrated on what she was feeling. At the end, her blood was pumping in her head and her lips felt deliciously bruised.

"Please. It's not fair to Selena."

Her heart pounded as they made their way through the willows. Selena hadn't been watching. They found her fifty yards further along where the bank had widened to a place where a large willow bush had drifted in with the early spring flooding.

It was half buried in silt and Selena was busily sawing at the thick branch.

"This is a beautiful one. A perfect specimen. I'm still going to keep the one I found, but I want this one too. From here, to here." She indicated a second spot along the length of the twisted branch. "It's too thick to make a walking stick maybe, but look at these beautiful deep diamonds here, and here and here and here. I think this piece could have strong magic in it. The rest of it, where it is thinner, would be perfect for one for you Melissa. And there are three others that would be great on the same old bush here, if you want to pick one Trevor."

"Yeah. I'll probably take one if they're good. Do you want to show me some now?"

"No. I want to do all the sawing for this one. Then you can." She turned back to the bush, placed the saw back in the cut she was making, and began sawing again.

"I'll just go a little further on to make sure there isn't a better one around the corner. Want to come with me Melissa?

Selena had turned her back on them and was busy sawing.
"Can I help here Selena?"

"No. You scout around a little more with Trevor. I'll be a few minutes here."

She didn't seem to be angry or hurt, and Trevor was waiting for her. Melissa left her friend to investigate what was beyond the next curve.

It was a broad expanse of flat rocks. Most of them a dull purple. There wasn't any willow.

The golden fleece on Trevor's upper legs was like a halo in the sun. "I want to kiss you again," he said simply as soon as they were out of Selena's line of sight.

She came shyly toward him, til he put his hands lightly on both sides of her waist. "You are the first boy I have ever kissed. I don't want to kiss any more boys," she murmured. "Just you. But I want to kiss you all the time."

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