V-Card

by Alicia Michaels

  After a few movies, Dain had drifted off on the couch, with me seated between his legs, resting against his chest. Before long, I was also asleep, wrapped in his arms. Waking up with him felt better than anything had in a long time. I could have stayed like that with him all day.

  I glanced up to find him staring at me through lowered eyelids, his jade eyes shimmering in the light of the sun.

  “Hey,” he whispered.

  “Hi,” I answered, suddenly aware of the fact that our bodies were pressed together from chest to hip, and that Dain was especially … excited … first thing in the morning.

  He pressed even closer, turning me so that I was under him. “I like waking up with you,” he mumbled, lowering his lips to mine. As we kissed, he nestled between my legs, one of his hands insistent on my thigh as it trailed upward. He paused at my hip, his fingers flexing possessively as his tongue tickled mine.

  I whimpered as his hands slipped under my shirt, his fingertips skimming my stomach. He lifted the fabric slowly, dragging it over my skin teasingly. My back arched as he lowered himself down my body. His lips skimmed my skin, his tongue making slow circles that caused my toes to curl. I held on to him, my fingers digging into my shoulders as he lifted my shirt higher, exposing my black, strapless bra.

  Typically, this is the part where I start breaking out in hives, panting, wheezing, and freaking out. With Dain, everything just seemed to fall in to place, and instead of being afraid, I was eager. My back bowed as he worked at the clasp, his mouth tracing a slow path upward. My breath caught in my throat in anticipation, and came out on a moan as one hand slid into the cup of my bra, encountering bare flesh. Dain kissed me as his hand continued moving beneath my shirt, causing ripples of pleasure to creep across my skin. My shirt fell to the floor first, and his joined it, and within seconds we were chest to chest, kissing and clinging to each other.

  “If we don’t pump the brakes here, I’m not going to be able to stop,” Dain panted, even as he kissed my neck, his tongue swirling over the spot where my pulse hammered against my throat.

  “I don’t want you to,” I whispered, my arms wrapping around his neck. “Don’t stop.”

  Dain hesitated for a fraction of a second, but I could tell it physically hurt him to. “Are you sure?”

  I stared up at him, honestly reflecting on his question. I have a history of not being sure about things. Should I get highlights or not? Is it a good idea to get into this trend of wearing leggings as pants, or no? Are Uggs a good idea? Etc., etc., and so forth. When it comes to guys, I’ve never really been in love … not in that heart rending, earth shattering way that every girl wishes for. I’ve been in lust, and I’ve felt deep affection, but I’ve always been unsure of whether it would last. Now, looking at Dain, I felt something deep, a stirring of emotion that robbed me of my breath. I wasn’t sure what I was going to eat for lunch, or whether I was going to pursue a Master’s degree after graduation. I didn’t know how I was going to salvage my friendship with Luke, or what classes I was going to take next semester, but this I knew. This I wanted, with no uncertainty. I’d never wanted it more with anyone else.

  “Yes,” I answered firmly. “Yes, I’m sure.”

  He nodded. “Okay. We’re not doing this here.”

  Dain stood abruptly, reaching down to scoop me into his arms. Laughing, I clung to him, holding on as he walked toward the bedroom. “Where are we going?”

  “Bed,” he answered. “Your first time should be in a bed.”

  I couldn’t believe it. This was happening. Right now, on day twenty, I was going to finally put my fears behind me. I wasn’t going to be an old spinster or a crazy cat lady. I caught glimpses of Dain’s bedroom as he walked through the open door with me. Shades of black and white flashed by as he dumped me onto the bed before coming over me. His fingers tangled in my hair as he bent down to kiss my neck again. How on earth does he make a kiss on the neck feel like the most sexual thing ever? I could have literally laid there all day letting him nibble on that one spot just beneath my ear, the one that makes me feel like my insides are on fire.

  Dain reach down between us, his fingers working at the button on my jeans, and I tensed, knowing that soon I’d be past the point of no return. I closed my eyes as the button freed from the loop and clutched the comforter tightly.

  “Relax,” Dain whispered, kissing me again, lightly to put me at ease. “We’re not going to do anything until you’re ready, okay?”

