Page 58 of Freshman

Alfie frowned. “How high?”

“£25.”

“Just to get in the door?” Alfie’s eyebrows sprung up on his head.

“Yeah, but…” Max shrugged. “If you don’t have enough, you could pay me back, or…or we could skip the club altogether.”

“I think Tia has her heart set on it. In her words, she’s ‘a little curious’.”

“Tia could still go,” Max blurted. “I meant we could skip it and go somewhere else.”

Alfie bit the inside of his cheek. “I’d kind of like to check the place out.”

“Yeah, sure, it’s great.” Max lowered his head. “There’s a lot of guys our age, but there’s some”—he wrinkled up his nose—“older guys that kind of hover around the dance floor.”

“Older guys?”

“Yeah. Perverts, right?”

Alfie looked away. “I think as long as everyone is over eighteen, it’s all good.”

“Yeah, but…” Max shuddered. “They’re old.”

“Have you got lucky there?” Alfie asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Yeah.” Max bit his lip. “I’ve had a few hook-ups.”

“Good for you.” Alfie smiled.

“I’m…I’m no longer a virgin.”

Alfie gawped, not knowing what to say to that. “Right. That’s…that’s great.”

“I know that was the reason you turned me down last time. You found my lack of experience unattractive or whatever.”

“Jesus, Max.” Alfie gripped Max’s shoulder. “That wasn’t it at all.”

“We were kissing, and then…”

“You blurted into my mouth that you were a virgin.”

Max shrugged. “I wanted to be honest. I wasn’t expecting you to go cold on me, then not message me back.”

“You deserved to lose your virginity to someone important to you, not me on the first night we met. Tia was so excited for us to meet; I think in her head, she’d already decided we were the perfect couple, but we’re different. We’re after different things.”

“What are you after?”

What I can’t have.

“No strings,” Alfie said, taking a swig of his beer.

Max smirked. “You’re assuming I want strings? I lost my virginity against the wall around the back of Glam.”

“Jesus.”

“I don’t want to be pampered. I just want sex and seems to me like you do too.” He shrugged. “I’m fine with no strings.”

“No repeats,” Alfie added.

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