“Promise?”
“I promise,” I nodded solemnly.
“Okay… That night when you asked me to come home with you… I freaked out because I’d never done that before.”
“You’d never gone home with a stranger before, you mean?”
“Well, that too,” she nodded. “But more specifically… I’ve never had… Um… I’ve never had sex before.”
I stared at her for a moment. “Oh.”
“I’m a virgin,” she said, and she gave a sigh as though she were relieved to have her secret out there.
“I see.” I nodded slowly, trying to process that information.
“So, do you think I’m a freak?” she asked timidly.
“Of course not,” I said instantly.
“It’s okay if you do,” she said. “I am twenty-one, and in this day and age, no one is a virgin anymore.”
“That’s obviously not true.” I smiled. “And to be clear, I’m not judging you. In fact, I actually find it refreshing.”
“You’re sweet.”
“I’m just being honest.”
“And polite.”
I smiled, but a part of me was starting to realize that sex was off the table tonight. She was in a vulnerable position, she was inexperienced, and she was obviously nervous. I didn’t want her to think I expected anything of her, especially now. I especially didn’t want to pressure her into anything. But even as I thought that, I realized how badly I had wanted to sleep with her.
“So, does what I just told you… bother you at all?” Natalie asked.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“You don’t have to lie.”
“I know.” I smiled. “I have to admit… I am a little surprised. But I’m not bothered by it at all.”
Natalie nodded and looked down at her plate self-consciously.
“Can I ask why you haven’t decided to…um…take the plunge, so to speak?”
She smiled. “I guess I never met a guy I wanted to sleep with,” she replied. “That’s the honest truth, really. “I was so busy studying hard and traveling when I could and working part-time jobs to make sure I could travel a little in my spare time that I never concentrated on boys very much. And before I knew it, I was twenty-one and still hadn’t had sex.”
“People put so much emphasis on having sex and having sex young… Now that I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. Why shouldn’t you wait till you’re ready? Why shouldn’t you wait till you’ve found someone you actually want to have sex with? What does it matter if you’re sixteen when you have sex or twenty-six?”
She smiled, and her eyes lit up at my words. “You really are a sweet guy.”
“I have my moments,” I smiled.
“Dinner was amazing,” she said, gesturing towards the table.
“I’m glad you liked it,” I smiled proudly. “This was one of my better meals, if I do say so myself.”
She laughed. “It makes me want to learn how to cook.”
“I could teach you, if you want?”