  I opened my eyes and stared up at him. “If I were any more ready, I’d be humping your leg like a dog in heat.”

  Dain laughed. “Why don’t we stick to the basics before we start getting kinky?”

  I smiled. “That sounds great.”

  “Okay,” he said, leaning toward me again. His lips were an inch from mine when the chorus of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” blasted from the living room. He paused, frowning. “What is that?”

  I groaned, sitting up and forcing him to roll to his side. “My stupid phone.”

  He reached for me, pulling me back onto the bed and kissing my bare shoulder. “Leave it,” he said. “It can wait.”

  I sighed and pulled away again. “My roommates might be worried I didn’t come home last night. I’ll just let them know I’m okay and we can pick up where we left off.” I stood. “You stay right there.”

  Dain laid back against the pillows, clasping his hands behind his head. “Whatever you say.”

  I made it to my phone just in time to take Kinsley’s call. “Hey, Kinsley, now’s not really a good time.”

  “Dude, seriously?” she screeched into the phone. “Never mind the fact that you didn’t come home last night, now you’ve left me hanging at the student council meeting for the Halloween festival!”

  I squeezed my eyes shut and fought the urge to scream in frustration. I’d totally forgotten about that. As vice president of the student council, Kinsley is always trying to rope us into volunteering for some event or another. In a moment of weakness, I was unable to refuse when she asked me to join the volunteer planning committee for our annual Halloween festival and haunted house. We’d been meeting every weekend for the last few weeks, and Halloween was only two weeks away. The event was open to the community and the proceeds went to charity—remembering that made me feel even crappier. She was going to kill me for missing this meeting, which was starting in ten minutes.

  “Kinsley, if you knew why I wasn’t there, you’d cut me some slack.”

  She gasped. “It’s ten o’clock in the morning!”

  I shrugged. “Some people like it with the lights on.”

  “Ew. Can’t it wait? I really need you.”

  I sighed, already reaching for my discarded bra and top. “Of course it can wait,” I said grudgingly. After all, I did promise Kinsley I’d be there and I would have been furious with her for dumping me for Aaron. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Kinsley sighed with relief. You would think she was actually president of the council with the way she carried on so. But that’s my Kinsley; she never does anything halfway. After fixing my clothes, I trudged back into the room to face Dain. He sat up as I entered, his eyes widening as he realized I was fully dressed again. He ran his hands over his short hair.

  “Cold feet?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No, just something I promised Kinsley I’d be around for. I’m so sorry, Dain.”

  His stomach muscles rippled as he went to stand. “It’s cool.”

  I shifted from one foot to the other. “No, it’s not. I feel bad.”

  Dain pulled me against him and kissed my forehead. “Jenn, it’s okay. I’m not an animal. I can control myself. You owe me big for this, though.”

  I slapped his arm. “You pig!”

  He laughed. “I wasn’t talking about sex! I was thinking more like free flu shots for life after you become a nurse.”

  “You’re rich, you don’t need free healthcare.”

  He shrugged. “Sad but t
rue. A date then, Sunday night, no interruptions.”

  I smiled. “Deal. Maybe we’ll even get back to …” I trailed off, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

  Dain grabbed my hips as he leaned down to kiss me, pulling me close. I shivered against him at the promise his body made. “Maybe,” he answered, “but I’m not in a hurry. It’ll happen when it happens, and when it does …” He kissed me, long and hot, his tongue engaging mine in another promise, one that I hoped would be fulfilled soon.

  Chapter 8

  Day 21

  “So, how was it?”

  I glared at Chloe over the pile of Halloween candy and dollar store toys spread out on the floor around us. The paper goodie bags we’d made for the kids coming to our haunted house had been decorated and were ready for stuffing. After our committee meeting, the treasurer of the student council had promptly given us the money set aside for this purpose and put us in charge of goodie bags. So here we were, on the living room floor on a Saturday night, stuffing bags.

