The Virginity Bet [#Wattys 2015]

Chapter 27

"What's her name?" Charlie said with a smile on her face.

Alex sighed, "Lisa. Her name's Lisa."

Charlie grinned, "That's a nice name. I bet she was a great girl. Why aren't you two dating anymore?"

He scratched the back of his head, "It's complicated." He must have felt bad for talking about an ex on their "date" because he said, "Ah, I'm sorry Charlie. This probably isn't what you were picturing when Monica set you up."

Charlie rolled her eyes, "Truth be told Alex, I'm in the same situation as you."

Alex smiled and said, "Oh yeah? What was his name?" At this moment, Charlie knew she and Alex would be great friends. 

It pained Charlie to say it but she said anyways with a light voice, "Caleb."

"I can see that." Alex said, chugging his drink. "Can I get you one?"

Charlie sheepishly shook her head, "The last time I ended up getting drunk, it didn't work out to well for me." She thought about Caleb and the jail cell, but she thought that if it was Caleb offering her the drink, she would say yes, because she would give anything to travel back in time and relive that experience all over again. Only if it was Caleb. 

"Does the last time you got drunk have something to do with this Caleb guy?" Alex asked.

Charlie blushed, "How'd you know?"

"There's a look in your eyes. When you think about him. Not just you. Anyone whose gotten their heart broken. They get this cloudy look in their eyes and it almost looks like they're not even there." He shrugged, "I don't know."

Charlie shook her head, "No, I get it. I know that look too. I'm like the owner of that look." They both laughed and suddenly Alex blurted, "Do you miss him? Because I miss Lisa so much."

Charlie nodded, "Want to hear something crazy? You might think I'm like psychotic after I tell you or something."

Alex laughed, "Psychotic? In love? It's all the same. Shoot."

Charlie exhaled deeply before she said, "It's been six months since I last saw him." She sighed, "And every day since then, I write a letter to him with a special pen that I only use for those letters and then I seal it in this overly fancy manila envelope, that's way too expensive to be buying for letters than I'm never gonna send anyway."

Alex thought about her confession for a few moments and said, "It's too late for you, isn't it?" He quietly asked.

She nodded, and he shook his head, "What did he do to you, Charlie?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." She mumbled, suddenly wanting to get it off of her chest.

"Try me." He said with a serious look. Charlie grabbed his hand and pulled him off to an empty corner where the music wasn't blasting her ears off. 

"All through high school, there was a bet between every guy to see who could take my virginity." She laughed at how long ago it seemed, but it was really only six months ago. "I didn't know about it, of course. But Caleb did. And there had to be proof that it happened" She paused, "In fact, the only reason he started trying to get me to date him was so that he could steal my virginity. By the time I slept with him, we were both madly in love. But he had to release the video. Everyone saw it. Everyone saw me... naked... I was basically a joke for the rest of my senior year. Everyone called me tits or that 'perky girl'." She stopped talking.

He let out a breath, "That's seriously fucked up."

Charlie shrugged, "He made a mistake. So I forgave him. But there's no way I could ever forget. We ended on great terms, actually. I forgave him. I dont, really. Even now, I don't forgive him for what he did to me. It's the worst thing anyone has ever done to me. So I don't forgive him. But I told him I did." A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Why?" He asked. 

"Because he loved me, I know he did. And I loved him so much that I didn't want him to hate himself for what he did. But I don't forgive him yet. And I will never forget. It's just too late for us to ever work out."

"You're an amazing person, Charlie. If I wasn't madly in love with Lisa, I would be head over heels for you." He confessed.

She smiled. "Your turn."

He shrugged, "It's nowhere near as interesting as that Caleb guy, but I'll tell you. Lisa and I, we were in love with each other since preschool." He sadly chuckled, "But when high school finished, we had this major fight. See, her friend was flirting with me and she was all over me, and she kissed me. I quickly pulled away of course, but Lisa saw the kiss. She thought I was the one who had kissed her friend. I tried to explain the next day, but she just keeps ignoring me. Won't even look at me."

Charlie rolled her eyes and smacked Alex's arm, "You're such an idiot, Alex."

He rubbed his arm, pouting, "What!!"

Charlie smiled, "It's not too late for you, Alex. It's easy... Just make her listen!"

Alex's eyes lit up as if he finally broke through, "You're right! Oh my god, Charlie. I can't believe I was about to let her go. It's not too late... you're right!"

Before anyone could say anything else, Alex was running out of the hallway and outside the house, "Thanks Charlie. Bye!" He shouted.

Charlie smiled. Lisa was one lucky girl.