Page 14 of White Room Virgin

Did he not notice me?

“Where are you going?” I asked.

He didn’t seem surprised that I was suddenly standing there. “Come with me and you’ll see.”

His grin somehow worried me. “But … it’s Sunday.”

“So what? Who told you not to? Your mommy?”

I lowered my head, embarrassed. So that was the punishment for my curiosity.

“Hey, that was a joke!” He chuckled and slung the bag over his shoulder. “Don’t take everything so seriously.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, judging by the expression on your face, you must have been on the phone with your parents.”

He was right. My mother had reassured me, seemingly for the hundredth time, that I didn’t have to prove anything to her and could return home at any time, while my father believed in doing things properly if you were going to do them at all. “Make me proud!” had been his parting words to me ever since I started university.

“I don’t know. It’s already half past nine.” He didn’t need to know that my muscles had been twitching since the phone call, and I was seriously contemplating going for a run.

“That doesn’t stop you from running around the city like a maniac,” Lucien remarked casually, tucking a pack of cigarettes into his coat pocket.

Can he read my mind? That’s almost unsettling.

His expression changed abruptly. His amusement gave way to an expectant look. “Come on, come with me! Screw the fact that it’s Sunday—it’ll be cool.”

I glanced over my shoulder into the hallway, seeking assistance. Martin wasn’t there and apart from the lame excusethat I had a lecture the next morning, I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I also felt a tingling sensation in my fingers. Here was an opportunity to experience something new. Something that would allow me to rebel against the strict basic values and rules of my parents.

“Go grab your jacket,” Lucien ordered with enthusiasm, nudging me out of the room ahead of him. “I’m ready to go.”

***

It had just stopped raining when we stepped out onto the street. Many leaves were on the ground and a cool wind was blowing through the trees.

All right, I definitely needed to work on my assertiveness and strength of character. Maybe my common sense too.

Lucien dragged me to the same bar where we’d last been with Martin and ordered beers for both of us. He wasn’t very talkative, and it seemed like he might already regret bringing me along. Lost in thought, he soon ordered a second beer. I kept checking the clock above the entrance. An hour had already passed, and I pondered how to bid farewell politely when he unexpectedly asked, “Why did you come into my room?”

I looked at him in surprise. My God, I didn’t know myself.Although … actually I did.But he didn’t need to know that. I put the glass to my mouth, hid behind it, and shook my head.

“It would do you good to find something you like,” he said, ignoring my silence, and took a sip.

“Something?” I repeated, putting the glass down more forcefully than I had intended. “There are things I do like!”

“Oh yeah, let me guess: the Bible?”

“Uh, yes!” I responded.That goes without saying.“And running.”

“Then hang it on the wall and Martin will shut up,” he said dryly.

His words irritated me, and although I didn’t know exactly why, I found them offensive. And yet I froze, not knowing how to react. As I finished my beer and prepared to leave without comment, he ordered me a second one in all seriousness.

“You like beer, don’t you?” A mischievous smile appeared on his face.

I sat down again and didn’t understand anything. Not him. And me even less.

“You can admit that you like beer,” he said, nudging the glass toward me. “No need to feel ashamed about it.”

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