“No biggie? Are you kidding me?” Vale gushes, “Girl, your first was a Halley’s Comet of virgin sex! You said he gave you two orgasms during your first time, and trust me, that only happens to one pussy every seventy-five years.”
I chew my lip, remembering how I begged my godfather to be my first, not the other way around. Michael was sweet to me. He never acted like my father. We’re too close in age, and he was super attractive. Still is.
I can’t describe the bond I felt with him, but I trusted him, and I was tired of being a virgin.
Embarrassed, actually.
Sad, honestly.
It was my twenty-first birthday, and like Drew Barrymore’s character Josie Grosie in the movieNever Been Kissed, I hadn’t. I wasn’t popular or pretty. In fact, I was the target of a body-shaming bully, and the only ones who defended me were Vale and her twin, Blair.
They got me through high school, and my godfather, Michael, got me through my first time. He stopped my tears when I told him I felt ugly and unloved, and he gave me what I asked for. He made me feel beautiful and powerful, and I never looked back.
It wasn’t romantic love between us. Honestly, I used him,and I think he felt sorry for me, like he was doing me a favor, and now we act as if it never happened.
Why? Because if my dad ever finds out, my godfather is dead. No joke.
Dadwillkill him.
I stab my pasta. “Well, it sure feels like my first and only was seventy-five years ago, and I’m ready for the comet to come again.”
“He’s right next door,” Vale prompts.
“He’s a no way, and too perfect, and wouldneverbe into a woman like me.”
Vale pauses before her reply.
It’s coming, so I put my fork down.
This is one of the many reasons why she’s my ride or die. This is why we’re always hoes before bros. Vale’s friendship has almost filled the void my mom’s death left behind.
I convinced her to follow her passion, to get her PhD in Sexuality, and she convinced me to follow my dreams, to dig in the dirt.
Sometimes, all you need is a best friend who’ll believe in you until you believe in yourself.
“You’re beautiful, Alena.” Vale soothes my scars. “Fuck that hater in school. He couldn’t handle your hotness. But now, you’re all grown and beautiful and women pay to have a bangin’ body like yours. And men? They’d fucking kill for it.”
She adds, “Like your mystery man next door.”
CHAPTER THREE
LOCH
“She’s rightnext door to you?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve got eyes on her?”
“Yes.”
“And she’s safe?”
Nash, Alena’s dad, is busting my balls. I get it. He worries about her. He’s three hundred miles away and on my phone.
“Yes, I can see her eating spaghetti and talking to herself.”
Nash laughs, “She’s talking to Vale. They can’t go a day apart.”
