The Virgin Ceremonies

Chapter 05

Virginia: A Traveling Postcard

I sat with my legs spread wide open, not one, but two big black books between them, with papers all over my bed. Finally, Quinn came home, bringing me my promised study reward.

"Oh, fuel! You're a saint!"

Quinn laughed and passed me my mocha cappuccino.

"Ask me how my group meeting went," Quinn said.

"How'd it go?"

"Brutal. I have so much work, and no one is pulling their weight."

"Great. I'm taking that class next semester. Something to look forward to," I said, peeling back the lid of my coffee. It smelled so yummy. "Mmm. We should have been doctors instead of lawyers."

"Nah. Being a lawyer is better. It's all the money with none of the blood."

I chuckled. "But doctors get to save lives. We could be superheroes."

"Lawyers save lives in court. You just need a superhero name."

"Mmm, oh, my God, this is, like, the best mocha cappuccino ever. They put so much yummy chocolate in it."

"The Caped Caffeinator for you." Quinn sipped her coffee. "Hm, I've had better."

"What's this place called again?" I asked.

"Starstruck's. It's on the east side. There's only one. It's a knockoff place."

"Why'd you go there?"

"I stopped by my mom's office the other day, and she reminded me about it."

I squinted. "How so?"

"She told me weeks ago never to go in there. She said she found a rat tail in her coffee once."

"Oh, my God!" I screamed, looking at my cappuccino.

"No, I'm pretty sure she made it up. I just couldn't figure out why," Quinn said.

"How do you know she made it up?" I said in terror.

"Because I was reading up on health code the other day, and it got me thinking. If she had found such a thing, like a real rat tail, she would have sued that place into oblivion."

"Oh, yeah, that is her style. Wait, so why would she lie about something so stupid?"

"I don't know. I thought I'd check it out. It's just a dumb little coffee place though, quiet, not a lot of customers. Maybe she was making a joke, but I didn't get it. You know my mom, she has no sense of humor, and when she tries, it's usually horrifying."

"Yeah." I took another sip of my cappuccino. "It's a dumb little coffee place that makes amazing mocha cappuccino."

She chuckled. "It's the rat flavor they add. Delish."

"Yeah, really."

"So, are you ready for tonight?"

I held my arms apart, still in shorts and a tank top. "Do I look ready?"

"I meant mentally."

I grumbled and returned to reading my textbooks. "Don't psych me out."

"I'm not. I'm just wondering if you're going through it, especially since Sergio is coming over tonight, and I don't want you here."

"I'll be out. I promise."

"Okay, good. Are you at least excited?"

"As excited as I was for my ceremony."

"And look how well that turned out," Quinn said, sipping her coffee.

"You mean my mystery man telling me he'd see me tomorrow and calling me the wrong name and then ghosting me for all time?"

"I told you, don't dwell on him. Focus on the positive. He gave you a great night. He taught you what you like, and now you can be a confident woman."

"I guess I'll see how confident I am tonight. Now, leave me alone, I gotta study for my test on Monday."

I studied, but Quinn had put Beau back in my brain, just when I thought I'd forgotten about him. Okay, maybe I hadn't forgotten about him, but I had gotten pretty good at pretending to forget about him.

Around 7:00pm I was ready to head out. I was wearing black pantyhose, a black skirt, a pink top, and pink high heels. I slipped a jacket on in case I got cold, which was often now that it was December. Then I put a few condoms in my purse and said goodbye to Quinn.

"Good luck," she said. "Tell Tom I said hi."

Tom was my boyfriend, my only boyfriend ever. We'd been dating on and off since I was 13. Our families were very close, so we saw each other all the time. We fought a lot, and broke up often, but anytime there was a party, our families would meet, and Tom and I would end up together again. That's how it happened over Thanksgiving. Other than Beau, Tom was the only guy I'd ever kissed. And after tonight, he would be the only other guy I'd slept with.

Downstairs in the apartment lobby, I glanced at my mailbox. I stuck in my key and opened it. It was stuffed with letters and newspapers. Quinn and I were both very bad about emptying it. I texted her a quick reminder that it was her turn to get it, but she complained that I was right there, so I just did it myself. I stuffed the letters into my purse and trashed the flyers and newspapers.

I took a bus across town, looking at the city lights. Traffic was thick and it was slow going. It gave me a lot of time to think. Would my first time with Tom be as good as my first time with Beau? Maybe it would be better. God, what if it was worse?

