you are the best thing that's ever been mine

George did everything he could to spend every moment of every day with her. 

It took him a few days, but he found out that Winnifred Clark lived on a small family farm on the edge of town. He put on his best uniform, he’d even pressed it, and borrowed one of the army’s cars to make the drive to her farm. Walking up to the door, he felt like he was drowning in his boots. He wasn’t sure how he was going to do this, the thought of talking to Winnifred made him shake with nerves, but the sound of her voice that echoed around his head and heart reminded him of just how much he was in love with her. 

Winnie was at the kitchen table working on her school work when she heard the knock on the door. Her mother was standing in front of the stove, preparing breakfast, while her father was reading the paper and drinking his coffee. The sound alerted them all. 

“Dear, are we expecting company?” Winnie’s mother asked. 

“Not that I know of. I got it,” her father responded, standing and making his way to the front door. 

Winnie wasn’t interested in seeing who it was, until she heard his voice just moments later. 

“Good morning sir, you must be Mr. Clark. My name is George Barnes.” 

She dropped her pencil onto her paper, smudging the math problem she had been working on. The 2 she was writing turned into an extended 7. 

“Can I help you, boy?” 

Winnie felt like her heart was caught in her throat. She couldn’t believe it. George was here, and he was talking to her father. The realization soon set in, George Barnes was talking to her father. 

“Oh gosh,” she whispered, quickly standing up and moving to the door frame in the kitchen that looked out to the front door, where George was currently standing, holding a small box that was wrapped in some kind of brown paper. 

“Well, I’m here to see Winnifred, sir. But first, I’d like to speak with you.” 

“Ain't that what you’re doin’?” 

George stammered, which made Winnie smile. He’s still that same tongue tied boy she met at the church no less than a week ago. 

“Yes, sir, um, well, I was, um-” 

“Spit it out boy, my brew’s gettin’ cold.” 

“Yes, right. Well,” George paused to clear his throat. 

“I am here because I’d like, with your permission, Mr. Clark, to date your daughter Winnifred.” 

Winnie squealed so loud, which she immediately regretted, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, because she caused her father to turn around, which gave George a chance to look over his shoulder and see her standing there watching them. 

He smiled when he saw her, his eyes crinkling so much that Winnie could see it from her spot inside the doorframe. 

Her heart must have burst at the sight, because she felt the fragments spread all throughout her body. She was shaking like a leaf in the winter wind. 

Her father turned back around to look at George, whose smile disappeared as soon as they made eye contact again, his face dropping into a serious expression. 

They were silent for a moment, gazing at each other, until her father spoke up, his voice grizzled, “Winnifred, come here.” 

She gasped, too in shock to move from her spot. 

“Now.” her father said, his voice just loud enough to echo through her. 

“Coming,” she said quietly, her voice suddenly octaves higher, as she made her way to stand beside her dad. 

He placed his hand on her shoulder, and darted his gaze between the two of them. 

“How do you know my daughter?’ 

George shot Winnie a quick glance, then spoke, his voice littered with hints of pride, “Sunday mass, the day after Christmas. You see, I’m stationed at Camp Atterbury, and I work as an artillery mechanic. I’m hoping to make my way up through the ranks and become a designer one day.” 

“That’s quite impressive, boy. A man should know his way around a rifle,” her father said. Winnie tried to search his voice for any indication of what he was thinking, but, like always, she couldn’t figure him out. 

“I agree sir. It’s why I signed up for the army. I want to be able to protect my country and the people I love. I won’t stand for those lousy krauts coming here and mucking up our freedom.” 

Winnie couldn’t help but chuckle. George sounded like he’d rehearsed that little bit in the mirror before coming here. 

Her father hummed, in agreement or the opposite, she couldn’t tell. 

“How old are you?” 

“17.” 

“That’s a good age. Did you just finish high school?” 

“Yes, sir. Just last May, and I was shipped out here in August.” 

“Shipped from where?” 

“New York City.” 

Winnie couldn’t hide her shock; her mouth dropped open. George Barnes, a city boy. She never would’ve thought. 

“Well, that’s quite a city,” her father said, unable to hide the hint of shock in his voice. 

“Yes, sir. I was born and raised there. It’s a beautiful city, but, truth be told,” he paused, smiling, moving his eyes to Winnie and then back to her dad, “I’ve found something more beautiful out here in the country.” 

She couldn’t hide the blush on her cheeks now, nor the smile creeping on her face. 

