***Author's note: Thanks to everyone for the feedback on the first chapter. This chapter proceeds from Virginia's point of view. As always, I appreciate votes and comments. -Theworldspins***
There must be some law that any party thrown by a sophomore chick has to have at least, like, three bottles of Malibu coconut rum.
Virginia scrunched her face up when she took a sip of the 'tropical' concoction her friend Stacy passed her. She hated the taste of coconut.
"This one's from Madison," Meredith cooed, in a voice only Virginia could tell was tongue-in-cheek. "Open it up!"
Virginia set her foul cocktail down to take the pink, glittery gift bag from her best friend and roommate. Almost all of the twenty odd girls assembled in their friend Lydia's apartment were focused on her, waiting to watch her open more birthday presents. The ones who weren't staring were mostly drunk, as the night of partying had actually begun as an early afternoon of partying.
"It's...a DVD...of Vampire Diaries, Season One," Virginia said, trying to maintain an appropriate level of enthusiasm to avoid offending her friend for the less than awe-inspiring gift. "Awesome!"
"Do you remember freshman year at Lakewood?" the inebriated Madison asked loudly. "We watched that show religiously!"
Virginia could remember; in fact, being friends with Madison meant she'd never forget anything that happened in high school, since reminding people what happened back then constituted the majority of Madison's social skills. It wasn't that she was a bad friend, only that she never...well, evolved.
"Well, we need to get together to watch it all over again," Virginia enthused.
Please do not take me up on that offer.
"This one's from me, but it's a twofer," Meredith announced. "There's also a surprise inside."
The other girls ooohed and aaahed.
Ummmm, aren't all the presents technically surprises?
Virginia reached into the gift bag and felt around. First, she pulled out a gorgeous handcrafted pottery bowl, glazed in her favorite color, red. Meredith knew how much she loved the artsy stuff in the shops on South Congress. It was nice—too nice. Meredith didn't have much money, and the last thing Virginia wanted was for her to spend a lot on a birthday present. On the other hand, she didn't want to offend or embarrass her either by suggesting she take it back.
Reaching back into the bag, she felt a thick envelope and nothing more. She looked over at Meredith, who silently winked. Virginia opened the envelope and then the card inside. Tucked inside the card was a silver bottle opener, with a Longhorns collegiate insignia at the top. Written in the card was a message:
"For when you get tired of broken glass in your beer...
-Robert"
Virginia looked back at Meredith:
sneaky bitch...
"What's it say?" asked their friend Melissa, slurring her words.
"Nothing," Virginia said. "Just...an inside joke."
Virginia thought back to her night with Robert. She hadn't intended for things to go the way they did. Or, rather, she had intended for them to go exactly the way they did, only she hadn't really planned what would come next. Now it had been almost a week, and she had barely spoken to him.
"Last one—from Kylie."
Virginia didn't know what to expect. Kylie was probably her favorite friend outside of Meredith, though that was mostly because when Kylie around, Virginia didn't have to worry about being the 'slutty one.' Most of their friends assumed Virginia was getting a lot of action, because of her brashness and because she talked a good game. Virginia had long known, though, that some of her quieter friends in fact got around a lot more than she did. That's why she ultimately respected Kylie, the outspoken and unapologetic 'slut' of the group, for having the guts to say what most of them hid: she loved sex and had a lot of it.
"Batteries come separate?" one of the girls asked to a chorus of cheers.
That would make sense. And be awesome—one of those Hitachis or something.
Virginia tore the paper from the box and opened it. It was both surprising yet totally in character.
"Are those...?" she said, this time not needing to feign enthusiasm as she pulled out a plastic baggie of three expertly rolled blunts. "I love you, girl."
Kylie smiled a devious grin. Virginia knew she only smoked the best weed; what was better was that they were already rolled, since that was a talent Virginia, an amateur smoker at best, did not possess.
"Just one condition, " Kylie added. "I want to meet the guy you're keeping secret from us."
Virginia could feel her eyes shooting over to Meredith, though she tried to stop herself. It was too late. The sidelong glance gave it away instantly, and the place erupted into laughter and teasing as the girls realized Kylie had just caught Virginia. The girls demanded to know who this mystery guy was, but Virginia remained tight-lipped.
"He's nobody," she said, before she felt a little guilty. "I mean, not nobody, but, like, we're not boyfriend and girlfriend or anything, so don't start in on me about meeting him."
One by one, the girls started to trickle away from the party over the next hour, until Meredith and Virginia began the walk back to their apartment. Though both girls were more than a little tipsy, they hadn't tilted into the blackout drunk phase that some of their friends had entered.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"What?"
"You know."
"Meri, not now."
"Virginia!"
"Meri, please. I promise. Not now."
