Page 55 of Lyrical

“But….” Out of all the possible scenarios, that one never entered my mind. I smiled big, regaining my appetite. I scooped up some green beans. This definitely fell smack into the good category. A bit unusual maybe, in this day and age, but excellent news.

“This makes you happy?” Perry said.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it?” I broke open the foil covering my potato and slathered on a hunk of butter.

She snapped her fingers in front of my face. “The good news is that he was a virgin last night. The bad news is that he might not be one right now.”

“What are you talking about?” I glared at Stephen, who’d already inhaled half his food. “Did he tell you he was planning something this weekend?”With that fucking Cassie?

“No, Jillian. He did not.” He pointed his fork at Perry. “Don’t put that shit in her head.”

“I didn’t mean now, as in right this second, but what if he wants Cassie to be his first? She could forever have that hold on him.”

I wasn’t staring into a damned mirror, but I’m pretty sure my face went white. “Perry, fucking stop it,” I heard Stephen say.

I turned my head towards Chase. I don’t think he even knew what to say to me. We were sitting around the dinner table discussing my twenty-one-year-old son losing his virginity. Something wasn’t right.

“I’m not telling you this to upset you, Jills. Just to be prepared. I think it’s more important than ever to keep them apart now.”

“How did this even come about, Stephen? Why did he tell you?”

“I don’t know, Jillian. I guess he’s comfortable with me. We were just shooting the shit, and I don’t even know how the fuck it came up. It’s none of my damn business anyway.”

“But is he glad to be a virgin or not? That could make a lot of difference.”

“You do realize this is a fucked-up conversation, right?”

“Yes.”

Stephen shook his head, filling his mouth with steak. Probably enough to keep him chewing for the rest of the night.

“I don’t think he’s proudly carrying around the virgin badge, Jills. But I don’t think he’s ashamed of it either. It is what it is. He told Stephen he was focused on school, and it just hasn’t happened yet.”

“But why even mention it unless he’s planning on doing something about it?” I asked, directing my questions towards Perry, since she obviously knew the story and would have no issues talking about it. “And he’s still with Cassie?”

Perry nodded, placing her hand over mine. “I’m sorry. But now we know how someone like Daniel could let himself get manipulated. If she starts dangling that carrot in front of him, he’d jump off a bridge to get it.”

God… she was right.

“Why do you assume he’s being manipulated?”He speaks. “He has a fucking brain, Perry.”

“He has a fucking dick, Stephen.”

I dropped my head to my chest.Fuck. Me.

“Let’s get back to the issue here,” Perry said. “Daniel needs to get laid, pure and simple. Sorry, Jills. You can plug your ears if you want, but that’s not going to solve anything. At the end of the day, he’s still a man, but at least if he’s not a virgin, he’ll be a little more immune to Cassie’s skanky charms.”

“And shouldn’t that first time be with someone he at least likes?” Stephen said. “Because he likes her, Perry. He told me he did. That’s what you wanted me to find out, so just let this shit go. We hung out, we had a good time, and I found out more than I wanted. The. End.”

“When are you guys getting together again?”

“I don’t know.”

“Because I declare Operation GDL.”

“What the fuck is that?”

“Operation Get Daniel Laid.”

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