Firefighter's Virgin

Ben guffawed. “Yeah right.”

“That’s what she told me. Why would she lie about that?”

“I don’t know, probably to make herself seem pure or some shit. Can’t you check her for that thing? Just tell her you’re a doctor and you’ll give her a free exam, and then see if she’s got that thing, what’s it called? The uh... the...” He frowned.

“Hymen?” I said.

He snapped his fingers together. “Yeah! That’s it. If she’s allegedly a virgin, she should still have that, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “No,” I said. “That is a complete urban legend.”

“That girls have them?”

“No, they have them, but most wear away by the time they’re teenagers.”

Ben made a face. “Wear away?” He gave me a skeptical look. “I don’t know, man, are you sure about that? Maybe you should examine her just to be sure.”

There was no way in hell I was going to tell him that I had already done that, so I just shook my head.

“So does this change anything?” Ben mused. “With the bet? I don’t think it should. Unless you feel as though deflowering a girl is not within your skill set.”

“I’ve definitely slept with more virgins than you have.”

“Oh, yeah? Like who?”

“I’m not naming names.”

“Names, or it never happened. I don’t think we should change a single thing about this. If anything, you just have the added glory of taking someone’s virginity. And she’s 24; I’d say that’s even more impressive than a 16-year-old or something.”

“I’m not going to sleep with a 16-year-old, for fuck’s sake.”

“Yeah, I know you’re not; that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying bagging Allie would be better than bagging some 16-year-old.” He laughed. “Shit, we’re getting old. I still feel like I’m 17, though.”

“I do too, sometimes. But we’re not teenagers. Maybe though... maybe it would be better if we just called the whole thing off.”

“What? Why? You really don’t think you can pull it off, do you?”

“That’s not it at all. It’s just... it’s a little fucked, isn’t it? This whole thing? For her to lose her virginity because of some bet? That seems like something we would’ve done when we’re teenagers, and, since we’re not, maybe we should just call the whole thing off.”

“You’re just trying to get out of it,” Ben said. “You, who supposedly loves a good bet and doesn’t think he can lose, you are just looking for a way to get out of this because you know deep down that you can’t do it. Ha!”

“That’s not it, you fuckwad,” I said. “It just seems that someone who has managed to hold onto her virginity for this long should maybe not lose it just based on a stupid bet.”

“What are you talking about? There are plenty of girls walking around who are Allie’s age—and older—that are still virgins. I just saw one at the store the other day. She was about 40 pounds overweight and had a serious moustache.”

“Stop,” I said.

“I’m serious. And not only that, she also had—”

“I believe you,” I said, “I just don’t need you to elaborate about it anymore. What if we call it off, but I’ll still take you to whatever fucking game it is you want? How does that sound?”

&nbs

p; “That sounds great, but it also sounds like you know that you’re just not going to be able to pull it off.”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”