Page 24 of A Good Book

“This is Gabriella,” Matt said with a slight slur to his voice as he stole her beer and took a long swig. “Gabby, this is Julianne.”

She looked like Brooke Shields with her big hair, striking blue eyes, and chiseled jawline. I died a little.

“Oh, the preacher’s daughter.” She offered her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

Yep, preacher’s daughter. That was the reputation I was going for in college.

I shook her hand and accepted my lot in life with a slight nod that matched my tiny smile. “You too.”

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked. “I know you’re not twenty-one, but I won’t tell anyone if you have a beer. There’s also pop in the kitchen. Whatever you feel comfortable having. No pressure. Oh, and snacks. We ordered twenty pizzas or more.Pleaseeat something.”

Ben was correct; I was nice. But dang it! Julianne was nice, too. It wasn’t her fault I loved Matt. Nor was it her fault that I took on thousands of additional dollars in debt to go to college out of state. Still, I had no intention of feeling bad for loving her boyfriend.

“Pop and pizza sound awesome. Thanks.”

“Can I get you anything, babe?” she asked Matt, pressing her hand to his cheek.

He leaned into her touch. “I’m good. Thanks.” Then he grabbed her butt and kissed her at the same time.

I blushed with envy.

She pulled away and rubbed her lips together. “Let’s go.” Julianne led me into the house.

With the help of a couple of walls, and briefly leaning into a few strangers along the way, I made it without incident.

“I don’t know how you walk in those boots. I’ve never been comfortable in heels,” Julianne said, handing me a plate, then opening the lids to pizza boxes. She stacked the empty ones in a pile, then tossed abandoned red cups into the trash bin.

Her aversion to heels and her tidiness immediately earned my respect. I would have done the same thing in her shoes. But I wasn’t in her cute white canvas sneakers, as she pointed out.

“They’re my roommate’s boots, along with the rest of my outfit. She thought I needed to fit in tonight.” I set one piece of pizza on my plate and lifted a second to my mouth.

Julianne opened a can of Sprite for me. “I bet you don’t drink a lot of caffeine.” She handed it to me after I set my pizza on the plate.

“Did Matt tell you that?”

Guys didn’t talk with their girlfriends about other girls who they almost kissed. That made me reevaluate our date night. Was Ben right? Did Mattnotalmost kiss me?

“My father isn’t a preacher,” she said, “but I was raised in a strict house, religiously speaking. No caffeine. No unclean meat. No swearing. No sex before marriage. No using the Lord’s name in vain.”

My heart sank. We were bonding. I wasn’t allowed to bond with Matt’s girlfriendandsteal him from her. Why couldn’t she be awful and catty so I could be the nice one who he wanted to take home to his family?

“Right?” I didn’t wait a second to solidify our connection. “How’s the no-sex-before-marriage thing going?” Yep. I basically asked her if she’d had sex with my future husband.

It obviously wasn’t a deal-breaker. After all, my oldest, slutty sister took the honor of robbing his virginity. Still, what if Julianne was saving herself? And what if that wasn’t as appealing to Matt? And what if I was willing to give him say … second base, all in the name of manifest destiny or a good old case of God’s will?

Julianne laughed. “By the end of the night, I’ll be so drunk I can hardly stand. I’ve already had unclean meat.” She looked around at the people in our vicinity and leaned in closer to my ear. “And I’ll be screaming God’s name with Matt balls deep in me by midnight.” She fanned herself and giggled.

I pretended to wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, but I was really hiding my gasp. She wasn’t like me after all. Matt made the same mistake of falling for another heathen like Sarah.

“Oh my gosh, I’m going to miss so many things about him, but the sex is very close to the top of that list.”

I cleared my throat. “W-what do you mean?”

Julianne frowned. “I’m moving to California. Transferring to UCLA at the semester. My mom’s moving out there, and since she and my dad split, she hasn’t been doing so well.”

“Sorry to hear that,” I said before taking several gulps of my Sprite.

She held a hand to her ear. “What?”

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