“I think you should just have fun, Scarlett.” Evie said, interrupting yet another daydream I was having about Ash. “If there truly is some undeniable attraction between the two of you, then ya’ll will end up together with a magical, fairytale, happily-ever-after. But you know as well as I do that it takes a bunch of other bullshit in between to get that point - a bunch of unnecessary angst, some preventable misunderstandings, and you both need to make some ill-advised and senseless decisions. So right now, I think you should just let everything happen and stop over thinking all of it… I know that’s easier said than done.” She stopped and gave me a heartening smile. “You know I just want what’s best for you, Sam. And right now, Ash is right in that you need to experience a lot more of what life has to offer. Plus, who else is going to help me sample all of the book boyfriends?”

I smiled back at her, so incredibly thankful that I had such an amazing friend. She always knew the right thing to say to me to both comfort me and lead me in the right direction. “You’re right Evie. I’m going to try my best to just take that night for what it was, which when I think about it now, really wasn’t much of anything.” I thought about what I had just said and hoped that I would be strong enough to resist Ashton Walker.

I changed the subject to improve the mood before our night out began. “Speaking of our book boyfriends and the contest, you are participating in the competition tonight aren’t you? I don’t like pity wins.”

“Absolutely. Last week was just a warm-up round… just letting you get your feet a little wet.”

“My feet weren’t the only thing getting wet.” I joked in a mock sultry voice. “No, seriously,” I continued. “So tonight we are doing preppy college boy again since I kind of don’t have a choice with Dylan being there and all, but what’s next and when?”

“Hmmm… I haven’t thought about it really. I’ll start working on it though.” Evie looked downright giddy thinking about our next adventure and we hadn’t even started on tonight’s.

We sat in comfortable silence until we got to the restaurant. I was in such a good mood and was suddenly really looking forward to the night ahead. After finally finding a parking place in what seemed to be the next zip code, we hoofed across the parking lot to the front doors. People were loitering outside, some sitting on benches while others were smoking cigarettes. I hoped the wait for a table wouldn’t be too long, the place looked packed and I was starving.

Right before we walked inside, Evie realized that she had forgotten her phone in her car on the charger. I turned around to go with her to retrieve it, but she stopped me and told me to go ahead inside and let Jess know that we were there. I wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea of her walking alone at night to her car, but she pointed out to me the numerous lights dispersed across the well-lit lot, the security driving around in a golf cart, and the mace container she held in her hand. Without another good reason for her not to go, I entered the restaurant on a hunt to find Jess in the sea of bodies.

It didn’t take long for me to find the back of Meg’s platinum blonde pixie cut hair across the waiting area, standing at the bar. I could only assume that Jess’ short self was standing next to her. I slithered through the people, trying not to step on anyone or accidentally hit someone’s arm that was holding a drink, to make my way to them. As I got closer, I noticed that standing in between Meg and Jess was none other than Ash. There was no mistaking him, even from the back. Oh shit. It appeared my will was going to be tested earlier than I had thought. One foot in front of the other, I could do this.

When I got just a few feet behind them, I overheard Ash ask Jess, “Five? Who else is joining us?” I froze. I really didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I just couldn’t help myself. I wanted to know what his reaction and response was going to be when Jess told him that we were the ones meeting them there.

“Evie and Scarlett. Why? Is that okay?” Jess asked looking up at Ash. He didn’t reply at first, or at least not that I heard, but he must’ve made a disapproving face because Jess raised her voice at him. “What’s the problem, Ash? You told me nothing happened between you and Scarlett last weekend. You said that y’all just stayed up late talking and passed out because she was having a hard time sleeping. I warned you to stay away from her, Ash, goddammit. I didn’t want anything like this to happen. I knew they were going to be hanging out with us a lot… and she’s so good Ash, she really doesn’t need to deal with your shit.”

“Nothing happened! I told you nothing happened, it’s the truth,” he argued. “Look, Scarlett is a very sweet and pretty girl, but that’s what she is… a girl. You know I don’t mess around with virgins. I learned my lesson the hard way with that shit. Either they are never going to let me fuck them, which I respect their decision and all but that doesn’t work for me, or they decide that I’m the lucky bastard that they give their most virtuous gift to and expect me to fall in love with them and spend forever together, which REALLY doesn’t work for me. So whichever category Scarlett or any other vestal maiden that may come along falls into, it’s never going to work for me.”

“Not to mention, she’s so not his type,” Meg chimed in. “She’s not blonde and her tits aren’t big enough. But for me on the other hand…”

“You’re not helping Meg and you need to stay the hell away from her too.” Jess warned.

I could not believe the conversation I was listening to. The three of them were talking about me and my virginity like they were discussing what they were going to eat for dinner, just no big deal. I didn’t have much time to analyze the multitude of emotions that had converged together to form a huge knot in the back of my throat and a matching one deep in my abdomen because Evie walked up next to me, grabbed my hand, and forced me to follow her to where the trio stood. I’m sure she thought I was just too nervous to approach Ash.

