"The mall is empty so far," Allie remarked as she sat down across from Britt.
"Yeah, I was hoping it would be so that we could talk," Britt replied with a sigh. A frown flashed across her face as she took a sip of her latte, pretty blue eyes downcast.
Allie took a sip, alarms starting to go off in her head. The usually carefree face of her blonde cheerleader friend was clearly troubled.
"Is everything okay, Britt?"
Britt glanced up and sighed again. Allie reached out to hold her hand. Britt flinched a smile at her.
"You can tell me, you're my best friend," Allie said with a smile. "It'll be okay."
"It's just that...you're my best friend."
"Yeah."
"And, well...," Britt's face pinched for a moment before sighing.
"Come on, what is it?" Allie asked impatiently, shaking her friend's hand.
"I really like you, Allie, but..." Britt sighed again and grabbed her latte for another sip.
"Jeez, you act like you're trying to break up with me," Allie giggled. Britt's guilty eyes flashed to hers. "But...we're not dating...I have a boyfriend." Allie looked at her quizzically.
"I know, it's just that..."
"Britt, what is it? Just tell me."
"You are not invited," she blurted out before dropping her eyes and taking another sip.
"Not invited to what? A party or something?"
"I'm sorry."
"Britt, what is going on? If you don't want me to come, that's okay."
"I just don't want you to be hurt."
"No, no it's fine, that's totally fine. I'm fine," Allie lied, her heart slowly breaking. She forced a smile on her face and took a sip. "So tell me about the party so I'll know what I'm missing."
"Well, so, you remember Gina's 18th?"
"Yeah, that was like two weeks ago. How could I forget?"
"So, um, some of the girls didn't...well they...it's just..."
"Just what? Did she think I was hitting on Adam?"
"No, they thought you were being a wet blanket," Britt said, frowning.
"But I thought it was a fun party."
Britt took a deep breath and looked around. "Look, I know you're still a virgin. That's totally fine with me, and honestly with all the other girls too. They like you, we all do. You're smart and beautiful and funny and a really good friend. But we are young and have boyfriends and want to have...you know, fun with them."
"So you're saying I'm a prude."
An awkward silence sat between the two friends, but Britt's weak smile gave her the answer. Britt reached across the table and took Allie's hand.
"Your...squealing about Mandy grinding on Kevin. And telling Adam to watch where his hands were..."
"Britt, we were right outside the restaurant!"
"Allie, it's not your body. If Gina wants to let Adam squeeze her ass in public, she can let him squeeze her ass in public."
Allie opened her mouth several times, but no words came out.
"You okay, sweetie?"
Allie nodded vigorously, unwilling to trust her voice.
So I'm the party pooper.
"Good. I'm sorry, I just want to be up front with you."
"Thanks."
Britt jumped up and gave Allie a hug.
"I love you, baby, you're my best friend."
Allie nodded through a fake smile and turbulent emotions played out in her mind. She had been called all the names, straight laced, stick in the mud, goody goody. She wasn't shy, she was on the cheerleading squad like her friends, she was pretty and friendly and knew almost everyone at school. She had been the homecoming queen for Pete's sake! But she respected the rules and decorum and didn't approve of public displays of ass-grabbing. Her boyfriend had seemed fine with her hang ups, content with just feeling her up and getting the occasional hand job. She knew her friends were all having sex, and what they did in private didn't bother her. For her, the best way to avoid sexual temptation was to focus on other, more important things.
"So...what aren't I invited to?"
"We are going to a cabin up in the hills after prom."
"Oh, silly, I wouldn't want to come along! That sounds so romantic, just you and Dan, why would me and Steve go?"
Britt paused. "There are several of us going. Me, Gina, Mandy and Amy. And Dan and the other guys."
"Oh."
"Yeah, the place sounds nice. What are you and Steve doing?"
Something about the flinch in Britt's voice caught Allie's attention.
"Um, we haven't talked about it. My church is having a thing."
Britt's eyes fell again.
"I'm not sure Steve wants to go to your church."
"We can do something else," Allie said with a shrug.
"I've heard some of the guys talking," Britt said, her eyes serious.
"About what?"
"They think Steve is going to break up with you because you won't put out."
Allie's jaw dropped. "That is none of their business!"
Britt frowned at her.
"Fine. If he wants to dump me because I won't fuck him, let him," Allie hissed. Britt winced hearing Allie use a curse word. "We'll just go to prom and then break up."
Britt's eyes found Allie's.
"He's...going to dump me before prom?"
Britt lowered her head and took a sip. "I don't know what he's going to do." She looked back up, brimming with tears for her friend. "I'm sorry."
Allie seethed as she drove home. So that was it. Spread your legs or get ostracized and dumped. Bitches. And the hell with Steve too. She found herself parking in front of Steve's house and stomped to the door. She tried to control herself as Steve's mom answered the door. His mom let her in and she walked up to his room, trying to act calm. The act didn't last long. Minutes later, she was pushing past Steve's mom to get out, driving home in a haze of tears, not entirely sure what had just happened. Mercifully she made it home without getting herself killed.
She was sitting on her bed, strangling her bear for the hundredth time, when the girls showed up. Before she could react they were all in her room, all trying to soothe her. Allie wanted to be furious at them, but they were all encouraging. They all supported her decision not have sex.
"It's your body, you decide when to have sex."..."Guys are just jerks. They only want one thing."..."You are still my bestie."..."You can still join our table, we'll kick Steve out."..."I'm proud of you, Allie."..."Stay strong."
She spent the night staring at the ceiling, mulling over her life choices. She couldn't exactly confide in her mom, but her mom had made it perfectly clear she trusted Allie's judgment. 'We raised you to be a queen', she had smiled. 'You're a big girl, you'll make the right decision.' Somehow, Allie wasn't quite in agreement.
She had thought she loved Steve, and thought that he loved her. He was smart and sweet and kind, definitely easy on the eyes. He had never pressured her for sex, only tested her boundaries but respected them. As she thought about it, she wondered if they had actually broken up. She only recalled yelling at him, he didn't get much chance to say anything. As if answering her question, her cell buzzed with a text from him.
Baby I'm sorry it ended like that.
Allie stifled a scream of anger as she started to reply before stopping herself. She was not going to get into a text war.
School was...weird. And depressing. Last week everything was going just peachy fine in her life. She had a boyfriend, a group a girls to hang out with, fun classes. Now everything just sucked. It seemed like everyone knew they broke up because she wouldn't put out. There were whispered conversations, just out of earshot, warning other girls that they'd end up like her if they didn't have sex. Seeing Steve was difficult also, but he seemed to help by avoiding her and being polite. She had pointedly asked Mr. Adams to reassign her to a different lab partner only to find our Steve had already taken care of it.
Allie debated skipping the prom, but in the end her friends talked her into it. They had a table for 10 reserved for the night, although Steve was now kicked out. She would be the only one there solo. After stewing about it for days, she finally made her decision. She found Steve in the halls and pulled him aside.
"Are you still planning to go to the prom?" she asked quietly.
"Yes. You?"
"Yes. You ask another girl out?"
"No, not yet. Maybe I'll go alone. Your friends kicked me out."
She looked up at his soft, brown eyes, one of the first things that attracted her to him.
"If I give you a blowjob, will you take me to the prom?" she whispered.
Steve's eyebrow shot up.
"Now THAT is a prom proposal!" he grinned.
Allie frowned at him. "Is it a deal?"
"Yes. Totally."