Page 109 of Confessions of a Virgin on a Dating App
“Yeah.” I smiled. I knew she missed home, but I also knew that she enjoyed spending time at Aaron’s apartment.
My friends shouted final goodbyes over their shoulders as I closed the door behind them. The silence of the now-empty townhouse rang like gongs in my ears.
But my heart felt lighter than it had all week.
I havegood friends.
By the end of the following week, the surgical glue peeled off, taking my stitches with it, and I was left with nothing but faint pink scars.
At my follow-up appointment, the surgeon said I was healing perfectly, and since my wounds were healed, he cleared me to return to normal activities. I assumed thatincluded sexual ones, but I didn’t dare bring that up in front of my mother, who had insisted on coming to my follow-up.
She treated me to a celebratory lunch at Mexican restaurant near the doctor’s office and began packing up her things as soon as we returned to my townhouse.
I was relieved that things were returning to normal. I was even glad that I could return to work the following Monday. But for the first time in a long time, I knew I was going to miss my mother.
I gave her a long, tight hug as we stood in the doorway, one that nearly brought me to tears.
“You’ve got this, sweetheart,” she whispered in my ear. “I love you.”
It was a vague encouragement, yet I knew exactly what it meant. It meant that she knew I could handle myself down in Orlando. It meant that she knew I’d continue recovering and overcome the lingering side effects of my illness.
And, most importantly, it meant that she was proud of the adult I’d become.
Watching her drive away felt like a door closing on that part of my life. That I was finally recovered and ready to continue my life post-surgery.
But the contemplative sadness was quickly replaced with a bubble of excitement. Because it was Friday evening, and even though my mother was gone, I had a party to attend in less than an hour.
I showered, blow-dried my hair, and put on my favorite lavender dress. As my stomach swelling continued to dissipate, I could go back to wearing pants again. But I decided that I loved the comfort and freedom of loose, flowy dresses. And after so many years of endometriosis pain, my closet was full of them.
The party was at Sam’s house, and he’d asked us to bring either food or board games. I decided on both, packingup both my mother’s leftover baklava from the night before and two of my favorite party games. I stacked them in a precarious pile in my arms as I shuffled out to my car in the driveway.
Sam lived on the eastern edge of Orlando, in a beautiful two-story home in a newer neighborhood. I hadn’t been there in months, but it was easy to recognize, since it bordered a cul-de-sac and was painted a vibrant forest green. Sam’s wife, Kathy, loved gardening, and the earthy, sweet scent of freshly planted flowers wafted past me as I rang the doorbell.
I was fifteen minutes late, which meant most of my very punctual friends were already there. Kathy answered the door, sweeping me up in her tight, motherly hug. Behind her, seated at Sam’s enormous gaming table, half a dozen Critical Games patrons shouted my name and cheered.
I beamed as I approached the table, my smile spreading so widely across my face that it hurt. Plopped in the seats, snacking on potato chips and crackers, were Cassidy, Aaron, Chris, Devin, and Sam’s two teenage sons, Jack and Danny.
But most of my attention was on Devin. For the first time in nearly a year, he’d taken a Friday night off and had Jordan manage the shop for the evening. I was glad he’d agreed to it—he desperately needed a break. And a casual gaming party with our closest friends was the best way for him to do so.
He was seated at the head of the table, closest to where I was standing. And as soon as he saw me, he stood up, pulled me into his arms, and kissed the top of my forehead.
“Feeling better?” he asked, even though I’d just seen him the day before.
“Yeah,” I grinned. “Doc said I’m all clear. I’ve healed perfectly.”
“So the rumors are true,” Kathy remarked in a teasing tone, her short, plump frame leaning against the dining room archway. Like her husband Sam, she was an older woman,likely in her early fifties, with greying almond-brown hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.
Devin turned toward her with me still pulled against his chest. “Hey, I wasn’t hiding anything. No rumors needed.”
I grinned again, my face prickling with heat. I loved that Devin wasn’t afraid to give me bits of affection in front of others. He took pride in the fact that I was his girlfriend. I looked up at his face, loving how genuine and bright his smile was. Tonight, he looked the happiest I’d seen him in a long time. Possibly ever.
Sam noted that we were waiting on one more person, but they’d likely be late, so we were free to start diving into the board games. We picked a simple card-drafting game, one that would accommodate so many people, and half an hour passed as we picked cards and totaled up our points.
Sam won, with Devin just two points behind him in second place. I’d never played this game before, so I was second to last. But it had been a lot of fun, and I made a mental note to pick this game up next time I was at the shop. I needed some easy, quick games for large numbers of players.
“I swear to god, you knew I needed that card.” Devin scowled, pointing at the stacks of cards on the table in front of Sam. “It only scored you two points. I would’ve gotten nine.”
“Sucks for you, young man,” Sam teased, shrugging as he leaned back in his chair.