The man standing next to her showed no reaction. Winnie’s smile dropped when she noticed. 

“Daddy…” she mumbled, nudging him with her elbow. 

He hummed in response. 

“I’d like to ask you a few more questions, son. Let’s take this outside.” 

Winnie saw George’s face drop, and even though it was January in Indiana, he had beads of nervous sweat glistening in his hair. 

Her father removed his arm from around her, and stepped forward, walking outside with George. He shut the door behind him, leaving Winnie standing in front of it by herself, ruminating in her nerves. 

She knew they were just outside the door, she could see their shadows, but she couldn’t hear them. 

Her entire body felt like a beehive. It was the only way she could explain the shaking in her hands. It was unbelievable. George Barnes wanted to date her. 

He was outside right now, talking to her father, and Winnie knew what that meant. You don’t just ask a man for his daughter if you don’t intend to marry her. 

Oh, marriage. Winnie shuddered at the thought. She knew she wanted to be married, one day, but now that the opportunity was presenting itself, she felt herself wanting to do nothing more than tell George to go away. 

But George was enticing. He fumbled when he spoke to her, which isn’t something any other boys did. She liked it, that nervousness, it showed her a real boy underneath that clean-pressed suit, rather than one masquerading around pretending to be a man. Winnie had been chased by a boy before, but turns out his buddies had set him up to see if he could get a date with her. She saw through his act the entire time and never gave in, no matter how sweet he was to her. 

George was real. He was shy around her, he was finished with school and had a job, he wasn’t afraid to get dirty, and more than that, he wasn’t afraid to be seen in public like it either. She’d picked up on who he was pretty quickly, Winnie always had a knack for reading people, but there was so much more she didn’t know. What was his life like in New York City? Did he miss it? Did he have family there, maybe a few girls he’d run around with? Or would Winnie be the first girl who gets to have him? Would she be the last? 

She was interrupted from her thoughts by the click of the door opening. Having not moved from her spot, she had to step back to avoid getting hit by the swinging door. In walked her father and George, with a smile as comically large as the cartoons in the paper on his face. 

Winnie couldn’t help the returning smile that she gave him. 

“Winnie,” her father said, clamping his hand on her shoulder. “This young man here would like to ask you something.” 

She smiled up at her dad, and then back at George. 

He was silent for a moment too long. Both of their smiles faded, and they both looked at Winnie’s father at the same time. 

“Oh, I get it,” he mumbled, turning and walking away. “No funny business!” he called out. 

Winnie laughed and stepped outside the house, closing the door behind her. She looked at George, who was gazing at her, his eyes locked on. 

She chuckled, stepping forward and grabbing his hand. 

“What did you wanna ask me?” 

George blinked fast, clearly coming out of the trance he was in, and stammered, “Oh, u-uh, well, I uh…” 

“George?” 

“I’m sorry, I uh,” George looked down at his feet and sighed, then back up at her. “I had this all memorized, I swear!” 

He exhaled, and gave her small hand a squeeze. 

“Winnifred Clark, I’d like to call you mine, if you’ll have me. Ever since I laid my eyes on you in that church, you’ve been all I’ve been able to think about. I dream about you and the touch of your hand, the color of your eyes. They are as blue as the Atlantic, and I’m drowning, Winnifred.” 

“Yes,” she said, with no hesitation. 

George exhaled again, and lifted their hands so he could kiss her knuckles. “I’d like to give you my football ring,” he said. 

Winnie was about sure her lungs had shriveled to nothing. 

“George…” she started. 

“I know, I know how it sounds. Maybe it’s too fast, but,” he paused, placing another kiss on her hand, “I’m starting to fall in love with you, and I want you to show off that you got a guy that wants to take care of you.” 

“Oh, George,” she moved her hands to wrap around his neck, standing on her toes and pulling him in for a hug. Closing her eyes and burying her face in his neck, she could smell his cologne. He smelled of vanilla and amber. It was intoxicating to her. Nodding her head into his neck, she opted to stay there to hide the red blush on her cheeks. He squeezed her just a little bit tighter, the box in his hand poking against her. 

From that day, George Barnes and Winnifred Clark were inseparable. 

