Page 6 of Teach Me How

“Aunt Shirley told me it makes me look like a druggy. And dad said it makes me look loose.” She puts the last word in air quotes. “Who even says loose this day and age?”

She tips her bottle back. Studying Parker, then me. “I know why Parker’s hiding. She ain’t a social butterfly. What’s your deal, Sunshine? You’re usually all about these shit shows.”

I grimace. “Everyone keeps asking about Jonah.”

“Ah.” Charlie says, sitting back.

“They don’t know we broke up.” I look up at the house. “I just don’t feel like explaining. Not that anybody ever liked Jonah. Or his tattoos.”

“We liked that he made you happy,” Parker says quietly.

“But Jonah…” Charlie wavers a hand in front of her. “Kind of a prig.”

I frown. “If you thought he was a prig, why didn’t you ever say so?”

Charlie pulls her legs up. “Would you have listened?”

“Yes.” I say.

“Liar.” Parker’s voice is soft.

My shoulders slump.

Charlie leans on her elbow. “He was just too legalistic, you know? It was just a weird contrast. For a guy who looks painfully good in black eyeliner, he’s surprisingly old-fashioned. You take one look and think you’re going to get this easy-going rocker dude, and you get a fist full of fundamentalist bullshit instead.”

“And he was always correcting you,” Parker adds.

Charlie throws a few sticks on the fire, and we watch sparks, we call them rabbits, dance into the night air. “So, what was it? What made you finally decide to dump him?”

I haven’t talked about it yet with anyone, not even my sisters, because I was hoping it was just a hiccup. A temporary issue we’d get over. I chug the last of my beer and twist the top off another. “Other way around, Chuck. He dumped me.”

“What?” both sisters respond in unison.

“He. Dumped. Me.” I repeat, digging into anger so that the tears don’t find a way out of my tear ducts. “He found out I wasn’t a virgin.”

They stare at me in stunned silence. We talk about everything. Periods. Runny noses. Pimples. But we don’t discuss our sex lives. My parents were firm supporters of abstinence over sex education. They made it crystal clear to us at an early age that good girls wait until marriage. And the bad girls? Well, they weren’t worth protecting, apparently.

I’ve uttered a taboo word and I’m regretting it. Now they know I’m not as sweet and innocent as they always thought. I’ve sunk in Jonah’s esteem and now I’ve sunk in theirs, too.

Parker sits up. “That fucking asshole.”

Charlie nods sharply. “Let’s kill him.”

“I mean, I did lie about it in the first place.”

“Of course, you did,” Charlie says. “He’s a legalistic asshole. Who’s safe from his judgement?”

Parker’s shaking her head. “I can’t believe he dumped you over that.”

“Well, shit.” Charlie sits back with a grin. “There goes my hope of being the lucky rebound girl. He wouldn’t take me, either.”

Parker’s lips pull into a lopsided grin. “Me either.”

I stare at them. “You guys aren’t virgins?”

Parker smiles that mysterious smile of hers. “No.”

I glance at Charlie.

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