I’ll go to the grave a virgin, and if you had the same phobia about taking your pants off in front of someone, I think you’d understand, dear Tiffany.
“June.” Tiffany looked me in the eye for long moment then sat up while I admired her from down below.
“I’ll tell you mine, but don’t tell James that I told you about it.”
“Shoot.”
“When it comes to you, I think it’s all a matter of trust between Will and James. Will probably wanted proof of loyalty.”
“He would’ve had plenty, James never kissed me, or thought of me that way,” I admitted quietly.
“The fact that he never tried anything with you doesn’t mean he’s not interested. We’re talking about James. And the fact that he’s really taking all this time with you is what’s weird about it.”
“Well, he’s acting that way because he doesn’t like me,” I murmured, stretching out my legs, which felt progressively weaker.
Tiffany smiled and threw her head back.
“Or maybe because he knows I’ve never done it, and . . .”
How did we end up talking about this? I must’ve been really trashed to confess such intimate things to a girl I barely know.
“June, you don’t know James. If he wanted to bang you in the first place, he’d try. Whether you’re a virgin or not. Whether you’re standing against a wall or not, whether or not you’re Will’s girlfriend. Do you think he cares about anything? One girl’s worth another.” Her words piled on top of each other in my hazy mind, creating prohibited images that I’d have preferred to avoid.
“So what? I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” I whispered, looking at her right in the eyes.
“I’m saying that he’s different with you, and Will realized that. It’s like William asked him:Show me that you’ll put me first and not her.Show me that she’s not special and doesn’t mean anything to you.”
“How could Will be so petty?” I sat up, horrified.
“If you and James felt something for each other, it would be petty, but—”
“I don’t feel anything for him,” I burst out, as my cheeks burst into flames.
“Shh, he’s coming!” I heard her chortle, covering my mouth with her hand. Footsteps approached the closed door then vanished in the distance.“False alarm.”
We burst out laughing. “Where’d he go?”
Tiffany shrugged it off.
“Probably to eat something like he usually does.”
“Is he always eating? God, I’m so jealous,” I murmured, touching my soft stomach.
“I don’t envy him at all. James has been on a diet since he was thirteen.”
“Meaning?”
“Boxing, football, the gym. It all put so much bullshit in his head.”
I thought again about his dad, who I’d often seen getting back from working out.
“It was Jordan, wasn’t it?”
“No. Not at all. Jordan was never there.”
“So?”
But my morbid curiosity didn’t end up being satisfied because Tiffany came near to my face, sending a chill down my spine.
