Authors: Jillian Dodd
“Girls say they love stubble.
For specific reasons
,” he says with all sorts of swagger and confidence in his voice, leaving me no doubt that’s exactly what girls have been telling him. And probably why he hasn’t shaved.
I pull my hair behind my ear, fully exposing my cheek. “Is my cheek red?”
He studies it for a second, then replies, “No.”
“That’s because you have a baby face with soft stubble. It does make you look older, though.”
And hotter too, if that’s even possible
, but I don’t tell him that. “Girls like
rough
stubble.” I give him a smirk and then add, “For those
specific reasons
.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Kind of like my mom does when she’s about ready to lose it and is trying not to.
“So, let’s start with the questions. How old were you when you lost your virginity?”
“Wow. That’s kind of personal.”
“The questions are about sex. They’re all personal.”
“I was sixteen. How old were you?”
“I’m not answering the survey.”
“Neither am I, if you don’t answer my question.”
He sighs again. “I was fifteen, if you must know. Next question. How long had you been dating the guy you lost your virginity to?”
“Uh.” I think back. I dated Cush for, what was it, a day? I can’t answer that question. I’d sound like a slut. “No comment.”
He tilts his head at me. “That’s not an answer.”
I grab his little notebook, write
No Comment
on it, and hand it back to him. “It is now.”
“How long?” he asks again sternly.
“I didn’t expect to do it with him, okay? It just kind of happened.”
“Kind of happened?”
“Yes. It was spontaneous.”
“So it was just a hookup?’
I scowl at him. “No, it wasn’t just a hookup.”
“You’re used to getting what you want when you want it.”
“No! I don’t get what I want.” I put on my pout face. Just so he knows that I’m serious about it.
Aiden flicks my pouty bottom lip with his finger. “Come on. Look at you. You flash that little pout and boys fall at your feet.”
“They do not!”
“Okay, how long did you date Dawson before you had sex?”
“One. That is not one of your questions. And, two. It’s none of your business.”
“Fine. How about the Keats guy?”
“That one I will answer. I knew him for almost two years before we did.”
“That wasn’t the question. Once you got together, how long did you wait?”
Shit. He made me wait. All of about 8 days.
“Eight days.”
“And the virginity friend?”
“That doesn’t matter. I dated a guy for a year and a half before him and we never did it!”
“Was he gay?”
Shit! How the hell did he guess that? Has the stubble on his face added to his power? Has he mastered mind reading?
I try to clear my mind of all thoughts.
He grins at me. “I can tell by your face the answer is yes.”
“No, he just wanted to wait until he was married.”
“Bullshit.”
“Fine. He may have been gay but I didn't know it.”
Aiden bumps my elbow with his. “I bet that drove you nuts. Did you try and get him to?”
“Yes. And it sucked. Being turned down after a year of dating someone sucks.”
“What did you do to try and seduce him?”
“Lingerie.”
Aiden leans his chin on his hand on top of the armrest separating us. “What did it look like?”
I push his elbow off the armrest, completely catching him off guard and causing his chin to drop down.
Cheerleader Bachelorette. Bad Prince. You’re up.
I give him a smirk, set my homework on the floor, and go up on stage.
The Bad Prince, Logan, and I run through our lines. He tells me that he’s a prince and about the contest. What he fails to tell me is that he has a brother who happens to be the guy I had the most amazing date ever with. He tells me it will be good for my career. That reality shows are all scripted anyway. That even if I’m not chosen to be the princess, I’ll get lots of jobs from the show. I decide to do it. Then he kisses me. And, tonight, Logan actually takes me completely by surprise and kisses me. Wraps his arm around my waist, pulls me in tight, and lays a fat kiss on my lips.
I manage to stay in character. And my character likes his kiss. He’s handsome, and, come on, he’s a freaking prince! Of course I’m going to be fine with a kiss. Even though it’s not a true love kiss—but, then again, the true love kiss guy still hasn’t called.
“Ok,” the director says. “Let’s try that kiss again. Keatyn, I think I’d like to see a little more body language from you. This guy is a prince. I’d like you to lean your body into him. We want this kiss to be very different, visually, from the sweet kiss you had with the Good Prince.”
I nod my head. “Got it.”
Logan says his last line. Then he grabs my waist. This time, I don’t fight it. I push my body into his, slide my hand around the back of his neck, and pull his face toward mine as I kiss him.
“Yes! I like that! That will really make the audience question your intentions. Is she a scheming slut or the sweet true love girl? Love it.”
“Thanks,” I say to the director. To Logan, who still doesn’t really seem to like me much, I ask, “What do you think?”
He grins at me for the first time ever and replies, “I think we could do better than that with a little more practice.”
