V is for Virgin

  We reached the end of the pier and I leaned against the rail, taking in the view of the sunset. I closed my eyes and breathed in the smell of the ocean, loving the crisp wind that blew across my face.

  I stood there a minute and then Kyle pulled the beanie off his head and stuck it on mine. “You look cold,” he said, smiling as he fixed my hair beneath the hat. “Your nose is all pink.”

  I was touched by the gesture. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” Kyle rested his forearms on the rail next to me and nudged my arm with his elbow. “Thanks for not taking off today.”

  “It’s been rough,” I joked. “But it looks like I’m going to survive it.”

  “Survive it? You like me about seventy-five percent now.”

  “Twenty at most.”

  I laughed, but then leaned my head against his shoulder as I watched the sun dip below the horizon.

  Kyle slipped his arm around me and tucked me into is side. For once the gesture seemed natural and not fueled by lust. We settled into another peaceful silence until after a few relaxing minutes, Kyle said, “How’d you like the song?”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond. He’d asked the question like he thought the song was a good thing. “Very catchy,” I said, failing to keep the annoyance out of my tone. I was kind of disappointed that the light mood was gone. “I’m sure it will be a hit.”

  Kyle released his hold on me so that he could face me. He frowned. “That’s not what I mean. I wrote it for you.”

  “Yeah,” I said sarcastically. “I noticed.”

  Kyle seemed surprised by my reaction. “You didn’t like it?” he asked, confusion and disappointment creeping into his voice.

  He had me at a total loss. “Was I supposed to?” I asked. “I thought you wrote it because you were mad at me for not going out with you. I thought it was some kind of twisted revenge.”

  Kyle jerked back. I’d startled him. “Why would you think that?”

  “Have you heard it? It’s an angry song.”

  “It’s a love song.”

  “It’s an angry love song. You were obviously pissed off when you wrote it.”

  “No, I wasn’t! Sexually frustrated, and a little desperate for your attention maybe, but that’s what you do to me. I just wrote what I felt.”

  “That song is about you wanting to get me into bed!”

  “Exactly.” Kyle was confused again. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “Saying I’m wasting myself because I won’t have sex, and that you think compromising my personal standards would save me?”

  Kyle turned back to the water and grumbled, “I just called it as I see it.”

  “You can’t possibly think that for real?”

  “What? That getting laid would do you some good?” Kyle was as angry as me, now. “I absolutely think that. You’re too uptight. You’re a passionate person, Val, but you’re totally misdirecting that passion into a pointless cause. It is a crying shame. You’re missing out on some of the greatest parts of life because you’re afraid of intimacy. I could save you. I could wake you up. How are you ever going to find love by being such a cold fish all the time?”

  “That’s what you think of me? This really is just about the conquest for you, isn’t it? Because otherwise why would you be at all attracted to a cold fish?”

  I stomped off back up the pier. After a minute, Kyle came jogging up behind me. “I only think you’re cold on the outside. I know that’s not who you are on the inside.”

  I spun on him so that I could shout in his face. “And you think the only way to reach the girl on the inside is through your penis?”

  “I think the virgin thing is standing in the way of who you really are!” Kyle yelled back. “I think you use it as a shield because you’re afraid of being hurt!”

  “Wrong! It’s not in the way of who I am. It’s part of who I am. You just can’t accept it. I am not a cold fish! I’m only cold to you because I don’t like your methods of getting to know me.”

  “You’re unbelievable.”

  “Me?” I was so mad I was physically shaking. I shook my head and let out an angry breath. “You don’t respect me! You don’t respect the choice I’ve made!”

  “Because I think you’re making a stupid choice!”

  I sighed. It wasn’t worth the argument. “It’s people like you that make V is for Virgin and the abstinence challenge necessary. You know what’s a real crying shame, Kyle? There’s an amazing guy inside of you somewhere, but he’s so hung up on sex that he can’t even understand what real intimacy is.”

  “Where are you going?” he asked when I started to walk off again.