George would go up to her family home on the weekends and days he wasn’t working. His job on the base gave him enough to afford the bus ride to her farm, where they would take it into town together and enjoy their time getting to know each other. Turns out, George had been

drafted and sent out here after he finished high school. He was an only child, and his parents lived in a small apartment in a neighborhood called Brooklyn. George loved it there, and he told Winnie all about it. He talked about the city like it was a whole other world. Apparently, the ladies there walked the streets in their finest garments and jewels. The men, in suits and jackets that cost more than what Winnie’s family made in a year. The buildings were as tall as the heavens, and the streets were always so busy, even at night; George liked to say that “The city never goes to sleep.”

George was Winnie’s first kiss. It was Valentines Day, 1916, they’d been officially dating for a little over a month, but Winnie had saved off on kissing him. She loved him, of course, but she wanted to see what was going to happen. Her mother had told her stories about what happens to girls that give themselves to boys too quickly, and, even though she thought it was a bunch of bullshit, she wanted to figure out if George would do anything. She didn’t think he was the type, but of course, according to her eldest sister, she was dragging him along by not kissing him, and some other girl was going to snatch him up. 

They were under the large apple tree behind her yard, enjoying a quiet lunch together. It was a particularly cold day, but Winnie had always run hot. She refused George’s jacket, insisting that he needed it more than she did, judging by the way he was shaking like a leaf. To combat the cold, and to test the waters a bit, she’d brought up the idea for them to huddle closer, and so they were. 

Winnie was laying against the tree, with George sitting between her legs and resting on her chest. She’d wrapped her arms arounds his shoulders, resting her chin on his head, and was rubbing her hands on him to warm him up. 

“That feels nice, Winnie, thank you,” he said, looking up at her and smiling. 

“You’re welcome honey,” she responded back. 

She would tell George years later that she was just testing him, but really, Winnie wanted to be closer. They’d never been in this close of proximity before, and she would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t like it. 

She tightened her grip on his chest and pulled him up and around so they were chest-to-chest and face-to-face. 

“Hi,” she smiled, her tone teasing. 

“What are you doing?” George asked, his face dropping in confusion. 

“It’s cold.” 

“Oh, do you need my jacket?” He moved to sit up and remove his jacket, but she stopped him and pulled him closer, placing one hand on his cheek. 

“No, no, you keep it. I think we just need to be close like this,” she nodded for emphasis, and placed her other hand on the opposite side of his face, “Y’know, to share body heat.” 

George’s brow was furrowed still, with his mouth dropping open in a question he didn’t have the words to ask. 

“What is it?” she asked, never dropping her smile. 

“Are you sure you don’t want my jacket?” 

He spoke with such innocence Winnie couldn’t help but burst out laughing, throwing her head back against the tree. 

“What, was it something I said?” he asked. 

“Shut up George,” she replied, before lunging forward and kissing him. 

After that, they both had a really hard time keeping their hands off of each other. 

But despite the young taste of lust, Winnie never gave in. She wanted to focus on her school work, after all this was her last year of high school, and George was proving to be a distraction in more ways than one. There was one event where she was in her room doing her school work when he came up to surprise her. She insisted she couldn’t go out today, her work was keeping her busy, but George didn’t mind. He sat there with her and encouraged her to work as hard as she could. But he grew restless, all boys do, and wanted her attention. She never did finish her school work that night, opting instead to lay on her bed necking with George. She gave her first handjob that night, but that's as far as she allowed it to go. 

The night of her high school graduation was when she finally decided she was going to have sex with George. 

Because she had graduated, and she was now 16, her parents officially saw her as an adult, which meant she was allowed to spend the night outside the house. George took her to visit Indianapolis, and they spent the day at the Indiana State Fair. Afterwards, they had dinner, where Winnie drank way more than a lady should, and ended up cutting their night short to go back to their hotel. 

George was gentle with her. She didn’t know she was his first, nor that he was way more nervous than he was letting himself come off, but he gave no indication. He explored her body like he knew exactly which way to turn her on. His fingers trailed all over the right spots, leaving behind sparks underneath her skin, which fanned a fire that was low in her belly. The heat that pooled inside her was deathly, but she was electrified. She had never wanted anything as bad as she wanted George. 

He kissed her like she was the air he needed to breathe; as if he would suffocate without her. George’s mouth on her body was the charge on a live wire, buzzing and tingling all over her. He was delicate, but urgent, and so tender with his touches. There was love in everything he did to her. 

When he finished, he clung to her so tightly, she could feel him trembling in her arms. They coaxed each other down from the highs of their first orgasms, the thrill of what they just did still vibrating in the air, with soft kisses left on the other's face. That night, they slept soundly, limbs tangled and hearts beating right next to each other.