CHAPTER 2
JESS
"WHAT!" I finally stuttered, but Sam and Laura were being dead serious
"You know we are right. We can't go to college as virgins. It's social suicide. We need to get it over and done with. Rip off the band-aid. What if I meet a cute guy, and he realizes that nobody has ever been interested in me that way? He's going to wonder what the hell is wrong with me." Sam whined. She might have a point. I wanted college to be a fresh start - not just a repeat of high school
"What about it being special and with someone you love?" I asked Sam, who was a hopeless
romantic. She always said that the first time, she would be with someone she planned to marry
"That was a long time ago. I grew up. I stopped believing in fairytales." Sam sighed
"The first time is awful anyway. I'd rather do it with a guy too drunk to remember - maybe I need to be too drunk to remember as well." Laura joked, lifting the mood
Jess, Laura, and I then made a promise: The first chance we get, we will lose the V-card to someone forgettable
Now, all we needed was a party with a lot of guys and even more alcohol, and I knew where we could find one
NEXT DAY
Laura and I sat behind my brother and Luke in
AP English the following week. I preferred the back. It was easy to disappear behind my brother's infamy. I could take this class in peace
Laura didn't mind because it gave her the perfect opportunity to ogle my brother
I nudged her side with my elbow and hand signaled her to wipe the drool from her mouth
Her cheeks went bright red, and she rolled her eyes, making me laugh
I was stifling my laugh when I looked up to see Luke staring right at me with a scowl on his face and his jaw set hard - his lips pressed in a flat line as if I had just pissed him off somehow
I raised my shoulders and shrugged, mouthing 'What' to him. I didn't care for his disapproving look - he wasn't my father, he wasn't even my
friend ... not anymore. Luke can go shove it up his..
Laura jabbed me in the side, making me yelp in my chair, and Luke turned back around, his arms crossed. I watched him grind his teeth
"What's his problem?" Laura whispered, and I shrugged again. "No idea,"
When Mr. Smith left the class for a moment, Josh leaned into Luke to tell him about a party Freddy was hosting. Laura and I leaned in, trying to figure out what they were saying. It's not like we would be invited personally, but we could crash. His parties usually had so many people that nobody would even notice us
Nobody noticed us anyway
"Dude, Fred's this Friday. Are you 1n?" my brother asked Luke, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes again. Why would Luke not be in? Obviously, he would be in. Luke had a new girl every week—one mindless, pretty face with no
personality after another
Freddy is the richest kid in the entire school and throws the wildest parties. His parents own an estate, and they are hardly ever home
I looked over at Laura to make sure she heard what I heard, and I knew she did by the look on her face. It seemed like losing our V-cards might happen sooner rather than later. The bell rang, and we shot up so fast that my head was a little dizzy. I stumbled and grabbed the desk
"Jess, are you okay?" Laura asked, helping me keep my balance. After my run this morning, I knew I shouldn't have skipped breakfast, and then I didn't get a chance to eat lunch either
"Yeah. All good. I just need..."
"To eat something." A deep voice finished my
sentence, and I looked up to see Luke standing over me with a scowl, holding out a protein bar
I arched a brow at him. Where the hell does he get off telling me to eat? "I eat." My response was pathetic, but I couldn't think of anything better. Luke cocked his head to the side, dropped the bar, then turned around and walked out
"What the hell was that..." Why was Luke so angry at me all the time? He was the one that stopped being friends with me
Laura picked up the bar and leaned in, "You forgot breakfast, didn't you?" She asked, and I nodded sheepishly, taking the bar and nibbling on the corner
That afternoon, we walked home and told Sam about the party
"THIS FRIDAY?" Sam squealed
"Okay, great. Now we've got two days to find the perfect outfit. The fuck me and forget my outfit. We can't go like this. We will never get laid. Let's just be honest. Like - we need a makeover for this. Two days isn't enough!" Sam rambled on until we caught up to her and stopped her
"Breathe, Sam. Breathe." Laura tried to calm her down
"We don't need a makeover, Sam. It's fine. It's Just one night, remember. We don't want a guy to fall in love with us," I reminded her
"Do you honestly think anybody would sleep with us? Look at us. I barely know if you're a girl or not, Jess." Sam threw a jab, and I clutched my chest
"Okay, first of all, ouch. That hurt. Secondly, I love this t-shirt. And this denim is so comfortable. I don't care if it's oversized. Let me be. At least it's clean." I whined, pulling at my T-shirt
I looked at Laura, who still had paint on her shirt and hair
"Hey, don't look at me; I was painting until two o'clock this morning. I was going to be late if I had to change and take a shower." Laura defended her appearance. Sam stared at us with her arms folded and a 'see what I mean! look on her face
"Okay, Fine. A small makeover." I gave up and let my head fall back, groaning. I hate the idea of makeovers. It's so cliche
FRIDAY
I poured the champagne into three glasses. We needed liquid courage, and my mother made sure there was enough in the house. My parents were out of town for the weekend, and Josh was next door at Luke's, giving us the house to ourselves
Tonight is the night
Tomorrow - I won't be a virgin
Sam pulled out three dresses from a bag she had brought with her. "I borrowed these from my niece," she said, holding up the dresses for us to see. They were all different colors and styles, but one thing they had in common was that they were all ridiculously short
Laura let out a whine. "Sam, these are so not what I had in mind. I'm going to look like a stripper."
I laughed along with Laura, but Sam just smiled sweetly. "These are my niece's more conservative dresses," she assured us. "Trust me, they're perfect for tonight."
I rolled my eyes. "Sam, I can't wear any underwear with this," I said, holding up a black strappy dress
Sam chuckled. "Hey, I know what I'm doing," she said. "And besides, you don't need underwear, remember."
I sighed and held it up again. It was black satin with a very low square neckline and thin straps
Laura picked up her deep purple dress. At least her dress covered her chest—it was a halter neck —but when she turned the dress around, the back was exposed, and I was suddenly relieved to have the black dress
I threw back my glass of champagne and poured another one
"I hope you ate something," Sam warned, and I chuckled nervously. I didn't eat, but I couldn't
My stomach was in a knot; I was so stressed out
"Of course I ate, Sam. Geez. Relax."
"Let's see yours!" Laura commanded, and Sam pulled out a dark green dress with a corset fitted into the bodice. It had no sleeves or straps to keep it up, just the corset
"How is a guy going to get you out of that?" I blurted out, and we all started laughing
"He doesn't need to get me out of it. Just lift it
up, and he can do it easily, even if the guy is a little drunk," Sam said with a grin. Laura and I nodded. "Nice. It makes sense. It's practical." I
offered to drink more champagne