The Virgin Ceremonies

Chapter 10

Virginia: A Perfect Lie

I stared at the toaster, my eyes blurry after my long night of chatting with Beau. I watched the heating elements burn red hot. My phone dinged.

"Open up," the text read.

I opened the door and Quinn came in. It was already 10:00 a.m. She was carrying coffee.

"Got your favorite," she said.

"Oh, yes," I said, taking the mocha cappuccino. "Did you ask my friend Brent to mix it? He makes the absolute best cappuccino."

"I did. He lit up like a Christmas tree when I mentioned your name. I think he's crushing on you."

"Oh, no, he's gay."

"He is?"

"Yeah, his boyfriend works there too. Colin, I think."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"They're cute. Brent's a little in the closet, but he's adorable and sweet."

"Are you gay for Brent too?"

"A little! All the cute guys are gay."

"At least they make good coffee," Quinn said, taking a sip. "And for you, lover," she said, handing Sergio his coffee as he came out of the bedroom.

"Ah, perfecto," he said, taking it and heading to the couch.

My bagel popped, and I started to spread cream cheese on it.

"So," Quinn said, whispering low while sports news played on the TV. "Did you talk to him again?"

"I told you, I called him one time. That's it. No more. It's done."

"You said your goodbyes?"

"Yes."

"No more calls?"

"Would you stop?"

"You're not going to meet him, right?"

"I already promised not to," I said. "And he was rude on the phone, so I'm over it."

"Really? What did he say?"

"Doesn't matter. I want to drop him as a subject, permanently. I mean it."

"Okay, good. I'm glad. I was freaking out so much, you know?"

"I know, but it's done now."

"Okay," she said, picking up one half of my bagel and taking a bite.

"Hey," I complained.

"So, plans today? You should really reschedule with Tom."

"You'll be happy to know, I already did while you were out."

"Really? A big second night with Tom is back on?"

"Yup. I told him my cold was all cleared up and my period was over, so I was ready to see him."

"Okay, good. That's really good, Ginny. That's just the thing to take your mind off... you know. Focus on Tom."

"Exactly," I said, chewing my bagel. "And you know, after I texted him and said, let's get together and all that, he responded really quickly, not like the usual hour I always complain about, and it made me feel really special."

"Aw, well, that's nice."

I nodded, swallowing my bite. "So, I think it's going to be better this time. I don't know if I'll stay overnight or not. He might send me home. We'll see."

Quinn nodded, chewing her bagel. "I'm sure you guys will work that out, I know it."

"I hope so," I said.

Quinn's phone buzzed. She gasped. "Mom's coming up!"

"What? When? Now?" I said.

Quinn was already scrambling, throwing things away and trying to clean up. She was fighting with Sergio, shoving him into the bedroom. He hid in the closet. I was rushing around as well, cleaning up loose dirty clothes, and throwing the dishes into the washer.

Three heavy knocks hit the door. My heart was so loud, I felt as if I'd called Beau again. Oh, my God, what if she knew? Is that why she was here? No, no, impossible. Unless, had Quinn told her?

Quinn rushed to the door, yanking it open just as I slammed the dishwasher closed and spun around, nearly stumbling.

"Hi, Mom," Quinn said.

"Hi, Aunt Olivia," I said warmly.

"Hello, girls," she said as she stepped in, removing her gloves. "How's everything?"

"Great!" Quinn said.

"Super!" I said.

Olivia's eyes were on the television as the newscaster continued to recount the week's sporting events. She stepped up to the couch, picked up the remote, and turned it off. Quinn and I shared a glance.

"What brings you by, Mom?" Quinn asked.

Olivia turned around. "You know I like to pop in, check up on you, make sure there's not a bevy of boys hanging around." She moved through the apartment, glancing in Quinn's open bedroom door. Quinn had carefully left it open with the light on, so as to appear to hide nothing. Olivia glanced in my room next, and then she gave me a smile.

"How are your classes shaping up, Virginia? You must be getting ready for finals."

"Yup, sure am. But I'm confident," I said.

"And yours, sweetie?" she said to Quinn.

"Oh, yes, all's well. I just came back from my last group meeting, actually. My big presentation is on Monday. I showed my team all of your suggestions, and they loved them. We're ready."

"That's my girl," Olivia said, but then her eyes started to narrow, and her lips started to thin. I thought she'd caught sight of Sergio's underwear or something, but she was eyeing Quinn's coffee cup. "What is that?"

"My coffee?" Quinn offered.

I lifted up my coffee cup too. "Caffeine addicted for three years, and no end in sight for me."

