“Okay, here’s the deal. I’m ready to date but I’m kind of
lacking in experience.” I wait for their response but they say nothing, so I
continue. “What I mean is that I haven’t done the things you’re claiming men
expect on a date.”
“Wait a minute.” Kayla sets her wine glass down. “Are you
saying you’re a virgin?”
“Yes.” I sit up straighter, the wine boosting my
confidence. “I’m a 23-year-old virgin.”
“Hold on.” Kayla puts her hand up like she’s stopping
traffic. “How is that possible? I mean, I know you haven’t dated much but—”
“Don’t listen to her,” Paige says. “I think it’s sweet.
And romantic. You’re saving yourself for marriage. A lot of people do that.
Good for you, Morgan.” She raises her glass as if we should toast to my
virginity.
I ignore her raised glass. “No, I’m not saving myself for
anything. In fact I really just want to get the whole sex thing over with,
especially now that I know men are expecting it by the third date.”
“That’s not true for all men,” Paige assures me.
“It’s all men.” Kayla pours herself another glass of wine.
“So how could this not happen in college?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t go to many parties and I didn’t
live in the dorms. I lived at home with my dad, so it just didn’t happen. Plus,
I never made it past the first couple dates with a guy. I wasn’t interested
enough in any of them to . . . you know.”
“If you can’t even say the word, you’re not going to be
able to do it.” Kayla jumps up and starts pacing the floor. “Okay, we can fix
this. I can find you a guy who would be more than happy to take care of this
for you.”
“She’s not getting her car fixed here.” Paige shoots a
dirty look at Kayla, then turns back to me. “You need to find someone who cares
about you. Someone who will make this memorable for you.”
“I don’t know if I want it to be memorable. I think I
might just want to forget it after it happens and move on.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what you should do,” Kayla says. “My
first time was prom night junior year with this guy I was dating. I made it
into this huge deal and then it was over in like a minute. And he dumped me the
next week. So trust me, the first time sucks. You just want to get it over
with.
“You should really think about this some more.” Paige uses
her mom-tone, soft-spoken and concerned. “You’ve waited this long. What’s the
rush?”
“I’m not in a rush. And I’m not saying I need to race out
and have sex. I just need to start dating. But if this third-date rule is a
real thing, or even if it’s four or five dates, then I don’t know what to do.
I’m completely inexperienced.”
Kayla takes some cheese from the tray and plops down on
the couch. “Just have sex and get it over with. I’ve already got someone in
mind for you. I’ll see if he’s free Friday night.”
“Friday night? As in this Friday night?
That’s so soon. I don’t think I can do that.”
Kayla gets up, grabbing her purse. “You can do it. I’ve
gotta go.”
“Morgan, don’t listen to her. You’re not going to have sex
with a guy just to get it over with. And you’re not doing it with some random
guy.”
“Paige is right, Kayla. That’s just not me. I at least
need to know the guy.”
“That’s why you’ll go to dinner first.” Kayla’s at the
door, but she turns back and says, “Show me your underwear drawer.”
“What? Why?”
She races to my bedroom. I run to catch up with her, Paige
following behind.
Kayla opens my top drawer and pulls out one of my bras.
She holds it up. “What is this? Polyester? Beige? It doesn’t even have wires in
the cups. No wonder you always look so saggy. Where do you even buy something
like this?”
“They come in a two-pack,” I mumble. “You can get them
anywhere.”
Paige stares at my beige bra, dangling in the air. “Um,
maybe you could get one or two new ones. I could go shopping with you if you
want.”
I snatch my bra from Kayla. “But these are really
comfortable. And I don’t need that much support. I’m not exactly
large-chested.”
Kayla takes it back and checks the size. “34C? That’s not
small. You need new bras. Just throw this one out.” She tosses it on the floor
and reaches in my drawer again. “Paige, look at this. It gets worse.” Kayla
holds up a pair of my underwear. Pink cotton high-cut briefs.
“What’s wrong with those?” I try to grab them but she
holds them high in the air. “They’re cut high up on the hip. They’re sexy.”
“You tell her.” Kayla says to Paige. “You’re better at
saying things nicely.”
Paige looks at the underwear, then back at me. “Well, I
kind of wore ones like that back in middle school. Not that you can’t wear
them. I mean, you could work out in them, I guess. But maybe it wouldn’t hurt
if you got something a little more, um, appealing to the opposite sex. Maybe
something that doesn’t come in a pack of six.”
“What do you wear?” I ask her. “You’re
married. You shouldn’t care what your underwear looks like.”
“I’m married, but I still want to look sexy.” She unzips
the side of her skirt to reveal her silky black bikinis. “These are my weekday
ones. I have better ones for the weekend.”
Kayla keeps snooping in my drawer. “That’s all you have in
here? You don’t even have one decent pair of underwear? There isn’t even any
variety. They’re all the same style.”
“I stock up every year during the back-to-school sales.”
My voice trails off as I realize how pathetic that sounds. I’ve been buying
back-to-school underwear! The kind meant for tweens! The kind that’s sold in
six packs! “All right. Maybe I could use some new ones.”
Kayla tosses my underwear back in the drawer and closes it
up. “I’ve gotta go. But we’ve got some work to do.”
