by RH Tucker
“Seriously?” I grumble.
The erotic noises coming from his room, combined with thinking of Veronica and remembering her lips just a little bit ago, cause me to jump in the shower. There’s a knock at the door before Taylor swings it open without waiting.
“What the hell?” I yell.
“Dude, we have extra condoms, right?” He starts rummaging through a cabinet.
“Get the hell out!”
He shakes his head, laughing. “Calm down, why are you freaking out?” He turns and eyes me suspiciously. “Holy shit, were you just jacking off?”
“Get out, Taylor!”
He turns around, still laughing, grabbing the extra box before leaving.
“Asshole,” I mutter.
Throwing on my headphones after the shower to muffle out any noise coming from Taylor’s room, I decide to send a text message to Veronica before going to sleep.
Me: Hey, I had a really good time tonight. How about we do something tomorrow?
Veronica: Me too. I’d like that
Me: Ok. Cool.
Me: You should send me a pic
The bubbles on my phone pop up before disappearing. I wait nervously, wondering if I shouldn’t have asked for one. She seems concerned with her weight, so maybe she doesn’t like to take pictures of herself. I’m not lying to her when I tell her she’s sexy. She is. She might not think of herself that way, maybe because of how sexy is supposed to look based off magazines and TV shows. Or perhaps it has to do with her dickhead of an ex-boyfriend. Probably a combination of those things. But I do like her. I do think she’s beautiful. Now I really want her to send me a picture.
My phone vibrates.
Veronica: Here you go …
It’s a dark picture that looks like she’s on her bed with a lamp next to her. She’s giving me a timid smile, nibbling on her lip, and I can see the straps of her bra and the top of her cleavage, leaving me wanting to see the rest of it.
Me: Tease :)
Veronica: Lol. I have to leave something for the imagination
Me: Believe me, I’m imagining it right now
She sends me a shocked emoji followed by a sly smile emoji.
Veronica: Don’t I get one?
I stare down at my sheets that are now stiffer than usual. No, Micah. Do not send her a dick pic. You’re not Taylor. “Idiot,” I mumble and then take a picture of myself from the chest up, giving her a smirk.
I get three drooling face emojis in reply.
Me: Calm down lol
Veronica: Too late. I think I need to take another shower lol
Me: Now I’m picturing you in the shower. This night is about to get really sticky really fast
Veronica: Ew LOL!
I let out a laugh, thankful that she either thinks I’m joking or is taking it a jokingly way. Because I’m being completely honest.
Veronica: Did you fall asleep or are you really picturing that?
Me: Hmm, do you want me to lie to you or tell you the truth lol?
Veronica: …
Veronica: Truth…?
Me: Okay, hold on, it takes longer to text with just one hand
Veronica: LOL! Goodnight Micah. Sweet dreams
Me: I don’t know how sweet they’ll be. Might be R rated. Some may even be X rated
Veronica: You’re bad
Me: You know you like it. Goodnight
Veronica: Nite
The next day we decide to hit up Venice Beach, strolling the boardwalk, and end up stopping by one of the street performers who’s performing magic. A small crowd around him pays attention as he pulls out a gold coin from his pocket, waving his hand around as if he’s going to make the coin disappear. Seeming to get distracted, the coin falls to the ground.
“Oops,” he laughs, and picks it up. The crowd laughs along as he tries the trick again and again the coin falls. “Okay, I just learned this trick last night. So, let me try this one more time.”
He walks over to us and looks at me. “Sir, mind if I borrow your girlfriend?” Veronica looks up at me and starts to blush.
“I don’t know,” I answer, giving her a smile. “I kind of like her.”
“I just need her hand,” he says and picks it up. “Abracadabra!” he shouts. Again, the coin falls to the ground. “Okay, something’s wrong.” More people laugh as he scratches his head. “Hmm, maybe …” He rubs his chin and stares at me. “Yes, yes, this is what I’m doing wrong. Here,” he says, handing me Veronica’s hand. “Now, do exactly as I say, and this trick should finally work.”