“Hey guys, I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Evie greeted the group. All three of them turned around to face us with a somewhat guilty look on their faces, or maybe I just thought I saw that since I knew what they had been discussing and I thought they should’ve felt guilty.

“No, we haven’t been here too long,” Jess replied hastily. “The hostess said it would be about 20 minutes when we checked in and that was probably 10 or 15 minutes ago.”

“Cool.” Evie replied.

I didn’t say a word, I couldn’t. Ash’s eyes had locked with mine and I could tell he was concerned that I had overheard their conversation. I could feel the tears welling up behind my eyes but I would be damned if I gave him the pleasure of making me cry. I successfully willed them away and tore away from his stare. Determined to act as if nothing was wrong, I then said hello to each of them and asked how they were doing. Thankfully, the hostess walked over to us at that moment to let us know that our table was ready.

Dinner itself was painfully pleasant. Jess and Evie carried the conversation throughout, the other three of us piped up every once in a while to add our two cents. I paid quite a bit of attention to first the chips and salsa on the table and then to my main course once it arrived. I felt Ash staring at me a few times but I did not dare look his way. His and Meg’s words were playing on an endless loop in my head. She is a girl… It’s never going to work for me… She’s so not his type… She is a girl. I sat in my chair exploding with emotions-embarrassment, rejection, and flat-out anger were the three at the top of my list, in no particular order. However, in the end, anger won out and I couldn’t wait to get to the party to be in Dylan’s arms to show him just how much of a girl I was.

Chapter 11

The scene at Jacob and Nicholas’ was much the same as the week before except with double the number of people. I recognized quite a few of the people as we made our way from the front door to the kitchen. Several of them even stopped to ask if I’d be playing the guitar again to which I replied an honest “I’m not sure.” I found Dylan in the kitchen. He was drinking a beer, leaning against the island, looking hotter than I remembered. He had gotten his hair cut or buzzed I should say. Normally I wouldn’t think that I would like a guy with hair that short, but somehow it made Dylan even more attractive. He was dressed similar to the last time I saw him - a pale blue polo, cargo shorts, and deck shoes. All-American boy indeed. As soon as his big brown eyes found me, a huge smile spread across his flawless face, and I hurried over to him. He greeted me with a warm embrace, a hug so tight that he lifted me off of the floor. We were in complete oblivion to the people around us, other than the fact I was secretly hoping Ash was watching. When he sat me back down, he leaned towards me and spoke with his lips brushing against mine. “I couldn’t wait to see you, Scarlett. A week is way too long to go without seeing your lovely face.”

Feeling wanted and cherished, I whispered back, “I missed you too, Dylan.” I stuck my tongue out and traced his lower lip with it, taunting him to kiss me harder. Dylan did not disappoint. The invitation of my tongue on his mouth must’ve been exactly what he was waiting for because he immediately swept me away in a demanding and powerful kiss. His tongue plundered and pillaged my mouth while his hands rubbed up and down my back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body firmly against his.

When we broke apart, a round of applause and whistles broke out among the party-goers in the kitchen that had witnessed our exchange.

“Damn girl, if I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought y’all were long lost lovers reuniting after years apart,” Evie leaned over to me and said. There was no doubt that my face was beet red, I could feel the heat in my cheeks. I didn’t mean for the kiss to become so passionate right there in front of everyone, but once it got started, I couldn’t help but release all of the pent up emotions that I had yet to deal with from dinner and it just felt so good to be desired.

Dylan didn’t seem to mind the attention; he smiled smugly and continued to hold me close to him with both arms snaked around my waist. Everyone resumed whatever it was they were doing and I felt an overwhelming need for fresh air.

“Can we go outside? It’s a little warm in here,” I whispered in Dylan’s ear.

“Of course. Come on,” he answered and kissed my forehead.

He led me through the crowded kitchen to the back door, and as soon as we stepped on the wooden deck, I filled my lungs with the warm humid Texas air. It was calming and refreshing. There weren’t nearly as many people in the back yard as inside - just a few couples sitting on and around the deck, some talking, some doing more than talking, and a group of smokers that stood in a circle in the middle of the yard. The smell of both cigarettes and pot lingered heavily in the muggy night. Dylan walked us to an area of the deck railing that was unoccupied. He lifted me up so that I was sitting on the wide railing, eye level with him. Instinctively, I opened my legs wide enough that he could stand between them. I pulled him to me and without saying a word, I picked up right where we had left off inside, crushing my mouth on his. I was still irritated and hurt over Ash’s cruel words, and as hard as I tried, I could not stop thinking about it… until Dylan had kissed me in the kitchen. So I figured as long as I kept kissing him, I would be perfectly happy. There could be worse things, right? And damn if he wasn’t a superb kisser. Kissing Dylan was different than kissing Ash, I couldn’t put my finger on how exactly, but it was incredible nonetheless.