He finally broke the silence. “I know I said you don’t have to tell me anything about what happened tonight. But I’m also willing to listen, judgement-free, if you need an ear.”
I pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Plans gone awry, that’s all. Bruised pride, untouched virginity, nothing I won’t bounce back from.”
We stopped at a red light. Javier looked at me straight on. “You were planning on losing your virginity tonight?” I nodded. “I don’t need to kick some shithead kid’s ass or anything, right?” The light turned green & we started rolling again.
I offered a shy smile in response. “No, no. He didn’t try to force me or anything. He just got upset about something stupid, it escalated into a big fight. And he stormed out, told me we were completely done.”
Javier shook his head & turned his eyes back to the road. “I’m sorry to hear that, Thea. You must be heartbroken.”
“Nah, just embarrassed. We weren’t really boyfriend-&-girlfriend – we just dated casually. I was feeling… intellectually curious about sex, & he was interested & available.” Javier shifted in his seat. “Sorry, that was an inappropriate thing to say.”
“No,” was that apprehension in his voice? “I… appreciate the honesty.”
“I just couldn’t stay the night in that place by myself,” I continued. “And I couldn’t very well explain all this to my mom, so… you’re my knight in shining armor.” He seemed to take that line into consideration, figuring out how to interpret it. In a rare instance of boldness, I decided to make it a little easier for him. “I’ve never really been attracted to boys my age all that much anyway. Guess I should keep waiting for a man instead.”
He shook his head as if to snap a pervasive thought out of his mind.
As a moment of silence passed between us, he reached out & patted my knee reassuringly. Something about his touch didn’t feel fatherly, though. Especially the way he slid it up before pulling back… his fingers grazing against my bare inner thigh… my flesh tingling where he’d touched it…
“So,” he switched gears, snapping us both out of whatever we had just shared, “how are college applications going?”
We kept up the small talk for the remainder of the ride, but I wanted to test him, see if anything else was actually occurring here. I let my voice get huskier each time I spoke. I crossed my legs so that the hem of my dress fell further up & exposed more supple, pale skin. I untied my bun & as my copper-colored tresses fanned out across my shoulders, I combed through them with my fingers, “accidentally” skimming my breasts in the process.
As the Audi pulled into the Mendozas’ driveway, I caught a glimpse at Javier’s lap. There was a distinct bulge growing there. It seemed he was sneaking peeks after all.
*****
Once we’d entered his house & slipped off our shoes, Javier invited me into the kitchen for a drink. He headed for the liquor cabinet & whipped out a bottle of amber liquid.
“Are you drinking tonight, Thea?” How did my name sound so sexy coming from his mouth? “That’s not a trick question, by the way. I know you kids drink.”