BANGERZ 2: WORST BEHAVIOR (2015)

3. The Msfts

"You and Jason had sex?" Miley exclaims, practically loud enough for the whole mall to hear.

Several of the women in the nail shop glance at us with bewildered expressions. The men doing our nails say nothing, remaining professional, but I swear I hear them snickering behind their masks. If they start speaking to each other in their language, I'll wonder if they're talking about us.

"Yes, Miley," I hiss. "But that was only for you to know." I hold up my phone for emphasis. Even though she's sitting in the booth right beside me, we've been texting each other. I'm so glad that I'm finally getting some girl time with Miley, and super excited for the party tonight. There's something about the nail salon that makes me want to gossip, but I was texting her all this for a reason. Now I'm going to be the Scarlet Letter, wearing an invisible "Hey, I Had Sex With a Guy Named Jason!" stamp across my forehead for the rest of our visit. 

"Sorry," Miley apologizes, truly sheepish. But she's grinning like the devil. "I'm just so happy for you! I know that sounds weird, but I am. You two are like, made for each other, and you said 'I love you!' I'm relieved. And shocked, to be honest. We know you're special, Tess, but still. Jason's never waited this long to fuck a girl." 

A few ladies sitting closer to us look at us sideways, unable to completely disregard our conversation. Miley doesn't know how to use her inside voice. At the moment, though, I don't care. I'm taken aback by her confession. I mean, I always knew Jason was... experienced. All I had to do was look at him to figure that out. It never bothered me, though. It still doesn't. I also don't mind Miley's straightforwardness - that's Miley, expressive and unabashedly honest.

Our manicurists start buffing our nails, and Miley looks over at me curiously.

"Can I ask you something, Tess?"

I put my phone down, abandoning our text conversation. "Of course. Quietly, though."

"Was it good?"

I blink. "Um, yeah. I mean, I have nothing to compare it to, but it was pretty amazing." I lean over and lower my voice. "I almost couldn't walk the next day. That's a good sign, right?"

She laughs out loud. "Oh yeah, that's really good. I was just curious. I promise I'm not trying to get in your business, it's just - I've always wondered. I mean, if the dick is bomb, why can't Jason keep a girl around?"

At this the man doing my nails slips with the buffing spool, and it grazes my cuticle. I yelp and jerk my hand away, and he apologizes, scrambling to resume his work, more carefully this time.

Miley examines the nail art poster on the wall beside her, oblivious.

"Maybe he never wanted to," I reason, returning to the subject. Miley tilts her head, considering my point, and her hesitation piques my curiosity.

"How many girlfriends did Jason have before me?" I ask shamelessly. I don't know why I never brought this up to Jason himself, as many questions as I ask. Maybe because I know he'd say they don't matter anymore, not compared to me.

"Girlfriends?" Miley repeats. "You're his first one of those. But... there were definitely others." She smirks knowingly. "Let's see. So first there was Caitlin. She was really sweet, down-to-earth, and knew Jason from when he visited his grandparents in Canada as a kid. They were more best friends than anything, and they did date, but broke up because of the long distance. I think he still talks to her sometimes."

She pauses, backtracking. "Then there was Jasmine," she continues. "Gorgeous, talented, really spunky. But neither one of them wanted anything serious, so they kinda just drifted apart. They were cute together, though. Jasmine used to always say they'd make 'beautiful biracial babies.'"