The Virgin Wars

Chapter 3

Dude, that's a lot, I mouthed, bobbing my head and mimicking her gestures. She gave me an awkward stare.

"Your turn," Celeste said, rolling her eyes as my immaturity.

"Mhm," he paused, choosing a victim. "Ariel. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," she responded, twisting her nose ring.

"Furthest you've ever gone with a guy?"

Ariel blushed bright crimson. We all waited, eyeing her expressions as they evolved. "Well, I'm a virgin," she finally said, looking at Graham confidently in the eyes. He nodded and traced his fingers along my spine, a choreographed routine. "Ladies," he finally spoke, "who here isn't a virgin?"

Will leaned forward, blinking, waiting for someone to speak up.

"Well," Nadia spoke, "I'm not."

"Obviously!" I yelled out, raising my hands in the air. Celeste's eyes were sharp. If only looks could kill. The room grew quiet and Nadia shrugged, as if it was no big deal. Her dark eyes blinked behind coats of mascara and she withdrew a breath.

Graham let out a small chuckle. "Seriously? You girls are all virgins?"

"Shut up," Celeste chugged a pillow in his direction. The pillow hit me directly in the face and I twitched. She tried standing up but staggered to the side, the alcohol taking it's toll on her body. Will caught her before she smacked into the coffee table.

Graham leaned over and whispered into my ear, "Babe, I could change that for you."

"Change what?" I whispered back, too loud. Josh raised his eyebrows at me and I stuck my tongue out at him, acting like a child. Nadia averted his attention away from me, pulling him closer to her.

"You being a virgin," Graham said, two octaves lower. His hand inched closer to me, crawling up my inner thigh, moving closer to the opening of my dress. His breath was hot in my ear and I squirmed slightly under the pressure of his hand. Chills spread their way over my body, tingling in my fingertips and toes.

"This game is getting boring," Josh finally broke the silence, causing Graham to stop where he was. "And we're running out of beer." Josh's eyes were dark and demeaning, fixed on Graham. "Wanna do a run?"

Graham clapped his hands together, his face flushed. "I'm sober enough to get some more alcohol," he responded. I missed his touch on my legs. "We'll be back soon, ladies," he told us, stretching his back, as if he was a cat.

The boys exited, leaving the girls alone in the living room. The door to the deck was wide opened and the night breeze crawled its way into the room, wrapping itself around my muscular arms.

"I can't believe they laughed because we're virgins," Ella complained, her eyes watering from the alcohol or sensitivity. We all nodded and looked to Nadia, who we all seemed to glower over.

Her hand wavered in the air and her hair stood on edge. "Being a virgin isn't a bad thing." She smiled. "It's just your graduating year, right? Who cares if you lose your virginity in college?"

"College?" Arielle moaned.

"Well, you still have two months." Nadia smiled and I twitched continuously.

"I guess that's so," I spat.

"Graham seems to be all over you, Peyton." She said my name with disgust. "Why don't you just sleep with him? He's experienced, so you won't have any complaints there."

"Look, Princess," I slurred. I watched Celeste's eyes widen, as if she knew I was about to say something I'd regret. "I could sleep with him. But I choose not to."

"Of course that's the reason," Nadia laughed, examining my dress. My chest grew heavy and my blood boiled in my veins.

"It's the truth." I brushed my hands together and crossed my legs together. "I'm a virgin by choice."

"I bet you'll sleep with him by the end of summer," Ella chimed in, ganging up on me with Nadia. My eyes shifted back and forth between the two of them. Ella seemed to regret her outburst and her eyes looked down solemnly into her lap. Arielle and Celeste stared at me with hungry eyes, waiting.

"Maybe I will," I hissed back at Ella. The alcohol was about to speak, "I have a..." I paused, trying to remember the word. "I have a proposition to make to you ladies." This caught everyone's attention. Nadia locked eyes with me and Ella stopped fidgeting with a loose thread on her shorts.

"What sort of proposition?" Ariel asked, her usual bored tone seemed amused. Celeste stood and scavenged the cabinets in search for more alcohol. She came back empty, sulking on the couch.

"A regretful proposition. A bet," I answered, "sort of like a contest."

"I always win bets," Nadia smiled. "What is this contest?"

I paused, trying to regain my train of thought. "Whoever sleeps with the most guys this summer, wins?" My statement came out more like a question and everyone passed around confused glances.

"What do you mean?" Ella asked. "Just sleep around?"

"Yes," I nodded, shaking my head over dramatically. "That's exactly what I mean."

"That's actually a good idea," Ariel said, considering. "Every guy you sleep with, you get points. You get points for kissing also, second, and third base."

"This is ridiculously idiotic," Celeste butted in. "This is a good idea if you want a sexually transmitted infection or to be slut shamed."

"Whoever loses their virginity first out of you," Nadia avoided Celeste's comment completely, "earns extra points."

"Whoever wins this stupid bet wins what, exactly?" Celeste asked.

"They win pride," Nadia smirked. "They can be crowned the 'Virgin Queen,'" she made it sound much more enticing than it really was. "I'll try to dig up another prize to make it worth your while," she glanced at Celeste.

"Are there any rules?" Ariel asked, biting her nails to the nub.

I shook my head, my red hair brushing against my collarbone. "No rules. You can sleep with whoever you want. Except you can't pay people to sleep with you." I accidentally hit my head against the bookshelf. "And Nadia, you can't accept money either."

Her mouth gawked opened.

"Technically," Ella said, "we can all sleep with the same guy?"

Nadia nodded and tapped my shoulder. "Good idea, Anderson," she incorporated my last name, "since I'm not a virgin, I'll tally all the points. Sound good?"

"Whatever," I pushed her away from me, and she fell back. I tucked my feet under my butt and held a pillow close to my chest. I honestly couldn't care less about what Nadia did. "Starting tonight," I told the girls, "we begin counting points."

"Let the best virgin win!" Nadia toasted, rising the bottle of vodka into the air. We all cheered and shared the last few drops. Just as we finished, the boys entered the room, holding two cases of beer.

"Hello, pretty ladies," Graham said, nestling his way next to me. "Did we miss anything special?" I shook my head and inched closer to him.

I placed a palm flat on his chest and leaned close, draping my thighs over his legs. He seemed taken aback by how close I was. He let out a little gasp of surprise as my fingers circled his kneecap.

Graham Wilson was going to be my first victim. Just as Nadia had said, "Let the best virgin win."

Let the games begin.