I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I would probably marry Tom one day. My life was leading me to that, and I didn't know how to change direction. I remember feeling guilty for having sex with someone else during my ceremony. Tom and I were broken up at the time, and if he had not already cheated on me twice in high school, I probably would've felt guiltier.

The bus stopped, and I arrived at the tower where Tom lived. A doorman held the door for me and tipped his hat, saying, "Ma'am." Inside, I went to the elevator and was soon on the 20th floor. Tom's father owned all four apartments on this floor. Tom had his own. His grandparents had another and his older brother the last.

Tom's door opened before I could knock. The doorman had let him know I was coming up. Tom was handsome, of course, tall and blond, always wearing a sweater vest and smelling like a king. I thought back on Beau's cologne, how he smelled, so rugged, and that musk on his cock...

"Hi there," I said.

"Hey," Tom said, closing the door behind me as I stepped in.

"Ah, Virginia," someone said.

I froze as Tom's father, Thomas Lionel Sr., came around the corner.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Lionel. Did I come at a bad time?"

"Not at all. Tom told me you were coming. I just wanted to say hello."

"Oh, great," I said with a nervous chuckle. I couldn't believe he'd told his father I was coming. A horrifying thought occurred to me: I hope Tom didn't have some ridiculous ceremony that would require his father to watch while we made love.

"Son, take her jacket."

"Oh, right. Ginny?"

I surrendered my jacket and my purse, with the letters sticking out of it like I was some kind of hoarder. Tom hung my things in his closet.

"How are things at university?" Thomas Sr. asked.

"Good. I have a lot of homework lately, so it's been crazy, but it'll calm down after finals in a couple weeks."

"I'm sure you'll do fantastic," he said. "Still pursuing law?"

"Yes, sir," I said. "It's far off, but one day."

"That's great," he said. "It's a fine career for a woman. Best to leave big business to the men, eh, Tom?"

Tom chuckled. "Sure, Dad."

I held my sigh. Even though I had no interest in business, I didn't like his suggestion. "No one could compare to your business mind, sir."

He laughed. "My son had better try if he ever wants to make a name for himself."

"I won't disappoint you, sir," Tom said.

"I know, son. Why don't you pour a couple drinks for you and your guest? I just want to say goodbye to Virginia and then I'll be out of your way."

"Yes, sir," Tom said, leaving me alone with Thomas Sr.

He stepped toward me, his gruff face dropping the pretense of kindness. "Virginia, I know you and my son have had your share of ups and downs."

"Oh, no, we're fine."

"Quiet. Let me finish."

I closed my mouth.

"I've spoken to him about those three incidents with those other girls."

There were three? I only knew about two. Now, I was heated and embarrassed.

"It won't happen again," Thomas Sr. said. "Your father and I both want what's best for you two, you understand? I hope you'll forgive my foolish son for the error of his ways. You will, won't you?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good, good," he said. "But let me state, his mistakes do not permit you the same latitude, you understand? You haven't made any mistakes that he is unaware of, have you?"

"Uh, no."

"That's good," he said. "And let me also say, whatever you two may do is between you, but I will not permit him to father a child until he is married. I would expect any woman with him to be exceptionally careful, or else find her way to the nearest clinic."

I swallowed. "I will definitely be careful, sir."

"Good," he said, his jovial smile returning. "Well, I won't keep you. Have a lovely evening."

He left, and I felt thoroughly humiliated. I found Tom in his ridiculously large kitchen, sipping champagne. He handed me one.

"I hope he wasn't rude," Tom said.

"I don't think I've ever spoken to that man when he wasn't rude."

"Hey, careful there, that's my dad."

"I'm only joking," I said, but I knew speaking against Tom's father was forbidden.

"I know he's a lot. He's just old fashioned."

"Yeah." I took a deep breath and then a big sip of champagne, almost downing the glass. I wanted to be drunk now. "Did you tell him about our talk?"

He looked at the floor. "Not in detail."

"Enough detail that he knew the reason we broke up is because I didn't want to have sex with you, and the only reason we're back together is because I agreed to have sex with you tonight?"

"Why do you have to say it like that, 'agreed to have sex with me,' like it's some obligation?"

"It wasn't supposed to be an obligation until you told him about it. It was between us. I'm so embarrassed."

"Oh, like you didn't tell Quinn. I saw her in Finance class a few days ago, and she gave me this wink and said, 'You two have fun on your date.' Like, what the hell, you told first."

"Okay, first of all, I will yell at her, and second, she is my best friend and my cousin. It's not the same as telling your father, who just dressed me down and told me to use protection or else."