Pulling out a magic wand from his pocket, he waves it in the air. Putting the coin in her hand, he shakes the wand again. “Okay, now you, sir, put your hand over hers.” I do as his instructs. “Yes, yes. Very good. Okay, now, abracadabra! Bippity, boppity, toil and trouble! Let the magic power, turn this coin into a flower! Shazam!”
A hush falls over everyone. I raise an eyebrow at Veronica who’s giggling.
“I said, shazam!” he yells again, wiggling his fingers at our hands, which are still placed on top of one another. “Ahem!” he coughs loudly, making us both look at him. “Shazam means to move your hands, lovebirds.” More laughs from the crowd.
I take my hand away from hers, and the gold coin is gone, replaced with a red, origami paper rose. Everyone around us applauds.
“Thank you! Thank you!” He takes a bow for everyone as the crowd starts to disperse. Pulling out a few bills, I put them in his top hat he has placed out in front.
Taking the paper rose from her, he puts a small green wire through the middle of it and then hands it back to her. “For you, my dear.” She smiles, but before she can take it, I grab it from his hand.
“Whoa there, buddy, don’t try to move in on my girl.” He raises his hands in apology and backs away.
Veronica looks up at me. “Your girl, huh?”
I shrug with a smirk, tucking the flower through her hair. “Absolutely. If you want.”
Adjusting the flower, she takes my hands, giving me a smile. “I want.”
We spend a little more time walking around and then head back to the apartment, where I turn on New Girl, and we watch a few episodes before we start making out again.
Things are escalating and I know I want this girl, and from how she’s reacting I know she feels the same. Just as I’m pulling my shirt off, our front door opens and closes. I figure, or at least I hope, Taylor won’t bother to say anything, but of course, he does.
“Yo, Micah, I’m gonna order some pizza, you want anything?”
“Uh, no,” I shout out from my room. I’m leaning over Veronica, who’s holding a giggle back.
“Okay.” I’m just about to start kissing her again when he says, “Hey, just a heads up, Lana came into the gym looking for you.”
Veronica’s smile fades. She stares up at me, and I let out a sigh, closing my eyes and shaking my head.
“I tried telling her it’s over for you, but she just begged me to give her your schedule,” he continues. “Don’t worry, I didn’t. And I said you were out again with that Cynthia girl you hooked up with when you guys broke up the first time. She didn’t seem to like that and left.”
“Great. Thanks,” I reply somberly, now sitting next to Veronica.
“Shit, I left my wallet at work. I’ll be back.”
We hear the door open and close again. I let out another sigh. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s … it’s fine.” She adjusts her shirt and grabs her phone. “You know, I should probably go. I’ll just text Cindy.”
“No,” I take her hand. “Please, don’t go.”
“Micah, I’m sorry. Look, I should’ve said this in the beginning, but …” She looks down at the sheets on my bed. “I’m not interested in being a rebound.”
“Whoa. Veronica, you’re not a rebound.”
“Yeah, but you guys had so much history. I remember you guys went out in school and now—”
“And now we’re over. She cheated
on me. Twice.”
Shaking her head, she brings her hands to her face. “But you’re also … experienced.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is so embarrassing. I’m … I’m … a virgin.”
“Oh,” I answer. She nods her head but still avoids eye contact. “Hey, I’m not Taylor,” I say with a chuckle.
“No, I know. But still, you’re more experienced than me.”
I let out a laugh, running a hand up her leg. “You seemed to be doing fine a minute ago.”
“Well, I mean, I’ve done stuff. I’ve just never done … it.” I can’t help it. I let out another laugh. “It’s not funny,” she says, smiling.
“Okay, since you’re putting it all out there, I’ll do the same. I’ve been with two girls. Two. Yes, that girl Cynthia, Taylor just said, was one of them, and I only did it because he was hassling me, saying I needed to get over Lana. The first time. And it didn’t help. It didn’t make me feel better, it just made me feel worse. I don’t sleep around.”
