Page 7 of White Room Virgin

Lucien looked at me as if my question had been presumptuous, but then a gentle smile crossed his face. In the four days we’d known each other, this was the first time I hadn’t felt like I’d done something wrong. My presence alone sometimes seemed to agitate him so much that he could only ignore me. But maybe he was just in a great mood. Out of nowhere, he draped his arm around my shoulder and dragged me along.

“Come on, now the party’s getting started. Martin! Are you ready?”

His fragrance wafted toward me, catching me off guard. I had expected him to reek of cigarette smoke, but he smelled like he’d just showered and hadn’t smoked a single cigarette in the last few hours. I liked the smell and clumsily followed alongside him.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fun,” he assured me as he let go of me and picked up his coat from the cloakroom.

“Where are we going?”

“To Langstrasse.”

“And what’s there?”

“Alcohol.”

My two roommates dragged me to Zurich’s nightlife district, where we hit one bar after another. After what Lucien called a boring glass of water, I tried beer again. Although it was the same brand as the one we had in the shared apartment, I didn’t find the taste quite as bitter as the first time. I even had to admit to myself that I was starting to like it. Still, I was grateful that Martin and Lucien didn’t expect me to keep up with them. Their thirst seemed unquenchable, and I wondered when Martin became so fond of partying.

As we squeezed past people in an Irish pub toward the bar, someone called Martin’s name from the other end of the room. Lucien hesitated and made a move to turn around and leave the bar, but Martin tugged on his sleeve and led us through the crowd, straight toward a slim blonde. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

“Jessi!” Martin said, looking around. “Are you alone?”

“No, my brother and his buddy Steven should be here any minute.” She gracefully flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and arched a brow upon catching sight of me. “And who’s that?”

“Jonah, my cousin,” Martin replied. “Jonah, this is Jessica.”

I stood there in awe, staring at her red lips. Her black top was about to burst at the seams, and she towered over me in her high heels by a few inches. I didn’t know if I was into her or if I just thought she was awful. She offered me a friendly smile, though it was evident she wasn’t interested. As soon as she spotted Lucien, she squeezed past me and threw herself around his neck.

“Lu! It’s been a long time!” she squealed with joy and pressed herself against him.

Looking for help, Lucien turned his head to the side to avoid the welcoming kiss. Upon spotting two vacant stools at the bar, he disengaged from Jessica, grabbed my arm, and pulled me along. “Sit down!” he hissed. He made it clear that he didn’t want Jessica around him at that moment.

“Is she a friend of yours?” I asked as I sat down on a bar stool.

“I wouldn’t call it like that. Her brother Marco is a friend of Martin’s,” Lucien replied, his tone tinged with boredom, as he ordered two beers. “I’d rather hang out with Steven.”

“Is she a model?”

“She certainly pretends to be. Are you into her? You can have her.”

“What? No! To her, I’m just air anyway.”

The subject of women made me uncomfortable because I had no experience, but before I could change the subject, Lucien scrutinized me from head to toe.

“She’s blind if she can’t see what she’s missing.”

I was taken aback. I hadn’t expected a comment like that. “I … am just a normal person. Nothing special at all.”

Lucien furrowed his brow and observed me closely. “You’re handsome. You have a nice face. And a good figure too.”

My face flushed with heat. I’d never received such compliments before, especially not from a man.Well, coming from a painter, one can assume he perceives the world differently. Whatever that means.I changed the subject and tried to find out more about my new roommate. “How did you get to know Martin?”

“He was a year above me in medical school.”

“Oh, you studied medicine?” I asked in surprise.

Lucien put the money on the counter and stared at the coins. “I dropped out and went to art school.”

“Was it too stressful?”

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