Her words sting. Is that really what she thinks? I might not have sex on a rugby field but I wouldn’t say I don’t doanythingexciting.
“Her idea of doing something wild,” Steph continues, as if I’m not here, “would be returning a library book after the due date.” She nudges me and the other girls dissolve into giggles.
I shoot Steph a look of annoyance but she doesn’t notice. I know she’s being silly, but her words hurt a little. I mean, for one, Ineverreturn books late. And two, well, I’m notthatboring.
Am I?
“Being outrageous requires spontaneity and that’s not Harriet’s strength,” Steph adds.
What’s so wrong with that?
Cassidy looks flabbergasted. “So you’ve never, like, jumped in the sack with a hot guy you just met?”
“Wait,” Heather interjects, her kohl-rimmed eyes widening as she leans closer to me. “Are you avirgin, Harriet?”
My face burns. “No,” I say, exasperated. Are there only two options? You leap into bed with random men you’ve just met or you’re a virgin?
I’ve had sex with my fair share of men, don’t you worry. I just don’t go around broadcasting it, like this lot. You don’t get to twenty-eight with Steph as your bestie without getting it on with a few guys. And I’ve had loads.
Okay, to be more specific, I’ve had sex with three men. I don’t know what Steph is carrying on about, because each was more disappointing than the last. I didn’t… reach completion, so to speak. Although I’ve never done that on my own, either, so perhaps that’s not on them. It didn’t help when my last boyfriend told me he’d been with much more attractive women. After that I didn’t feel like having sex with him at all.
“Anyway,” Steph says, slinging an arm around my shoulder, “Harri might play it safe, but she’s always been there for me. She’s the best friend anyone could ask for.” She squeezes me. “Besides, I’m working on her.”
“Thanks, Steph,” I mumble, and down the rest of my drink. “But I’m quite happy with my life.”
“I know. It wouldn’t hurt you to get out there a bit more, though. Have a little fun, let your hair down.”
“Literally!” Cassidy chimes in, then howls with laughter.
I raise a hand to my hair, pulled up into a tidy bun on the top of my head, the way I always wear it. What does my hair have to do with anything?
“Seriously, when did you last have sex? I had sex this morning.” Cassidy beams with pride.
“Maybe you should talk to a guy now and get a number,” Heather suggests, her gaze swiveling around the bar. “Ooh, what about him?” She jabs a manicured finger towards a guy with ruffled blond hair, wearing a leather jacket and ripped jeans. A motorcycle helmet sits on the bar in front of him. He’s exactly the type of “bad boy” that women love, for whatever reason.
“Erm, no thanks.” My phone buzzes on the table and I lunge to grab it, relieved for the distraction. I glance at the screen as I stand and slip outside. It’s my sister, Alex, calling from New York. She moved there a year ago and met some guy called Michael and they’ve been inseparable ever since. They’re getting married in a few weeks, which I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about. She asked me to fly across for the big day and be her maid of honor, but I came up with an excuse about having to work. The truth is, I can’t imagine flying there. I’ve never been to a huge, foreign city like that. The crowds, the traffic, the possibility of being mugged… it scares the bejesus out of me.
“Hey, Harri,” Alex says when I accept the call. “How are you?”
“Not bad.” I push the conversation in the bar from my mind. “How are things?”
“Busy with writing and wedding stuff.”
Sometimes I have trouble keeping up with everything Alex does. She writes for an online magazine called Bliss Edition, she works part-time at a bookstore, and when she’s not doing those things, she writes romance novels. Now, of course, she’s planning a wedding too.
“It’s pretty full on,” she adds.
“Mm,” I say, distracted by a couple across the parking lot making out against the side of a Honda. Ugh.
She sighs at the other end of the phone.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“It’s Mum.”
I nod, even though she can’t see me. I know what she’s going to say because I’ve heard Mum go on and on about this since Alex announced her engagement.
“She’s beside herself that I’m marrying an American and not coming home. She keeps asking me if I’m sure I’m doing the right thing.”