“Okay.” She nods.
“And I like you, Vero. If you want to go home, I’ll take you home. But, I’d also like you to stay, too. We can just watch New Girl, and I’ll steal Taylor’s pizza for us when he comes back. Seriously, no hanky panky.”
She giggles. “Did you just say hanky panky?”
“Yeah, no good?”
“Maybe if we were in the fifties. Let me text Cindy so she can cover for me if my brothers text her. They can be … overbearing.”
I can’t help the huge grin that slides across my lips. “Does that mean you’ll stay tonight?”
She nods. “And turn down pizza and New Girl? When you dangle that hook in front of me, of course, I’ll stay.” Laughing, she snuggles closer to me as I grab the remote, turning on the TV. “And Micah,” she starts kissing me along my jaw, working up to my ear, “we can have a little hanky tonight. Just no panky.”
Chapter 10
Veronica
“Just no panky?” Cindy scoffs.
She said she wanted to get some new shoes, so we’re at the mall, and I just finished telling her about my night over at Micah’s. True to his word, he grabbed the pizza from Taylor when he got back, we watched some more Netflix, and then made out a little more. Okay, a lot more.
“Veronica, panky is the funnest part of hanky panky. What’s the point of hanky, if you don’t finish it with the panky?”
I narrow my eyes at her, confused. Then we both start laughing. “It was nice. He gave me a shirt to sleep in, and—”
“And blah, blah, blah. Get to the good stuff, V. All you’ve told me is how much you both hate olives on pizza.”
“They’re gross.”
“Girl,” she says through clenched teeth, raising a fist to me, “if you don’t spill the beans on the kind of hanky you guys had, I’m gonna go total bitch-mode on you.”
I laugh again. “Jeez, someone’s grumpy.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” She hangs her head low. “Stupid, Jackson. He called me but then blew me off yesterday. I can’t get a read on that guy.”
“Cindy, just drop him.” I stare at her, my tone severe.
“I know, I know. Anyways, enough about him. You’ve been smiling way too much today for me to believe there was no hanky pan— Ugh. I’m over that phrase.” She laughs. “For me to believe you guys didn’t do it. You know you can tell me. I’ve been your biggest supporter in Project V, remember?”
We walk into a Jamba Juice and order as I start laughing. “I’m serious. We didn’t. We just made out and messed around a bit. And this morning, it was …” I bite my lip, trying to contain my smile. “It was a good morning.”
“Veronica, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I swear to God, I’m going to dump my Pomegranate Passion all over you as soon as I get it.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Okay, get ready for a pomegranate shower.”
She’s handed her drink and starts to raise her hand, taking the cap off the drink. I know she wouldn’t really, but I throw my hands up anyways, laughing while I do it.
“Okay, okay,” I say, lowering my voice. “We didn’t have sex.”
“But?”
“But … we did other stuff.”
“Other stuff?” She quirks an eyebrow, and I nod, looking away. “Well, that’s good for him, I guess.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“V,” she groans, rolling her eyes. “If you’re happy, I’m happy, but you better speak up this time. If he acts like Tim and doesn’t reciprocate at least a couple times, I’m gonna force you to break up with him on principal.”
I bite my lip, trying and failing to hold back my smirk. “Oh. That’s … not gonna be a problem.”
“What?” She stops in her tracks, her eyes popping open. “So you’re saying …” I nod while unleashing a wide smile. “Yass!”
Her scream makes a couple mall-goers turn and stare at us as she wraps her arms around me. “Oh my God. It’s the best, isn’t it? I can’t believe it, thank God!”
“Okay, okay, calm down!” I get my drink, trying not to blush because I know the employees have heard at least some of this conversation, so I usher her out of the store.
“Okay, serious question,” she says as I roll my eyes and we start to walk again. “Did you have to ask, or did he offer?”