Olivia seemed to make a sound that was almost a laugh, but not quite. "From Starstruck's?"

"Yes?" Quinn said. "Oh, right, you don't like that place."

"You've both gone there?"

"Sure, once or twice," Quinn said.

"I see," Olivia said. "Quinn, when you said your group was looking for places to meet and someone suggested that cafe, I thought I told you not to go there."

"Oh, well, we didn't. But the girl's apartment where we meet is right down the street, so I just popped in for a coffee."

I chimed in. "And they make amazing mocha cappuccinos there."

Olivia gave me a stare that seemed to bore into my soul. I wasn't quite sure, but then she chuckled. "You know, I found a hair in mine, a rat hair."

"Oh, gross," I said. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously," she said. She looked at Quinn. "I'd love to stay, girls, but I'm actually on my way across town to a little gathering. I was running early, and I thought I'd pop in for a few minutes."

"Oh, okay. We're glad you did," Quinn said cheerfully.

"Yes, definitely!" I said, sipping my cappuccino.

"Goodbye, Virginia," Olivia said, her hand on the door. "Do call your mother more often. I tire of hearing her lament about her daughter's disinterest in her life."

"Yes, of course, Aunt Olivia. I will," I said.

"Quinn, a moment with you outside?" Olivia said.

"Sure," she said.

That was weird. Usually, Olivia criticized Quinn in front of me. She loved to demean people with an audience. The moment the door was closed, I crept closer to eavesdrop.

"Everything okay?" Quinn asked.

"Lower your voice," Olivia said.

"Okay," Quinn said softly. My hearing was strained.

"Has anyone approached you or Virginia lately?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Anywhere around, even at that cafe."

"Uh, no. Why would they?"

"They wouldn't. I just want to make sure no one has stood out."

"Mom, what are you getting at?"

"It's nothing. But I should tell you I have pending litigation against the owner of that store, and I'd appreciate it if my daughter and niece did not frequent their establishment."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"Now you do. Do not go there again, and do not allow Ginny to go either."

"No problem. We'll go somewhere else. If I had known, we wouldn't have gone. I thought you were joking about the rat thing before."

"I was being discreet, but now I am being direct. Am I understood?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good. Give me a hug."

I didn't hear anything for a moment.

"And, Quinn?"

"Yes?"

"I don't care who you fuck while you're at university, but don't you dare get pregnant. And once you're done with school, that's over. We'll find you a nice respectable man."

"Mom..."

"Don't 'mom' me. I'm not your friend. We're not gossiping. I'm telling you, don't fuck up, and if you do, you'd better get an abortion before I ever hear about it. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Keep your grades up, sweetie. Kisses."

I hurried away from the door before it opened. Quinn looked downcast.

"Everything okay?" I said.

"Yeah. Just Mom being Mom. Hey, no more coffee from that place. Mom said she's suing them and doesn't want any drama."

"Oh. I mean, I guess. But I love their coffee so much."

"There's a million places, Ginny, come on."

"Fine."

Quinn went to her bedroom to let Sergio out, but I stopped her.

"Hey, wait. Are you okay? Did she say something mean?"

Quinn shrugged. "Like I said last night, our parents pick for us. Happiness is temporary."

"I guess..."

"I don't have to tell you," she said. "Your parents fixed you up with Tom from day one. At least you two are figuring it out. You're gonna have an amazing night with him, I know it."

I gulped. "Yup, tonight will be amazing."

The day drew on, and I lounged around the apartment in pajama shorts and a tank top. Quinn invited me out for a late lunch with Sergio, but I wanted to be alone. I'd been tempted to call Beau on more than one occasion after we'd arranged our date for tonight. Tempted to cancel. Tempted to confirm.

Truly, I didn't know if I was going to show up. I kept telling myself I had the luxury of changing my mind, just ghosting him. That was it. Never calling back, or at least calling and saying, sorry I changed my mind. But I couldn't change it. I didn't want to.

Around 5:30 p.m., I was really getting nervous. It was time to get ready. But then my phone rang and it made me jump. My heart throbbed as I thought for sure it was Beau. Somehow, I thought he had my number, that I'd messed up the private number thing. Instead, I found it was my other boyfriend, my real boyfriend.

"Hello?" I said as I answered.

"Hey, babe," Tom said.

"Hi, there."

"Feeling better?"

I was confused, but then I remembered I'd told him I had a cold.

"Oh, yeah, I'm just, you know..." I coughed. "Getting over the last of my cold. And I'm just so cramped and bloated because of my period."

"Yeah, TMI," he said. "Where are you?"

"At home, of course." I sniffled loudly. "Almost over it."

