Page 23 of Ruck Me

“I can’t tell my friends I’m a virgin!”

“Um, that’s exactly the type of thing you should be able to tell your friends.”

“It’s not like that,” I answered defensively while inwardly acknowledging she had a point. If these girls were really my friends, they wouldn’t treat me like a freak show because I hadn’t had sexyet.

“How is itthen?”

I sighed and twisted a lock of hair around my finger. “It’s just … it’s a big deal. There aren’t many people my age who are still virgins, you know? So the second I admit it, the conversation turns into an inquisition. No matter what we were talking about before, everything stops and I have to answer a thousand different questions. It’s easier to avoid it altogether.”

“So what you’re saying is you want to lose your virginity so you don’t have to answer stupid questions from stupid people?”

“No, I want to have sex. I want to experience a mind-numbing orgasm that doesn’t come from a battery operated boyfriend. Everything else is just a bonus.”

“So you do own a vibrator!”

I snorted. “Of course. I’m a virgin, not a fuckingmonk!”

“Okay, well, I’m just saying, you’re probably better at getting yourself off than most guys would be. Trust me when I say there are a lot of men out there who either don’t know what the hell they’re doing or don’t care if you’re having a good time. I speak from experience when I say sex is not always what it’s cracked up to be. And unlike the old adage of bad pizza still being good, bad sex is just badsex.”

“That’s what Eoin said,” I mused, the words slipping out before I could stopthem.

“Really?” Tanya asked, her voice turning speculative. “And when did Young Eoin saythat?”

“Um ... well.”

“Oh shit!” she exclaimed knowingly. “That’s why you’re calling, isn’tit?”

“Um …”

“Don’t you hold out on me now, Aoife. You left the pub with him that night. Have you guys been hookingup?”

“Not exactly.”

“Not exactly?”

I fidgeted with a loose string on the quilt I’d had since my fifth birthday. “Well, Eoin overheard us talking and he was adamant that I not call Kevin. He can’t tell me why, but I get the impression he knows something pretty bad that he won’t share with anyone. He was emphatic that I choose anyone but Kevin to punch my v-card.”

“Smartboy.”

“You may not say so when you hear who he said I should sleep with instead.”

Tanya chuckled. “This is going to be sogood.”

“Shut up or I won’t tell you,” I answered, my cheeks turnpink.

“Let me guess, he volunteered for the job himself.”

I groaned. “How did youknow?”

“I’m not blind. I saw the way he was looking at you when youleft.”

“Quit lying. It wasn’t likethat.”

“Yes, Aoife, it was exactlylikethat.”

“Eoin doesn’t think of me that way,” I argued. “At least not at thetime.”

“Suit yourself, but when Eoin followed you out of the pub he looked like a guy who was about to eat his favorite flavor of ice cream … and I’m guessing his is strawberry. Or maybe bubblegum. Definitely something cute and pink,” she continued with a laugh. “And you think maybe you want to gobble him up now too, don’tyou?”

---