  I accepted a bag from Chloe and stuffed a handful of candy into it before passing it to Kinsley, who filled it with an assortment of Halloween toys—bouncy balls that looked like eyeballs, spider rings, tiny cans of silly string, pouches of fake blood, and pencils with skeletons and pumpkins on them. Kinsley passed the bag back to Chloe, who secured it with a bedazzled clothespin before adding it to the others we’d finished.

  “How was what?” I asked, pretending I didn’t know what she was asking.

  Chloe handed me another bag and smiled impishly. “You know,” she said, rotating her hips. “The boom-chicka-wow-wow.”

  Kinsley giggled, but I only glared harder. “There was no boom-chicka-wow-wow,” I griped. “Because someone called me just when things were getting good. I spent my day arguing over whether Leatherface or Jigsaw were scarier, and whether we should worry that strobe lights might cause seizures. Now, I’m stuffing goodie bags.”

  “Wow,” Kinsley said, “you’re grumpy when you don’t get laid.”

  I paused, a handful of candy clutched in my hand. I stared at her pointedly.

  “Oh yeah,” she mumbled, going back to stuffing candy. “I forgot.”

  Chloe perked up. “Forgot what?”

  I could feel my face turning red. “Nothing,” I said, glaring at Kinsley. “Keep your mouth shut.”

  Kinsley lowered her head, but Chloe kept staring at me, her mouth hanging open. “Wait a minute—”

  “Chloe, shut up!” Kinsley hissed.

  Chloe, ever tactless, laughed. “Oh my God! Jenn, you’re a virgin!”

  I snatched a bag from her. “Say it louder, I don’t think the people in 4D could hear you.”

  She at least had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Seriously, though, I had no idea.”

  “Well, it’s not a big deal.”

  “Of course it is,” Kinsley said. “You were about to do it, with Dain. That’s not a small thing.”

  I paused in the middle of stuffing my bag, setting it on the floor. “I know,” I answered, my voice low. “I’ve put it off so long and now … I’m just so psyched out about it. But with Dain it just feels right.”

  Kinsley smiled, and a dreamy expression that only came about when she was talking about Aaron crept across her face. “I know what you mean,” she said. “That’s how it felt with Aaron. I was so nervous, I was shaking. When he kissed me and held me, everything just fell into place. It was the best day of my life.”

  Chloe snorted. “You guys are making too big a deal out of it. Virginity is a nuisance, and losing it sucks.”

  “When’d you lose yours?” Kinsley asked.

  “Senior prom,” she said. “My date was clumsy and it lasted all of five minutes. Now after the first time, that’s when all the good stuff happens. The guy after that is the one I count as my first time. That boy had hands that wouldn’t quit and the stamina of an Olympic track star.”

  I sighed. “I’ve had more mishaps and chances at getting this right than anyone ought to have. Maybe I’m just hopeless.”

  Chloe patted my hand. “Not at all. It’ll happen, and probably with Dain. He seems to really care about you.”

  “I think he does,” I said, resuming my work. “I feel like maybe this is the real deal.”

  Before either could respond, the front door opened and a high-pitched, nasally voice floated down the hall. Kinsley rolled her eyes and Chloe groaned.

  “Kara,” we all mumbled in unison as Luke came around the corner with his date. Dressed in a tiny red dress, Kara clung to his arm, giggling and nibbling on Luke’s neck.

  “Hey guys,” Luke said, staring pointedly at me.

  “Hey Luke,” Kinsley and Chloe responded. I merely sat there, staring back and forth between Luke and Kara. For some reason seeing them together burned me up. I lowered my eyes to my goodie bags.

  “What have you guys been up to tonight?” Kinsley asked, her attention back on her work. Chloe, too perceptive by half, was watching me curiously.

  “Oh, you know,” Luke drawled casually. “Little of this, little of that.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Kara lean in and kiss Luke’s neck again, still simpering like an idiot. “Just came back from a movie.”

  My fingers closed around a pencil printed with black bats and it snapped in half. Kara dislodged from Luke’s hold and came into the room. “Ooh, what are you guys doing?”

  “Goodie bags for the haunted house,” Kinsley answered absently.

  “Looks like fun,” she said, with her usual too-wide smile. “Can I help?”

  “We’ve got it,” I snapped, my voice clipped. I stared up at her pointedly until she took the hint.

