CONSENT CANNOT BE GIVEN IF THERE IS: Pressure Drugs or alcohol Sleeping or unconscious person Physical force or threats Age difference

Corey and Sam sit under the cottonwood near the creek. Over the murmur of the creek they hear the football game just a few hundred feet away. Some of their friends are playing, many cheer and watch. It is nighttime in autumn and Corey and Sam are kissing outside the range of the floodlights and eyes of school officials. Sam’s heart feels like a big bass drum just below her throat. This is their first time to be alone together. They sit hip to hip in the grass. Corey drapes his arm over her shoulder. Sam has never been so close to anyone before.

She is nervous about how she kisses—am I doing it right? Corey brought her here—they were sitting on the bleachers when he whispered “let’s go down to the creek.” He left the stand first and she followed a little while later so no one noticed. They met at the fence outside the reach of the lights. He held out his hand and she took it. They walked the worn path to the cottonwood at the creek’s edge. As they kiss, Corey moves his hand to the bottom of her sweatshirt at the base of her back. He slides his hand up into her shirt and moves around toward her belly. Sam’s heart lurches. She feels suddenly scared—she leans away. “Sorry,” she says, “I’m just not ready. Sorry.”

Corey pulls her close again, “you are so beautiful, I just want to be closer to you.” Sam stares down at her feet. She hears a cheer from the game. She feels stiff as he moves his hand to her knee and plays with the fringe of her shorts. She moves her leg away from his hand. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like me?” he says. “Yeah, but I... I...” Sam hears cars and trucks starting. “I should go. My dad will be at the parking lot to pick me up—the game is over.”

Media: Muppets

Media: Pressure Pic