They walked for a while in silence. Virginia felt guilty but also too drunk to care completely at the moment. She knew she'd have to explain herself in the morning.
"It makes sense, though," Meredith said, as if to herself.
"What?"
"Well," she continued, "you haven't gone over there in, like, a week. I know you Virginia. You...slept with him, and now it's all weird and awkward."
No, I slept with him, and it was amazing. It just wasn't the plan.
"Yeah, well, I didn't want you to feel weird about hanging out over there," Virginia said, hoping Meredith was convinced. "You two are friends now."
That's why I did it with him in the first place. So you wouldn't.
"Honey, I don't care," Meredith said. "You're my best friend. You don't have to keep things from me."
Like guys?
"Tomorrow, I promise."
She could tell Meredith was hurt.
"Hey, snuggle with me tonight, OK?" Virginia asked, buttering her up. "Forget about the dumb futon."
Meredith seemed to be weighing things in her mind.
"OK, but keep your hands to yourself. You're on a sexing-people-up streak."
Virginia smiled. Being teased was better than the silent treatment.
"I can't make any promises..."
***
Who the fuck gets married on October 30?
Fucking Dracula? Freddie Krueger?
Seriously. There has to be some kind of crazy pregnancy thing they're trying to hide here.
Virginia felt angry—at her friend Veronica for being dumb and getting married at age 20, at Robert and Meredith for their stupid fucking pictures together, and at herself, for being the biggest goddamned idiot in the world.
She told herself that she wasn't normally like this, that there was something about Robert being older that made being with him feel...different. Her plan—her stupid plan—had been to fool around with Robert every now and then. She hadn't been lying when she said she didn't want a boyfriend, and a guy ten years older than her wouldn't have been her first choice anyway. Moreover, Robert had been cool with it: no pressure, just fun, casual sex.
So why the fuck am I avoiding the first guy to ever actually give me an orgasm?
Somehow, he had gotten under her armor, and feeling vulnerable was not Virginia's strong suit. It wasn't that she'd never talk to him again—just that she needed time to process her feelings. Maybe this FWB thing was going to be trickier than she thought.
Virginia kept swiping through photo after photo of the party last night on Meredith's Instagram, even though she hated looking at them. There was Robert as Don Draper and Meredith as Peggy, in a bob wig and retro skirt suit. Back home in Virginia's closet was a flame-colored wig and a to-die-for emerald green, totally '60s dress. But there was no Joan Holloway to be found, because she was at her stupid friend's stupid wedding and Don and fucking Peggy were laughing, smiling, posing for pictures, and acting like the couple Virginia had always thought they would become.
She could tell from the moment Robert had laid eyes on Meredith. He would fall in love with her. They always do.
At the wedding were no fewer than four of Virginia's ex-boyfriends from back home, all of whom had, at some point between eighth grade and graduation, dumped her because they preferred her best friend to her. Of course, they didn't just come out and say it. It might be a month, it might be a year, but eventually, they all asked
her
out, all took a shot at the prettiest girl in school, sweet little Meredith.
Meredith was always too shy and, maybe, too good of a friend to do anything with one of the guys who'd dumped Virginia. In a way, though, that made it all worse: guys would break up with her for just a
chance
to be with Meredith, and not even a good one.
Now his arm's around her waist. Just fucking kiss her already.
In Virginia's mind, Meredith and Robert had already kissed a million times. Like a wound she wouldn't allow to heal, she tortured herself by picking at the fear and feelings of shame that came when she imagined Robert together with her. Virginia had hoped college would be different, but if anything, guys were even more upfront about it. More than once, a guy she was with brought up the subject of threesomes in a transparent attempt, as Virginia saw it, to find some way to sleep with Meredith.
Yet, somehow, that asshole Clay was the one to get to her. He was the one who'd taken Meredith's virginity, convinced her that he cared about her, then ditched her shortly thereafter. When they'd first hooked up, Virginia felt relieved: Meredith would have a boyfriend, one for whom Virginia had no romantic feelings. Yet it all ended in heartbreak for Meredith—and in an ' alleged' act of 'alleged' vandalism Virginia 'allegedly' perpetrated against Clay's shiny new Audi.
She does look cute as Peggy. Who am I kidding?
Virginia felt guilty for blaming Meredith for everything. It wasn't her fault she was gorgeous; it's not like she went around trying to get guys to fall in love with her. She was just who she was.
And Robbie all dressed up as Don...
What was most fucked up about the situation was that she wasn't actually going to miss Halloween, which fell that year on Monday. Virginia would come home, ready to dress up and go out partying for round two, but in the back of her mind, she'd see those pictures and she'd know how much Meredith and Robert loved being together, how perfect they were for each other.
She'd also be reminded of how dumb she was. Because she was dumb. Really dumb.
