Bad Timing

Ventisette

Conversing about my … sexual doings was the last thing I wanted to do. Don’t get me wrong, I honestly really enjoyed myself last night – and wouldn’t mind doing it again – with Noah. But when Maia banged on my door this morning causing Noah to hide naked in the small closet in the room and I had to lie that the condom wrapper she found on the ground was a candy wrapper, I knew that I never wanted to explain my sex life to anyone not involved.

You’d think that sitting underneath the stars with the wind blowing through your hair and the sound of water lapping in your ears would be calming, but with Paige it was anything but. I relished in the cold wind as it pushed my hair away from my neck, forgetting there was something there I was trying to cover up.

“¡Dios mío” Paige shrieked out loud, eyes latched onto the spot on my neck. “Ems, is that a hickey?”

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I brought my hand up in a lame attempt to hide it. “N-no, I burnt myself with the curling iron.”

“Right.” Paige sounded unconvinced, the corners of her lips twitching upwards. “Is that why Noah can’t keep his hands off of you?”

Noah’s arm tightened around my waist, his warm hand resting on my thigh. He chuckled. “Yeah, just making sure she only receives good results from sticks instead of hurting herself with them.”

As I smacked his check, Callum’s mischievous smile grew. “Is that why you’re walking like a penguin, Ems? Damn, Noah! You did her good!”

If I could jump off the Pier and into the water to disappear from this embarrassing situation without killing myself, I would. I huffed, eyeing Callum with annoyance.

“Please stop talking about it,” Leon groaned, banging his head against the railing. “I’m so grossed out right now.”

“Thank you!” I exclaimed in exasperation.

However, Paige refused to digress from the topic. “Girl, you finally lost your virginity and you didn’t care to share?”

I’m pretty sure my face was as red as a tomato. I played with a loose thread on my t-shirt. “Uh – “

Paige’s cell phone rang in her purse, saving me from the humiliation of replying to her statement. She spoke in rapid Mexican, causing Callum to chuckle as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

“Shut up,” Paige snapped at him. She stood up, dusting the dirt off the back of her jeans. “We need to go unless you want my dad to hate you for eternity for not showing up to our weekly dinner meetings.”

Callum’s smile faltered and he reluctantly got up. He groaned, “He already hates me.”

The couple left, bickering about the many reasons Paige’s father hated Callum. Leon stayed in his spot, carving something into the wood of the railing.

Noah’s hand rubbed my thigh. “How are you? Is it still hurting?”