I leave him to it and head for the kitchen for a drink, knowing that he’s going to follow.
Pulling out two glasses, I grab the bottle of vodka from the freezer and pour two shots.
I only have to wait a minute before footsteps move my way.
“Goodbye to your virginity,” I say holding up the glass. “I’ve been waiting years to celebrate this.”
“I fucking hate you,” he mutters, grabbing the glass and doing the shot without clinking it against mine.
“Pussy,” I quip before doing the same.
It burns, but in a good way.
“Another?” I ask but pour it long before he has a chance to answer.
He shakes his head but does the shot anyway.
“So, how was it?” I ask, hopping up on the counter, ready to hear all the juicy details.
“I thought you were listening,” he says, copying me and sitting on the opposite counter.
As I look up at him, I get hit with a strong sense of déjà vu.
We used to do this as kids in our shitty trailer kitchen. Honestly, I’ve no idea how the rotting cabinets took our weight, but they did. We used to spend hours sitting there shooting the shit. Most often alone, but sometimes with Noelle too.
“I was,” I confirm, not that he needs it. “Was it everything you hoped it would be?”
“More,” he whispers with a smirk on his lips.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. It was… everything. She’s everything.”
“Took you fucking long enough to realize it.”
“I’ve always known,” he admits. “I just thought she deserved better.”
“Oh, fuck off. How could she do any better than you?”
“You,” he blurts, making me throw my head back and laugh.
“Me? Fuck off. I don’t come anywhere close to standing up to you, let alone being better.”
He shakes his head, refusing to believe me.
“She had to show me what to do. I had no idea.”
“So? That’s fucking hot. And it’s better than you fumbling around in all the wrong places. Trust me, girls don’t like that.”
“Oh really?” he deadpans.
“I never had a Noelle to guide me. Just porn.”
“I bet that was hella helpful.”
“No, not really.”
We fall silent, Rix losing himself in his memories and me drowning in my regrets.