“Excuse me? You can’t just tell me to leave. I’m here with Dustin.”
“Not anymore,” Dustin says, stopping to stand behind her, holding a carton of eggs in his hands. “You heard the man, leave.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Dustin counters.
“Dustin.” The girl stomps her foot.
“Leave.” Dustin’s voice is composed yet just as cold as mine.
“Guys, it’s fine.” Reese tries to reason with us.
“It’s not fine,” Dustin says before I have the chance to. “You see, Reese is one of us. We’re tight. You disrespect her, you disrespect all of us. That goes for Tessa too,” Dustin says calmly. “I have zero fucks to give about you being sorry. You’ve been asked to leave.”
“Whatever. What a fucking joke.” She grabs her purse that’s almost bigger than she is from the ground and storms off, disappearing around the side of the house.
“Dude, maybe you should go check your truck, make sure she doesn’t fuck with it?” Trey says.
“Nah, she’s not got it in her to be like that.” Dustin takes his chair and opens the carton of eggs.
“I’m so embarrassed.” Reese, with her knees to her chest in the chair next to me, buries her face.
Reaching over, I place my hand on her shoulder. “Hey, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“She was a clinger anyway.” Dustin shrugs. “Now, Reese, are you going to watch this epic event that’s about to happen?” She slowly lifts her head and looks at Dustin. “You know you want to see this.” He grabs an egg from the carton and knocks it on the arm of his chair to crack it open. “Bottoms up.” He tilts his head back and opens the egg, letting it drop into his mouth. He swallows and reaches for his beer. “That’s how it’s done,” he says after taking a big swig. “My turn.” He grins wickedly. “Reese.”
“Oh, God.” She half laughs, half moans. “Truth.”
“All right.” Dustin nods. “Let’s see. Give me a minute here.” He looks off into the distance, lost in thought. “I got it. How old were you when you lost your virginity?” he asks just as I am taking a drink of my beer, and I start to cough.
“Sorry, went down the wrong pipe.”
“You okay over there, Coop?” Dustin asks with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“I’m good.” I take a drink to clear my throat and open my mouth to tell her that she doesn’t have to answer. I don’t want her to be even more embarrassed than she already is to tell them she’s still a virgin.
“Eighteen. Senior prom,” she says before I have a chance to stop her.
“What?” I turn to look at her. “You never told me that.”
She shrugs. “It was no big deal. More of a means to an end kind of thing.”
“Who?” That single word is the exact demand that it sounds like. It’s invasive, but I can’t seem to find it in me to care.
“Joey Patrick, my prom date.”
“You let her go on a date?” Hank asks, surprised.
“What do you mean by that?” Reese asks him.
“Nothing.” He holds his hands up, and I glare at him over her shoulder.
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“Fine. Cooper. Truth or dare?” Reese asks me.
I can see the challenge in my best friend’s eyes. “Truth.”
“When did you lose your virginity?”
Fuck me. I don’t want to answer this. We don’t talk about this stuff, not really, which is why I didn’t know. I’d prefer to not have the imagery of her with anyone else in my head. I can’t have her, but neither can they. I know my thought process is fucked. I’m fully aware. She’s going to hate my answer, but I give it to her anyway. “Janie.” I clear my throat. “Senior prom.” She nods like she had a good idea, but I can see the hurt in her eyes.
“You’re up,” she says, standing from her chair. “I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.” Her steps are hurried as she walks away, and I didn’t miss the crack in her voice.
“You fucked up,” Levi says.
“I wasn’t going to lie to her.”
“It should have been her,” Hank chimes in, ever so helpful.
“She’s my best friend.”
“Then go after her,” Tessa says, none too kindly.
“Yeah, I’m skipping my turn,” I say, standing and heading toward the house. I block out anything else they might say as I go in search of Reese. She’s not anywhere downstairs, and her car is still parked out front. Not that I thought she would leave. She’s smart enough not to drink and drive. Taking the steps two at a time, I check the bathroom, but she’s not there. Slowly, I push open my bedroom door to find her curled up in a ball on my bed. Her legs are hidden under my sweatshirt, as tears from her eyes coat my pillow.