"Yeah? Cool, I'm outside."

"What?"

"Brought you chicken noodle."

I jumped in shock as a loud knock sounded on my door. I dropped my phone and picked it up. "Tom?"

"Yeah, open up." He knocked again.

I hurried to the door, opening it. I closed my phone. "Oh, my God, hi."

"Hi," he said with a smile.

He held up the chicken noodle soup, and I have to admit, this was probably the nicest thing he'd ever done for me. I almost said, "I didn't know you cared."

"Aww, you're the sweetest boy ever."

He chuckled as he came in, giving me half a hug. Then he looked at me and gave a nod. "Yeah, you look pretty rotten sick."

I glared at him. "You're seriously going to say that? You're supposed to tell a woman she's beautiful no matter what!" I faked a sniffle and rubbed my nose.

"Just teasing," he said. "You're hot."

My heart thumped. If he had arrived any later, he would've caught me ready to meet Beau. Now that he was here, I once again considered not going. It was crazy, meeting up with Beau. And why? To cheat on my boyfriend who brought me chicken noodle soup? I was a horrible, horrible person.

"This is really sweet," I said. "I mean it, like, above and beyond."

He shrugged. "It was only a few bucks."

"I know but the gesture."

"Is Quinn out?" he asked.

"Yeah, just us."

"Nice," he said, putting his hands on my hips, pulling me to his body. "I was starting to worry you were ditching me."

I wrapped my arms around him. "Of course not."

"Yeah, I see now. If you were, you'd be out with her. But you're here, getting better."

I shook my head and smiled up at him. "You don't trust me, huh?"

"I don't trust any woman."

"Oh, you say the sweetest things," I said sarcastically, but then again, I had been planning to cheat on him.

He laughed and then started to kiss me, but I pulled my neck back. I have no idea why I did that, but I didn't want to kiss him.

"Germs!" I said. "You'll get sick."

"I have a strong immune system."

And then he kissed me the way he always did, trying to ram as much of his tongue into my mouth as he could. I was used to it though, and I knew how to control him. I held the back of his head, and I kissed him. Right then and there, I knew I wasn't going to see Beau tonight. This was my man. It was Tom and me forever.

His hand found my breast. Without a bra on, he easily took my boob out of my tank top and started to squeeze. I broke the kiss.

"Okay, whoa there, lover boy. I'm still recovering."

"Come on, now that we've already had sex, I've been waiting for it again all week."

"Are you sure you want to have sex with a sick girl on her period?"

"You have other holes," he said, kissing me. His hand found my breast again. This time, I didn't push him away.

Yes, I decided I would stay here with my boyfriend Tom, and I'd make love to him. What was I thinking, meeting a stranger for sex? Was I such a disloyal slut that I would do such a thing? No, never. I couldn't do that to Tom.

I kissed him more passionately, our tongues moving together. His hands were more aggressive, moving under my clothes, squeezing my boobs. Then his hand went down, slipping into my loose shorts.

Yes, I wanted to feel the touch of a man. I was starving for affection, real affection, and I was foolishly turning to Beau when I had everything I needed right here with Tom. I cringed a little when he jammed his fingers against my pussy.

"Ow, careful!" I said.

"Why aren't you wet yet?" he said. "Your pussy's so dry, like the Sahara."

I scoffed. "I'm not a man. I need a little foreplay. Be gentle with me."

"Here, I'll give you a little foreplay, four inches of play."

He put his hand on my head and directed me down. I surrendered and got down on my knees. He was unbuckling his belt, unzipping his fly. I looked up at him, giving him a loving smile. I needed to entice him into romance, somehow. "Mmm, you love having your cock sucked, don't you, you sexy stud?"

"Fuck, yes," he said, taking out his cock.

I reached for it, holding it between my fingers. I started to gently stroke it, but he was so impatient. He put his hand on the back of my head and drew me toward him.

"Oh, you want my--" I didn't even get to finish. He stuffed his cock into my mouth. I was a little annoyed with him, but I had to teach him patience somehow. I gently sucked on his cock, and with my fingers, I stroked his shaft.

"Fuck," he said, groaning. He humped my mouth.

I sucked him like I did Beau, using my mouth and hand together, and then I moved my fingers out of the way so I could take his shaft deeper.

"Fuck, yes," he said. "You're learning quickly, aren't you?"

I tried to nod with his cock in my mouth, but I couldn't. He wanted more. He held the back of my head and thrusted, pumping his shaft into my throat. I ran both my hands across his thighs, my nails scratching his khaki pants. I remembered how much Beau liked that, and now it seemed to drive Tom wild. He grunted and growled, and then suddenly, he started cumming.