“Cindy, I’m not talking about that.”
She grabs my arm. “Please, please, please. Just this one question. It’s important.”
“How is it important?”
“Answer and I’ll tell you.”
She gives me a mischievous grin. “Fine. No, I didn’t have to ask.”
“Giiirl,” she says, eyeing me sideways. “Don’t get rid of him, because I will swoop up on him if you do.”
“You are so stupid,” I reply, letting out a laugh. My laugh immediately halts. Tim’s walking out of a store, the same skinny brunette from the street fair wrapped around his arm.
“What is it?” Cindy asks before she turns and sees him. “Great.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine.”
Our pace slows, and I try not to look, but I do. Our eyes meet, and he smiles. As much as I still despise him after cheating on me, and as happy as I’m feeling about everything that’s happened with Micah this last week, I still feel something for that douchebag. His smile always gets me.
“Hey, V. What’s up, Cindy?”
“Nothing, dick,” Cindy says bluntly. The girl on his arm jerks her head back in shock. Tim gives her a smug smile.
“Cindy.” I cringe and shoot her a look.
“How are things?” he asks.
“It’s good,” I answer, giving him a timid smile.
“Cool, cool.”
Cindy jumps in. “Yes, everything is great. Fantastic! She’s going out with this great guy, and you know what? He went down on her this morning. Yeah!”
“Cindy!” I grab her arm, but she doesn’t stop.
“And she didn’t tell me, but I know she went down on him. I’m sure he’s a bigger man than you, in more ways than one,” she snarls. She actually snarls, and steps to the brunette. “Honey, I hope you know what you’re getting, cuz this jackass likes to take and not give.”
“Okay,” Tim mutters, looking embarrassed. I’ve never seen him embarrassed before. “Well, I guess we’ll get going.”
He walks away, the girl eyeing me carefully, before looking back at Tim. She whispers something to him, and he frowns, shaking his head. I spin on my feet, waving my hands in Cindy’s face.
“What the hell was that?”
“What?” She stares at me as like she did nothing wrong. Like what she just said was completely normal, justified, and as common as telling someone what the last song she heard was. “He deserved that.”
“It was freaking embarrassing.”
“V, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You should feel proud.” I shake my head at her, confusion still across my face.
“You have a hot guy, who likes you. And Tim is obviously second-guessing things. Sucks for him.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out a huff. “What are you talking about?”
“He was checking you out right now.”
“No, he wasn’t.”
“Yes. He was. You were too busy looking at the ground all bashful, but he was. And as you can tell, he didn’t have Hilda on his arm anymore. And Janet was one and done. If he had his way, he’d probably ask you out again.”
“You’re crazy. That girl was like a size two.”
“Gah! I’m so over this.” She throws her hands up and starts briskly walking ahead of me. “Follow me.”
“What? What are we doing?”
Ignoring me, she peers inside different stores. “No, not there. I’m going to prove something to you. I’m sick and tired of you comparing yourself to these boney ass girls, just because you got some meat on your bones. Micah likes you, V.”
“I know he does, but that doesn’t mean—”
“No.” She spins on her heels, shoving her hand in my face. “Don’t you say another word.” Turning back around, she starts walking again, continuing to look through different store windows. “No, no. I think … no, that’s a girl. Oh, here we go.”
“Cindy, what are we—” My whispers are cut off as I follow her into a clothing store. A guy is standing behind a counter who smiles as Cindy approaches him.
“Hi,” she says, way too flirty.
“Hey, how you girls doing today? Anything I can help you find?”
“No, I just had a favor to ask you.”
“Um, okay.” He looks at me suspiciously, before returning his attention to Cindy.
“You’re cute.” She lets out an over-the-top giggle. Leaning a little closer, she reads his name tag. “Chad. Chad, I’m Cindy. This is Veronica.” I nervously take a sip of my drink as she motions to me. “So, first off, do you like Asian girls?”