  “Oh.” She’d been about to kneel beside me on the carpet, but stood now with a shrug. “Okay.”

  I could feel Luke’s glare on the back of my head, but I refused to look at him. I tossed the broken pencil aside and went back to stuffing bags with candy.

  “We have a guitar lesson anyway,” Luke stated, joining Kara in the living room and taking her hand.

  “Guitar lesson my ass.”

  I didn’t realize I’d said the words out loud until it was too late. Silence fell over the room, and even Kinsley gazed up at me now, her brow wrinkled in confusion. Chloe guffawed and choked on her laughter. In my peripherals, I saw Luke’s hand ball up into a fist.

  “Jennifer,” he said coolly, “do you have something you’d like to share with the rest of us?”

  I finally looked up at him, my jaw clenching. Just as I’d thought, Luke’s pass at me had nothing to do with actual feelings and everything to do with availability. Now that I’d made it clear I was off limits, he was on to Kara, who was available to everyone from here to Dallas. Why it bothered me so much, I couldn’t say.

  “No,” I ground out from between clenched teeth.

  “Are you sure?” he prodded, his face softening. His voice was low. “Nothing you want to say to anybody in this room? Anything at all?”

  What did he want from me? Jealousy? Rage? A chick fight? It wasn’t going to happen, not even with his fragile ego hanging in the balance. “Nope,” I said with a shrug. “Have a nice … lesson.”

  Luke snorted in exasperation and took Kara’s waist in hand, leading her toward the stairs. The Longhorns were playing the Aggies tonight, so Christian wouldn’t be back until late. When they were out of sight, I went back to work, ignoring Chloe’s and Kinsley’s curious stares. After a while, Chloe finally spoke up.

  “So,” she said lightly. “You going to tell us what that was all about?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing to tell.”

  “Bull,” Kinsley challenged. “What’s going on with you and Luke?”

  “Nothing, okay?” I snapped. “That girl just rubs me the wrong way, is all. Can we talk about something else?”

  Silence again. I felt horrible, but talking about Luke wasn’t going to happen. The last thing I needed was for Chloe to know that we had kissed. With her big mout
h, everyone we knew would hear the news by the next day and I didn’t want people thinking I was next in Luke’s long line of conquests.

  “Fine,” Chloe said. “Let me tell you about the hot guy I met last weekend.”

  Gratefully, I hung on to every word of Chloe’s story. Talking about her love life kept me from having to talk about mine and the confusing mess it had become. I tried really hard not to dwell on the fact that, even after an hour, not one note of music could be heard from upstairs.

  ***

  Day 22

  The next morning, I sat in the cafeteria across from Kinsley, poking at cold scrambled eggs. Not even my favorite biscuits could snap me out of the daze I’d been in since waking up that morning. My eyelids were heavy and my stomach was in knots.

  “Are you okay?” Kinsley asked, watching me from her side of the table. “You look like crap.”

  I wanted to be offended, but she was right. I’d had just enough energy this morning to pick out a pair of holey jeans and a worn, long-sleeved top. I think I might have finger-combed my hair before pulling it into a messy bun at the back of my head. Stray strands were everywhere and last night’s leftover mascara accentuated the dark circles under my eyes. At least I’d showered and brushed my teeth … I wasn’t that tired.

  “Weird dreams last night,” I answered honestly. Without Chloe around I could talk to Kinsley about anything. I loved Chloe to death, but that girl takes nothing seriously.

  “Really? About what?”

  “About Dain … and Luke.”

  Kinsley’s eyebrows shot up. “A threesome? Kinky.”

  I pursed my lips at her and threw a straw. She ducked and laughed. “Not that kind of dream!” I insisted. “It was just weird. I was in Dain’s apartment and we were kissing on the couch. It was nice, you know? Just like it always is when I’m with him. Then I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, he turned into Luke. I got up and started to run away from him, and he followed me. When I turned to look at him over my shoulder, he was Dain again. He grabbed my hand and started running with me down the hall. For some reason, the hallway was really long and filled with doors, but no matter which door we went into, Luke was there.”