Virgin Lips

39. Valerie The Evil One

She shrugged, standing up properly. "Ben gave me your key."

"What ..."

"You'd given him a backup key, he gave it to me ... why didn't he return it to you?" Valerie inquired.

"Well, I-uh ..."

"Cut the crap." She crossed her arms over her busty chest, looking at me sideways. "What's going on between you two? He comes telling me he has a daughter that's living with him now, and you two broke off, you don't want to see him ... what the hell is happening here?"

I wish I knew, Val, I really wish I knew. Sighing, I raked a hand over my face. "Ben, he ... aside from all the lies about being gay and hiding Elle from me, he ... well, he ..." I couldn't even bring myself to say it out loud.

"He what?"

I sighed once more, lowering my glance. For some reason I felt ashamed. "Ben told me he loves me."

"And?" Valerie scoffed, impatient.

"What do you mean, and? What's there to add?"

"Well, when a guy claims to love you, usually there's either a messy heart-wrenching breakup or a super mushy recount of how you two declared undying love to each other."

I frowned. She wasn't surprised, at all. "You knew?" I looked up at her.

Valerie chuckled for the first time today, sitting on the side of my bed. "Oh, honey, everybody knows."

"Everybody?"

"Well, everybody except Jeremy, I assume, otherwise he wouldn't be so chummy with his rival's daughter." Valerie claimed, then laughed to herself. "Then again, your boyfriend's such a nice guy that he probably would be regardless."

"There's nothing wrong about being a nice guy." I defended.

"A little bit boring, if you ask me, but sure, nothing wrong at all."

"Val ..."

"Get up. You slept for a whole weekend, the first thing you need is a shower."

"How ..."

"Jeremy." She shrugged. "God, he's such a goody-two-shoes. Don't you get sick of it?"

I rolled my eyes. She prefers the bad boy type. "Not at all."

Valerie sent me a side glance that I would have sworn was hiding a half impish smirk. "Does that mean you wouldn't mind enduring it for the rest of your life?"

When I say I gasped, I probably don't fully convey just how loud. Valerie laughed when I covered my mouth with my hand, in shock. "Are you crazy??!"

"What? At this point, you should know."

"You're being unnecessarily mean, Val." I shot her a glare. "You know how ... well, it's ..."

"That's the point. I don't know." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You and Ben have locked yourself within your own selves, so I don't know."

"I just told you ..."

"Everything?"

"Well, yes, I mean ... the general lines."

"Case in point."

"Val ..." I sighed, raking a hand over my face. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, yeah ..."

"No, I really am sorry. I guess that ... between Jeremy, and the drama with Ben, not to mention the new job, I kind of fell behind in other things. I'm sorry."