"We're going to use protection, of course."

"God, I knew this whole thing, scheduling sex as an ice breaker to get back together, was a bad idea."

"Hey, hey, come on," he said, stepping toward me, taking me into a hug I didn't want. "We talked about this. This is why we always break up. I want sex. You want to wait. You're 18 now. You're ready. I'm ready. This will bring us together, and we'll stay together."

I took a breath, resting my head on his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him. I closed my eyes and remembered those brief moments I danced with Beau. God, I hated how much he was in my thoughts, how I compared everything to him now.

"You haven't slept with anyone else, right?" Tom asked.

I pushed away from him. "You have the nerve to ask me that, after you've slept with three other girls?"

"All of which I've apologized for!" he said.

"You apologized for two. Who the hell was the third, and why would you tell your dad and not me?"

"The third doesn't matter. We were broken up at the time."

"So, who was it?"

"I said it doesn't matter. Look, I was a dumb, horny teenager. I'm over that. I just want to know that you haven't slept around. You haven't, right?"

I glared at him. "No."

"Really? Because you can tell me. I'd forgive you like you forgave me."

He was lying, of course. I could only imagine if I told him about Beau. Not only would he dump me, he'd probably hit me, or have his dad bury me in the woods somewhere.

"I'm a virgin, okay? God, every time we break up, you do that, check in with me. Like the moment we're apart, you expect me to find the nearest guy and open my legs. Is that your opinion of me, that I'm a slut? Meanwhile, you just have sex with whoever you want, and I have to forgive you."

"Okay, let's not rehash the past. I'm sorry I'm insecure. It's my dad. He's the one who says this stuff. You know how damaged I am, how hard my life has been living up to his expectations. I'm a victim. My dad practically mentally abuses me, you know, puts this in my head, this idea that I have to marry a virgin."

"Oh, yes, you've lived such a troubled life, but newsflash, you can't marry a virgin if you screw her first, Tom."

"I mean marry a woman only I've been with. It's important to the old man."

"Fine, whatever, can we stop talking about this?"

"Yes. You forgive me?"

"I guess," I said with a sigh. I finished my champagne and wandered over to his sound system. I picked up his tablet and chose some relaxing smooth jazz. Then I sat down on his couch.

I was tired of having to forgive him, of course. He got away with everything. The messed-up part is if I left right now, he'd run crying to his parents. I'd get a call from my mother in the morning, asking what I'd done wrong to upset him so much. Then my father would ask me to visit for a talk, and it would be this whole thing. By Christmastime, I'd be right back here with him again. I may as well save myself the trouble.

He sat next to me, sipping his champagne. "By the way, you look sexy tonight."

I smiled a little. "Thanks. You look really nice too." Even though he always wore the same thing. "I'm being hard on you, huh?" He did look cute. I needed to calm down. I took a breath. "You're a really great guy, you know?"

He flashed his perfect teeth. "I know."

I chuckled and clicked my tongue.

"Do you remember last summer, just before we broke up?" he asked.

"Of course," I said.

"I was giving you an amazing neck massage."

"Mmm-hmm," I said, taking his champagne from his hand and sipping it. "Which turned into a fondle massage."

"And you got angry."

"Are you trying to pick another fight?" I asked.

"No, I'm just saying, how about another massage?"

"So, you're smart enough to know you're going to have to romance me a little before you get into my pants, huh?" I said smoothly.

He chuckled. "That's what business is about, finding the most advantageous outcome."

"Ah, so our relationship is all a business calculation?"

"Maybe, but I'm calculating with my heart, not my head."

"Okay, that was a cute line, you win." I turned around on the couch, offering him my back. I felt his hands on my shoulders then. I took a few slow breaths. He caressed and squeezed my collarbone, and his thumbs pressed into my shoulder blades. It did feel nice.

I thought back to last summer. I was completely unprepared to have sex with Tom. It felt like such a big thing. Sure, my mother had always told me to wait until after my ceremony, but that wasn't why I stopped things last time. I just... wasn't ready. I wasn't even ready when I met Beau, but he had put my mind and body at ease. I'd felt so safe with him. Why did I feel so guarded with Tom? Maybe I could recreate my night with Beau, make it even better with Tom.

"Tom?" I said as Tom's hands started to move down my collarbone toward my breasts.

"Yes?" he said, pulling his hands back.

"Will you dance with me?"

"Dance?"

"Yes. Just for a moment."

