The Virgin and the Whore

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

All week long, I tried to be a good boy. I went to my yoga class every other morning, I didn't ask any of the sexy girls their phone numbers, I chewed my nicotine gums like a ruminating cow and I made sure my best friend had nothing to complain about.

On Friday night, when I would have usually gone off the rails, Ty and Van made plans for me.

We were apparently doing movie night at Vanessa's place. Vanessa wasn't living in the dorms anymore. She was a senior and she was living in her own apartment. It was tiny but cozy. If I was Tyler I would probably always live there. She had one bedroom and a space that doubled as a kitchen and a living room. It was maybe fifteen minutes away from campus and it was all hers. I mean, she was renting it, but it was still all her space. And that was nice.

It also smelled nice. Tyler and I didn't have a stinky room, that wasn't the problem. A girl's place just smelled different, like make up and scented candles.

With my mother gone for so long, I was definitely missing a feminine touch in any of the places I'd live in the past decade.

So that's how I ended up lying on the couch, with Vanessa's legs on my laps while her head was resting on Tyler's as we watched Disney Channel movies.

Yeah, Disney Channel movies. My friends definitely hated me.

"I don't understand the logistic of losing your queen chair at the cafeteria, and your boyfriend because you start wearing glasses..." I trailed once Geek Charming ended.

"You're not supposed to be thinking logically while watching Disney movies," Tyler answered.

I snorted. "Obviously."

"Hey!" Van said, giving little shoves to my knee with her foot, "Don't snob. I know you loved Starstruck. You can't convince me otherwise."

"Princess Protection Progam, he also loves that one," Tyler added, his eyes fixed on the computer plugged to the TV, going through the possible choices for our next movie.

"I hate you both. I can't believe this is how I'm spending my Friday night," I said, hugging one of the couch cushions.

"Oh and what do you usually do on a Friday night?" Vanessa asked, sounding not impressed at all.

Tyler answered her for me, "You rub yourself all over strangers. Do you want us to rub ourselves all over you?" He smooched his lips and shook his chest at me.

I threw the cushion on his face. "Please don't."

"Then rub my foot you dweeb," Van said, wiggling her toes at me while Tyler started up Lemonade Mouth.

About halfway through the movie, Vanessa said softly, "Tyler, careful, you're ripping my shirt."

I threw my head back, and made a pained sound. "First off, could you guys not do stuff that could get a shirt ripped off right beside me. Secondly, why do you even still wear that shirt? It has more holes than Swiss cheese."

It looked like one of Tyler's old shirt. When he was like, thirteen and hadn't gone through puberty.

Vanessa wasn't having it. "And what's that shirt you're wearing? Did you cut it yourself?" I might have had. It was a kind of tank top with big arm holes. It used to be an uncomfortable t-shirt. And now Vanessa was tickling the exposed skin on my side with her toes. "Did you make big arm holes to make sure everyone would see your slut tattoo, come on, show us that side boob tattoo you basic bitch," she teased, laughing.