“Please, I beg you, stop crying. I’ll do anything.”
“Will you sleep with me?” She looked up at me.
Yes.
Even with her face splotchy, looking at me through slightly tangled blond hair, I thought she was cute.
“No. I’m your boss.”
“Oh my god, I’m a wreck.”
Two women hurried out of the bar to her. I looked at them helplessly.
“Wow, Sadie, this is so embarrassing. Erika, you take her arm,” one of her friends said.
“She drank too much,” Erika said as she and the other girl hauled Sadie away. I held out the condoms.
“You can keep them,” Sadie said, crying. “I won’t have any use for them.”
“They’re not my size.”
16
Sadie
My life was an epic disaster, and now my boss knew that I had never had sex in my life.
“Kill me,” I begged my friends as they hauled me into Jasmine’s house.
“You know,” Erika said, “in many cultures, virgins are highly sought after.”
“Oh my god.”
“You could sell your virginity on the internet. Then you could pay off all your student loans,” Jasmine suggested, opening a bottle of wine and pouring us each a glass.
I groaned. “I need to quit my job.”
“You can’t quit!” Erika said. She had the string of condoms around her neck.
“I can’t face Parker tomorrow.” I drained my glass.
“Puh-lease,” Jasmine scoffed. “I bet you Parker is very intrigued. I bet he’s home right now thinking about you and jacking off.”
Erika inspected the condoms around her neck. “Not his size,” she said. “These are large. Probably best that he’s not your first one.”
“No man is going to want me. Vance said he doesn’t like virgins. They get attached and bleed.” I sat up and snatched Erika’s wine.
“I think you’ve had enough.”
“Too late,” Jasmine said as I drained it. “You’re going to have a fun day at work tomorrow.”
“I’m not going.”
* * *
An alarm blaredthe next morning. I sat up in a panic.
“It’s just mine. I have to fly to Boston. Emergency hotel situation,” Erika said. “Don’t be late to work.”