"Yeah, sure."

We stood up together, and I faced him, putting my hands on his shoulders. He immediately put his hands on my butt.

"Can you hold my waist?" I said.

"All right," he said, moving his hands up.

"Just dance with me, that's all," I said.

We danced together, moving with the music, swaying. The jazz was slow, but Tom started to move fast to it. He rubbed his crotch against my hip. Then he kissed my neck.

"Whisper to me," I said, putting my head on his shoulder. "Tell me your secrets."

"My secrets?" he said, and then he started to whisper. "I secretly think you're so fucking hot. I can't wait to see that ass bouncing on my cock." He grabbed my ass and squeezed.

I looked up at him. "Kiss me then. Give me your best kiss. Kiss me like it's the first time we've ever kissed."

"Oh, yeah," he said, and then he kissed me. He was hungry, his lips opening and closing against mine, his tongue pushing into my mouth. I held the back of his head, and kissed him, licking his tongue. Our teeth clinked together and I flinched. He kissed me again, hungrily opening his mouth.

I thought about Beau's slow, sensual kisses, the way his tongue seemed to welcome mine into his mouth, the way he breathed and held his breath, the way our lips locked and were in perfect sync. He had the mouth of an agile cat, while Tom had the mouth of a hungry dog.

Tom's hand found my breast while he kissed me. He squeezed. His thumb and finger pinched my clothes and twisted my nipple. I broke the kiss. I was annoyed, but I didn't want to show it.

"You're a horny boy, aren't you?" I said coolly.

"Always," he said, licking his lips.

I reached for the bottom of his sweater vest, but he didn't even give me a chance to take it off. He pulled it up over his head and then started to take off his shirt.

"Wait," I said. "Slow down. Let me do it, please."

"Yeah, definitely."

I started to unbutton his shirt, one by one.

"You know you can just pull it over my head."

I rolled my eyes a little. "Unbuttoning it is sexier, slower, builds the excitement. Aren't you excited?"

"You're gonna see how excited I am once I get these pants off."

The moment I finished the last button, he took the shirt off, tossing it aside. Then he lifted off his t-shirt, showing his bare chest. He spent a lot of time in the gym, and it showed.

"Yeah, you like that, don't you?" he said, flexing his muscular chest.

I put my hand on his chest and moved my fingers across his pecs. "I do," I admitted. "You're very sexy."

"Oh, yeah," he said, and started to unbuckle his belt.

"Wait," I said. "Slow down. I'll do that."

"Okay, can you go a little faster? I want to get your clothes off too."

"I'll make it worth the wait," I said and went down on my knees in front of him. His eyes were big.

"Damn, I didn't think you were the type."

"What type is that?" I said, my hands on his thighs.

"Some girls don't suck cock," he said

"Oh? What type of girl does?"

"Poor girls suck cock, in my experience."

I raised an eyebrow. "In your experience?"

"I mean from talking to friends and stuff."

"I want to try everything with you. Just be a little patient with me while I learn, okay?"

"Yeah."

I moved my hands to his belt and finished unbuckling it. I opened the button and the zipper. The pants fell to his ankles. He was wearing black underwear. I put my hand on them and touched the fabric, looking for his cock. I felt it, getting hard, pointing to the left.

"Yeah, take that cock out," he said.

I pulled his underwear down, and his cock popped out. He didn't see my reaction as I stared at it. I suppose I was expecting his cock to look like Beau's, but he was smaller. I didn't mind, really. But his balls were especially small, which surprised me, until I remembered the time we broke up because I found out he was using steroids in high school. I did a lot of research about the effects. Maybe he was still doing it.

I looked up at him. "You have a beautiful cock." It's what I thought when I saw Beau's cock, and I hadn't said it. Now, I said it to Tom, and so what if it was a little white lie?

"You like that, don't you?" he said, putting his hand on the back of my head. "Put it in your mouth."

I opened my mouth, intending to kiss his cock slowly and sensually like I had Beau's, but before I could hone the skills I'd learned, Tom shoved his cockhead into my mouth. I tried to hold his shaft, but he started thrusting. I gagged once or twice. He was still easier to suck than Beau.

Tom was moaning in pleasure. "Fuck, babe, have you done this before?"

I took his cock out for a moment to breathe. "No. Have you?"

He didn't answer, just pushed his cock back into my mouth. I will say his cock smelled nice, like his cologne. He had sprayed it all over his crotch. I bobbed my head. I could tell he was getting very worked up. I took my mouth away.