  “Home. I’m sorry, Kyle. I’m citing irreconcilable differences on this one. You and I will never work.”

  Kyle’s face flushed an angry red. “So stubborn,” he muttered and then stormed off the opposite direction.

  As far as first dates go, I’d had better.

  Before I knew it I was Valerie Jensen, jewelry designer. Saturday had come up so quickly and with it my meetings with local suppliers. It was my meeting with Lance Cartwright And Maxwell Jackson of C&J Jewels that still had me stunned. Their company was Los Angeles’s leader in jewelry supplies and they loved my sketches.

  “I can’t believe it’s really going to happen,” I said to Margret as we drove back to Huntington Beach.

  “I’m so proud of you, Valerie. You gave them such a thorough presentation, how could they refuse?”

  “And so quickly,” I continued still in a bit of shock. “To be able to start selling products in only two week’s time?”

  “Well, yes, that is very unheard of, but they have to act as quickly as possible in order to take advantage of the media frenzy. Plus it’s only the one set.”

  Misters Cartwright and Jackson had listened to Margret’s and my pitch and looked at all my designs. By the end of the meeting they’d agreed to give a sample run of my most cost effective design. It was the set of a necklace, a bracelet and a keychain, each in the virgin and abstinence line. They were very simple pieces that could be easily mass-produced. But they were mine. My designs. My jewelry line. And if they sold well, I was told we could look into expanding that line. “Even still…I can’t believe they said yes.”

  I continued to babble like that all the way home and pretty much through the rest of the weekend as I relayed the news to my parents, Cara and Robin.

  Monday after school I’d gone over all the legal stuff with Margret, her accountant, her lawyer, and my parents. Then, as soon as the bell rang on Tuesday, I headed straight to the computer lab. “Val!” Cara had to shout as I’d left my last class in such a hurry.

  “Walk with me if you want to talk. I’m in a hurry.”

  “What’s so urgent?”

  “I’ve got to get some stuff done with Robin.”

  Cara heard the name Robin and sighed rather dramatically. “More of that stupid website? When will you guys be done with that?”

  The “stupid” remark stung a little. “It’s an ongoing project, Cara. You know this. I promise it won’t be as bad once we get the new site up and running.”

  “When will that be? I’m tired of Robin stealing all my Valerie time.”

  “Robin is not stealing your Valerie time. Much.” Cara frowned at me so I added, “The website should be up again in a couple of days, and then it won’t be quite so time consuming. Plus, you get to spend the rest of the day with me.”

  “So you’ll come with me?” Cara gasped. She looked so happy she could burst, but her smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. “Wait, I didn’t tell you about the party yet.”

  “Party?” I asked. “What party? You told me you’d drive me out to Pasadena today. I have to meet the Not Everybody’s Doing It people.”

  “Oh, yeah. V, I totally forgot, but that’s okay. We can still work it. We’ll just go there first and then go to the party after.”

  “What party?” I asked again.

  “It??
?s Reid’s birthday. The guys are having this huge bash for him in the Viper Room, and you and I have VIP status tonight.”

  “Who’s Reid?”

  Cara groaned in disgust. “Tralse? Drummer?”

  “Oh. Right. Um, I’ll pass, thanks.”

  “Pass? You can’t pass.”

  “Okay. How about respectfully decline?”

  “V, come on. It’ll be fun.”

  “Right. Just like it was fun hanging out with you and Shane last time.”

  “You ditched us!”

  “I wonder why!” Cara and I were suddenly glaring at each other. “You promised me you’d behave and instead I got stuck with Kyle while you and Shane had a party for two across the table from us.”

  “I said I was sorry about that,” Cara whined. “It’s just, it was all so new. It’s been over a week now. I’ll do better.”

  I believed her, but still. “Even if you can, it will be really awkward having to hang out with Kyle.”

  “You know Kyle is already over it. Plus, there’ll be plenty of trashy bimbos there to keep him busy.”

