It Was Just A Bet

Secrets

 Justin

I was pacing the length of the main room, waiting for Pearl to come out of her room. It had been at least an hour and a half since I had left her room. I sighed, my mind about to burst. I couldn’t stop wondering why she got so upset or who that guy was.

I don’t know if the reason why I want to know so badly is because I actually care for her, or if it’s because I’m curious. Maybe it’s a combination of the two?

After another ten minutes or so of pacing and thinking, Pearl’s door finally, finally opened. I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched her lean against the frame of her door. She was wearing black sweatpants and a white V-neck.  

“Hi,” She said, rubbing her arm and looking down.

“Hi,” I replied back, walking closer to her. “Can we talk?” I took my hand and gently lifted her face up. She looked at me, her eyes glazed and sad. “Tell me what’s wrong.” I whispered.

Pearl nodded. I took her hand in mine and walked her over to the couch. We sat down and I turned to her. I didn’t let go of her hand.

“So,” She started, her voice shaky, “you want to know why I’m so upset?”

I wanted to scream “YES! YES! YES!” but instead I nodded.

“Well… it all started in my senior year of high school…” She cleared her throat and continued, “All throughout high school I have been used by guys… so I guess I had a reputation that I was “easy” or that I was like “easy to win over” because I fall for guys really easily.” She looked away.

Does that mean that I’m having an effect on her? Maybe winning this bet really won’t be too hard…

“Anyway, it was the middle of senior year and this new guy transferred to our school from somewhere else. And he was really hot. He was perfect. He was the guy all the girls wanted. So when he asked me out, I was shocked. I felt so good about myself. I was flustered and I felt like I was on top of the world. But my friends were smart and realistic. They told me that no one really knows him that well, so I shouldn’t say yes. “Did I really want to get hurt again?” is what they kept saying. But I ignored them of course. He was just too perfect to say no to. I thought he was everything I wanted.” She stopped and took a deep breath. I placed my hand on her shoulder and rubbed it.

“So we went out. And it was the perfect date. The best date I had ever gone on.” She laughed. “We went to some fucking restaurant, but somehow I had thought it was the best date in the world.” She rolled her eyes.

I immediately thought of the first date Pearl and I had. I almost smiled. The first date I had planned was much better and more special than that. Even our second date was more memorable. This is good. I’m treating Pearl better than the other guys she has been with have treated her. Does that mean she’s falling for me?

I looked at Pearl, wanting to hear more, but she stopped talking. She was just looking at me, a look on her face I couldn’t quite place.

After a minute of just looking at each other – what was she thinking? – I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “So what happened after that?” to get her back into telling the story.

“We went on a couple of more dates. And then he asked me to be his girlfriend. And I had said yes.” She shook her head.

“My friends… they thought I was crazy. They knew he was probably bad news but I didn’t listen to them. I thought they were just jealous. So after, I don’t know… less than a month of dating… things started getting more intense. It wasn’t lighthearted and fun like before. When we were alone, he’d put his hands under my clothes… he’d try to take them off, but I always stopped him. We hadn’t even known each other for two months yet!” Her cheeks flushed and I squeezed her hand. “I-I just wasn’t ready, you know?” I didn’t know… if a girl was willing, I was willing…but I nodded anyway.