“From what I hear, the first time usually is. Especially if you were both virgins.”
“Fumbling around in the dark is a real thing,” he verified.
“Had you been together long?”
“Not really. We got together around Thanksgiving, so about three months.”
“Were you together for long after?”
“Until June, I think. Actually, after we broke up she started dating a girl, so my buddies had a great time with that one.”
“Aw,” Willow said, chuckling a little. “You turned her off men altogether.”
Shrugging good-naturedly, he said, “We’re bastards, she was better off.”
“That is true,” Willow agreed with mock-solemnity. “My mom—my birth mom, anyway—dated men all her life until after she had me, but she said it always felt wrong. I’m sure your girlfriend was just trying to convince herself she was straight by being with you.”
“I think she was bi, actually. She was with another guy after that relationship ended, but you know how guys are. Never lived it down.”
“Yeah, guys can be pretty dumb,” she agreed with a roll of her eyes.
He nodded. “Your brother—was he Ashlynn’s biologically?”
Willow nodded. “Sperm bank. Ashlynn never slept with a man, to my knowledge.”
“What about you? Did you—do you date a lot?”
“I wouldn’t say a lot. The problem is sometimes I just want to hang out with a guy and not have it be a whole thing, but then next thing I know he’s calling me his girlfriend or getting all mad at me for hanging out with some other guy—but I just thought we were friends, I didn’t even realize we were dating. If I think I’m single, you can’t be pissy if I go out with someone else. Make your position clear, dammit. That’s the problem, high school guys are just…they’re not bold enough, you know? They don’t really know who they are yet, they’re not decisive, they’re too casual, they don’t let you know where you stand, and God forbid you ask, because then you’re a psycho-bitch. They’re just stupid. I don’t think teen guys are built for relationships, they’re just wired for screwing around with their douchey friends and not taking girls seriously. I have not felt like any guy I’ve ever gone out with could really handle me.”
Quirking a smile, he remembered thinking just that. He wasn’t stupid enough to admit that, though. “You don’t seem that high-maintenance to me.”
“I don’t think I am, I just think I’m going to have to hold out for college. I’ve always liked guys a bit older anyway.”
“I’m shocked,” he said dryly.
“I’ll probably end up having an affair with a professor,” she joked.
“I can actually see that,” he replied, shaking his head. “You’ll walk into class in that skirt and those boots and he’ll just fall at your feet.”
Grinning at him, she said, “You like my skirt and my boots, huh?”
“I am a straight man with a pulse, so yes.”
She looked inordinately pleased. “I like them, too.”
“I’m sure your date enjoyed them as well,” he remarked, even though he knew she had changed clothes—for him, apparently.
Without feigning modesty, Willow nodded her head. “He is also a straight male with a pulse. But like I said, high school guys aren’t that hard to impress.”
Going for casual, he asked, “You think you’ll see him again?”
“We’re friends, so I’m sure we’ll hang out again. Hopefully I won’t find out Monday at school we’re engaged, but you never know,” she added lightly.
Ethan merely shook his head. “Sounds like quite the problem. I feel really bad for you. I’m sure being desirable is quite a burden.”
Raising her eyebrows, she said, “Hey, it can be. You would be surprised how many guys see a reasonably attractive girl in a mini-skirt and make inaccurate assumptions about her.” Then, rolling her eyes, she added, “And don’t even start; you’re hardly Quasimodo yourself.”
“I’m retired from that whole scene. I can’t say that I miss it. Dating can be the worst.”