  “Wow, this party just keeps sounding better and better.” Yeah, heavy on the sarcasm there.

  “V, you have to! If we go all the way out to Pasadena I won’t have time to bring you home and then get all the way back up to Hollywood.”

  “It’s all right.” I sighed. “You go to the party. I’m sure Robin won’t mind taking me.”

  Cara’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. I’ll call Shane. I shouldn’t be out so late on a school night anyway. We’ll just do something else this weekend.”

  “Cara.” I sighed again. “Go out tonight. It’s a big party. You’re a VIP. I want you to have fun with your friends.”

  “But—”

  “Just go. I’ll make my mom take me. She won’t mind.”

  Just then a deep voice interrupted us. “You need a ride somewhere, Val?”

  “Usually,” I said, trying to keep my cool despite what Isaac’s smile was doing to my heartstrings. “One of the pitfalls of not having my own car.”

  “I can take you where you need to go.”

  One of the advantages of having a best friend like Cara is that even though telepathy doesn’t exist between us, words are not always necessary for communication. Cara and I looked at one another and it was just clear—she hadn’t liked the idea of Robin taking me, but she more than wanted me to go with Isaac.

  I gave Isaac my best smile because I wouldn’t want him to think I was rejecting him when I turned down the offer. “Oh that’s okay, Isaac. Thank you, but—”

  “It’s not a problem,” he insisted. “If you’re nervous about the motorcycle thing, my house is only a few blocks from here. We could just walk there and take my dad’s car.”

  “No, it’s not that. I just have to go all the way to Pasadena. I wouldn’t ask you to drive me that far.”

  “What’s in Pasadena?”

  “The Not Everybody’s Doing It Foundation. I have to drop off the check for the money I raised and get them to sign some papers for me.”

  Isaac nodded and then continued to look at me for a moment longer. His eyes seemed to be searching for something in mine. It made him look intense, they way he had been the first time we talked, but not intense in a scary way. Well, maybe it was scary how it made my insides feel like they were going to burst from the thrill of it.

  Just when I thought I might actually explode, Isaac shrugged. “I’m game for a drive,” he said. “But we should take my dad’s car anyway. I don’t like to ride my bike double on the freeway.”

  I blinked twice. Not that I wanted to talk him out of it, but I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “You’d drive me all the way to Pasadena? That’s almost an hour away. Not to mention we’d get stuck in traffic all the way home. Really. You don’t have to do that.”

  “We live in Southern California. Traffic is a given.” Isaac shrugged again as if it were no big deal at all—just a ride down the street. “I don’t have anything else to do today, and I’m curious about this foundation. It’d be nice to check it out.”

  “Okay then!” Cara jumped in excitedly. “That is awesome of you Isaac!” She turned to me and said, “Unless you want me to take you. I’ll blow off the party for some Cara and Val time if you want.”

  Strangely, it was the fact that Cara was willing to ditch her boyfriend and a star-studded night being a VIP that made me feel completely relaxed in accepting Isaac’s offer.

  “If you’re absolutely positive,” I said to Isaac. He smiled and I felt my knees start to shake in response. I had to look away. Thank goodness Cara was still standing there. “We’ll have Cara and Val time later,” I told her. “Have the best time tonight. Make sure you end up in a tabloid somewhere. Tell Reid happy birthday for me, and tell Shane I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”

  Cara broke into a giddy grin and hissed, “I want every detail tomorrow,” in my ear as she hugged me goodbye. Then she danced out the door, leaving Isaac and me standing all alone just outside the door to the computer lab.

  For a split second it was too awkward to say anything then Isaac nudged his head toward the exit. “Shall we?”

  “I just have to go over a couple of things with Robin before we go. Should only take about ten minutes. Is that okay?”

  “Sure. I’ll just drive my bike home real fast and meet you out front.”

  I quickly gave Robin an overview of my meeting with the lawyer and the accountant yesterday, and went over the small list I’d made of things we needed to have on the site.

