Page 58 of Fraud
“And talking about it, out loud, is embarrassing. Especially when—”
“You’re still a virgin?”
My eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
I listened as she sighed.
“I’ve always known,” she said. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I mean, when Jacob and you—”
“Stop,” I begged.
“Anyway, you haven’t exactly mentioned anyone since.”
Silence followed as I stared up at the ceiling.
“I went on another date with Killian,” I finally said.
“And?” she prodded.
“He’s really…intense.”
“Intense isn’t a bad thing.”
I smiled, remembering the way he’d stormed onto the dance floor, ready to take Brian on for dancing with me.
And then the look he’d given me at the end of the night when I finally told him the truth.
“I told him. That I was a virgin.”
“How’d he take it?” she asked quietly.
“He probably would have had a better reaction if I’d told him I was the real Laura Stone.”
“Oh, Kate, I’m sorry.”
I leaned my head back on the pillow. “It’s okay. I mean, I don’t know what I was thinking. Who wants to date a nearly thirty-year-old virgin?”
“Maybe he just needs some time to process it.”
I smiled, a halfhearted one but a smile nonetheless. “Maybe.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” I said.
“Why are you still a virgin? I mean, what are you waiting for?”
My eyes squeezed shut as I thought about how to answer. “I don’t know honestly. I think, at first, I was too hurt by Jacob’s betrayal and too deep in mourning over my parents to bother with another relationship.”
“And after?”
I let out a sigh. “It was different after college,” I explained. “Dating takes effort, and I didn’t put anything into it. It was easier to ignore guys altogether than to constantly deal with the heartache or letdowns that went with meeting people who weren’t interested.”
“So, you’re not saving your virtue for some religious or political reason then?” She laughed, causing me to smile.
“No, definitely not. At this point, I’d almost rather just do it and get it over with.”
“Then, why don’t you?” she suggested.
