Page 13 of Curvy Perfection
“You don’t? Well, let me fill in the blanks for you, and it might help to rejig that memory of yours. I have a feeling you and Kirsty have realized your attraction for each other, and have been sneaking around, secretly dating, to see how things work between the two of you. How am I doing so far?”
“At this moment in time, you’re not funny,” Ward said.
He finished his coffee and put the cup down.
Christopher laughed, clapped his hands, and gave a fist pump to the sky. “Dude, why are you both being so secretive?”
“Look, you’re my best friend, but some stuff has to remain private.”
“Why?” he asked.
Ward shrugged. “You know me and Kirsty. You know what we’ve been like with each other. This isn’t easy, not for either of us, and yet … you know what, just forget it.”
“Hey, man, there’s no reason for you to be upset or pissed, or whatever. This is me. You know I’m not a gossip. What is going on?”
Ward pressed his lips together and then ran fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what is going on, okay? I can’t exactly explain it. I like Kirsty a lot.” He wasn’t about to tell his best friend that she was a virgin. “And I know this is crazy, but I want this to work, and with the bet and everything.”
“Fuck the bet. It was something that happened in school. I doubt anyone would actually take ownership of the damn thing. It was an age where people might think you and Kirsty got together.”
“Right,” Ward said, gripping the back of his neck. “Still not fun, though.”
“Doesn’t matter now, I lost. I thought either at prom, or after graduation. Once I lost those two, I stopped trying to guess when the two of you would get it on.”
“We’re both thirty years old. I mean, who would imagine me and Kirsty dating at this age?”
“True.” Christopher shrugged. “And you’re not killing each other.”
“No, we’re not. It’s kind of a miracle.”
He wasn’t about to tell his best friend that he absolutely loved being with Kirsty. From afar, he’d seen her laugh, watched her enjoy life, and just embrace everything that was thrown at her. Now, being in her company, up close, personal, kissing her, exploring her body, was the greatest thing he’d ever experienced.
****
Kirsty poured the marinade into the bags of chicken while Bethany supervised the meatballs in the sauce.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Ward. For the past three weeks, it had been a dream, and a lot of fun. Sneaking around, making out, exploring one another. Kirsty had thought the excitement would fizzle out, or they’d both see that they were not compatible. That hadn’t happened. If anything, being with each other had become even more exciting than she originally thought.
“Hey, Bethany, can I ask you something?”
“Of course. I don’t know why you even have to ask me that?”
She finished sealing the last bag of chicken and turned toward her friend. “What was … your first time like?”
“My first time what?” Bethany tapped the side of the pan and turned toward her.
“Sex.”
Bethany’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my first time. It was awful. It was with Randall, in the back of the car, and it hurt, and it wasn’t a lot of fun. I think I even remember crying.” She winced.
“You cried?”
“Yeah, Randall took that quite hard. We’d been fooling around for a long time, we were kids. It’s what kids did.” She wrinkled her nose. “I hope my kids don’t.”
Kirsty couldn’t help but laugh.
Bethany rubbed at her temple. “Yeah, I’m going to have to talk with Randall about letting any of our children go out with anyone who is more than just a friend.”
“It was awful?”