  Part of me was in a hurry to get out of there while another part of me dragged on our conversation. I don’t know what I was more afraid of. That I would go outside and Isaac would be gone, having played some very cruel joke, or that he would be there, patiently waiting for me.

  He was waiting, of course, exactly where he said he’d be, in his dad’s Range Rover. He was looking down at something and didn’t see me when I walked outside. That was good because it gave me a moment to steady my nerves. I took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and mustered up every ounce of courage Virgin Val had to offer me, then opened the passenger door.

  “That was fast,” Isaac said cheerfully as he finished texting someone. I glanced at the clock on the dash. It’d been closer to fifteen minutes than the ten I’d told him it would take.

  I buckled my seatbelt, unable to help feeling self-conscious. “Really Isaac. Thanks again for doing this. So much.”

  “You know what they say, ‘When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.’ Don’t sweat it. I’m happy to help. “

  “I—” I stopped, thrown by what I’d just heard.

  Isaac’s face stayed even as he waited for me to say something. It took me a minute to come up with a response because it was so startling to hear such a normal, popular guy quoting scripture. “Wow!” I laughed. “You really do go to Bible study, don’t you?”

  He cracked a smile when I teased him. “Does that bother you?” he asked. He was teasing me back, but I could tell he was curious.

  I figured that Isaac was the kind of guy who would appreciate honesty, so I gave him a searching look of my own and thought really hard before I answered him. “It’s a little strange,” I admitted. “But it seems to suit you. Besides, like I can talk? I’m the girl who stood up on a lunch table and professed her virginity to the masses.”

  He glanced my direction again, the corner of his mouth turning up. “You’re all right, Val.”

  You’re all right, Val. All right? I wasn’t all right. I was having a heart attack! Is it wrong that such a simple statement gave me so much pleasure I felt as if I might throw up?

  Again I found myself speechless, but Isaac came to my rescue by asking me about my volleyball career. He changed the subject with so much ease that I’d wager to believe he understood the effect he had on girls and had become a pro at helping us get over it.

  It was impossible not to relax w
ith him, and when we stopped in front of the small office in the run-down strip mall I could hardly believe we were already there. It was a little disappointing to have to get out of the car.

  We didn’t say anything as we walked inside. Isaac fell back a few steps, letting me do my thing. He wandered over to a small cluttered table and started flipping through pamphlets while I headed up to the counter.

  There was a young woman sitting at a desk who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She gasped when she saw me. “Virgin Val!’ she exclaimed and then called out behind her. “Darla it’s her! She’s here!”

  As the woman rushed over to me, a much older woman came out of a back room and joined in her excitement. “We were hoping you’d come by,” the older woman said. “We can’t say thank you enough! I’m Darla Majors, head of the organization, and this is Christina. It is such a pleasure to meet you, Valerie!”

  All their doting made me a little uncomfortable. I took a step back and pulled an envelope from my backpack. “I guess you guys heard.”

  “Honey, it would have been impossible not too. Our phones have been ringing off the hook since your interview aired. We’ve received more donations this week than we have in the last six months!”

  “Really?”

  “Well, it wasn’t that hard to do. It’s not easy for a group like ours to get much exposure. Usually we have to solicit our funds and, sadly, we get laughed at quite a bit.”

  “I know the feeling,” I said.

  “Well they’re sure taking you seriously now,” Christina laughed. “What is your secret?”

  I started to blush again so I held out the envelope in my hand. “I came to give you this. It’s the money I earned at the festival. Nine hundred and eighty-three dollars.”

  “It’s nothing short of a miracle,” Darla said.

  The two women standing in front of me seemed as mystified by the situation as I was. Darla’s eyes even misted over a little. It almost made me not want to admit the other reason I came. “Um,” I said, shifting uneasily. “There’s actually more.”

  “More?” they gasped in unison.

  I pulled out the set of papers my lawyers had drawn up. “C&J Jewels has agreed to produce some of my jewelry designs. They’re calling it the Virgin line.”