It shocked me so much I yanked back, and his cum caught me in the face. I gagged and spit it out. The taste was awful, and I was completely unprepared for it. I coughed all while he kept cumming, stroking himself.

"Fuck," he said. "Fuck that felt good."

I wiped my face with my hand and then smiled up at him, hiding my distaste for his cum. "Did that feel good, baby?"

"Yeah, damn. Next time, swallow."

"I'm sorry," I said, standing up. I grabbed a paper towel and handed him one while I wiped myself off. "I'm new to this. I've never had a guy cum in my mouth, you know?"

"You better not have," he said. "I'm the only one who cums in that pretty little mouth, you understand me?"

"Mmm, yes, sir. This pretty little mouth is all yours."

"That's right," he said. He pulled up his pants, zipped and buckled.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"How about we go into the bedroom, cuddle, kiss, you know? I'll get naked, and we can touch some more, and maybe you can touch me, kiss me all over, make love when you're ready."

"Seriously?"

"I'll go brush if you want me to," I said, remembering his rule.

"I thought you were on your period."

"Oh, well, it's very light now, like, almost non-existent."

"Yeah, gross, no thanks."

My smile fell and I grew heated. "You don't need to say it like that."

"I can't stay long. I just wanted to bring the soup. I wasn't planning the blowjob thing."

I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? I thought you were here to spend the evening with me. You could even spend the night."

"Nah. I gotta meet a few friends to watch a game."

"You can watch sports anytime. Your girlfriend is offering you a night of love and passion." I grabbed his hand. "And I really need you here tonight."

"Why?"

"I want to talk."

"Talk?"

"Yes," I said. "I've been going through a lot of difficult things lately. You have no idea how amazing and perfect it is that you stopped by, like, you're heaven-sent to stay with me tonight, to keep me from making a mistake."

"What mistake?"

"Well, it's complicated."

"Can you explain it in the next five minutes? The game starts soon."

He was making me angrier and angrier. "Who's more important, me or your stupid friends? I'm trying to tell you some really important things are happening in my life, and I need my boyfriend here with me tonight, all night long. I don't want you to leave my side for a second."

"Babe, you know I think you're great, but you're being really clingy right now. Don't make it about you versus my friends. That's selfish, you know? And it's a red flag."

I was in disbelief. "Tom, I'm not asking you to pick between us. I'm asking you, I'm telling you, I need you tonight. I'm begging you, please stay. This is important to me."

"I brought the soup," he said, sighing in annoyance. "Just tell me your fucking problem, and I'll listen. It's going to take all night to tell me some problem? Come on. Why do women have to be so Goddamn complicated?"

I swallowed down my pain. I knew then, right then, I wanted him to leave, because there was someone else that I wanted to be with tonight.

"I'm having a fight with my mother," I said to him. "She wants me to spend more time at home, but I don't want to. She asked me to spend the night at her house, but I was hoping someone else, someone like you, would help me think of an excuse not to go."

"Mother issues?" he said with a prolonged sigh. "Just go home, spend the night there. It'll shut her up. What's the big deal?"

I breathed heavily. "You really want me to go there tonight?"

"Yes, God, go, please."

"You're 100% sure?"

"Fuck, I am 120% sure. Just go. See, problem solved. Didn't take all night."

"Thank you," I said. "You did solve my problem."

"There you go," he said. "All right, I'm heading out. We're cool?"

"Yes, we're cool. Thank you, really."

"All right. Enjoy the soup." He started toward the door.

"Wait," I said.

"What now?" he said.

"Don't you want to say something before you leave?"

"What?" he said.

"Those three little words every woman wants to hear after she sucks her boyfriend's dick?"

"Swallow next time?" he asked. "Babe, come on, I don't want to be one of those mushy couples that says 'I love you' all the time."

"I don't want to be one of those couples either."

"All right. I'll see you next week at the party?"

"I'll be there."

"Cool." He opened the door and left.

I stared at that closed door, and then I went into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth twice and used mouthwash thrice. I stripped off every shred of clothing I had, and I scrubbed in that shower. I wanted every hint of him off me, every smell, every touch.

I scrubbed his fingerprints from my skin. I even stuffed my fingers in my pussy to clean his touch out of me. Then I shaved my armpits. I shaved my legs. And I shaved my pussy. I was careful with it, looking down at it from all angles, using the mirror. I wanted perfection for Beau. I was going to get fucked tonight, and it was going to be amazing. I'd been driving myself crazy for this man for weeks, and tonight, it was going to pay off.