I walk off the stage and sit back down in my seat. Aiden isn’t here, but his backpack is sitting on the floor. I’m still trying to figure out what Logan meant by that. Does he really want to practice for the play’s sake?
I will admit, he makes a really good Bad Prince. The girls in makeup decided to add a dark henna tattoo across his back for the play. And we all know that he has a damn good back. Honestly, the way the makeup girls were giggling, I think the tattoo is as much for them as it is for the audience. Either way, the audience will get to see his shirtless back when he gets down and dirty with the slutty bachelorette in a hot tub scene. She is the one who just wants him for his money.
Aiden sits back down next to me.
“Where were you?”
“I’ve been surveying some of the other cast members and talking to Logan.”
“Learn anything exciting?”
“Not yet. You need to finish telling me about trying to seduce the gay guy.”
“What else is there to tell? It didn’t work. But he was a great boyfriend. Never looked at another girl. Treated me like a princess. And he was my favorite person to shop with.”
“You haven’t shopped with me yet. And don’t worry, I’m definitely not gay.”
“I liked the shoes you had on at the dance. They were different. You’d be fun to dress.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. You kind of look like a life-sized Ken doll. All blond and lean. You wear clothes well.”
“Thank you. I think when the play is over and you have a free weekend, we should go shopping together.”
“We could stay at my loft. I have extra bedrooms.”
“I heard about your loft.”
“From who?”
“Peyton.”
“What did she say?”
“She said it’s you. Over the top cool but completely casual and comfortable. She said you must have the coolest parents ever.”
I smile. What she said almost makes me want to cry.
Aiden studies me. “Your eyes are all shiny. Did I say something wrong?”
“No, that's just exactly how I hoped it would be.”
“Being here without your family is hard on you, isn't it?”
“Yeah, but at the same time it's like I'm able to grow up. Like I've had to grow up. Do things on my own. I picked the place out completely by myself, bought it, and had it furnished.”
“You bought it? Not your parents?”
I lean closer to him and speak softly. “No one knows this. But when my parents moved it created some problems. Like, they couldn't just sign school notes every day.”
“That’s understandable.”
“So I had to get emancipated. Legally, I’m an adult. And my grandpa gave me my trust fund early. The loft was one of my first purchases.”
“Peyton said that place had to cost $20 million.”
I raise my eyebrows and shrug my shoulders. “It's a really nice trust fund. But I haven't gone crazy. My car and the loft are the only things I've bought. And Grandpa always told me real estate is a good investment.”
“You respect your grandpa. Is he the one that gave you the boots you wore the day you did your speech?”
“Yeah, he is. He lives on a simple ranch. Lots of land and a nice home, but compared to his net worth, very simple.”
“That's how the place in Napa is. Lots of land. The house is big. But it's very causal and comfortable.”
“I love places like that.”
“You’re an interesting girl. Like, the more I find out about you, the more I want to know. And I need to know more in order to finish the sex survey.”
“I’m pretty sure we’re done with the sex survey.”
“No, we’re not. There are questions you didn’t respond to.” He flips back a couple pages in his notebook. “Okay, so the Keats guy you knew for two years, but once you got together, you waited eight days. What about the virginity guy?”
I close my eyes. “A day. But there were extenuating circumstances.”
“Such as?”
I hang my head. “The Keats guy upset me. And . . .”
Aiden’s hand brushes my knee as he leans across me.
I look up at him. I expect to see judgmental eyes, but I don’t. They are soft and caring. Like he wants to know.
“And what?” he says gently.
“I was tired of waiting for love.” I sigh big. “The Keats guy and I got together. Like, we kissed. We hung out. It felt different. He quoted me poetry and I was so happy. Then there was this camping trip I was supposed to go on with him and his friends. They left without me. I thought he was hooking up with other girls. That was the first time he sort of broke my heart.”
“And the second time he broke your heart, was that Labor Day Weekend?”
“That was the third time.”
“Is that why you slept with Dawson in the Hamptons?”
“I never said I slept with Dawson in the Hamptons.”
“Who did you sleep with the second time he broke your heart?
“No one.”
“What’d he do?”
“He wouldn’t dance with me at my birthday party.”
Aiden shakes his head. “What a douche. Why would you even give a guy like that a third chance?”
I blow out a big breath of air. “Love.”
Aiden puts down his notebook. “Want to know the findings of my survey?”
“Uh, sure. When you figure it out.”
“I already have. I think I learned it last year, but after interviewing a lot of people, I’ve confirmed it.”
I nod my head at him, telling him to go on.
“Sex doesn’t equal love.”
I think about my sweet, sexy ass Dawson and say, “I agree with you on that point, but sometimes, if you’re really lucky, sex can lead to love.” I grab my phone and say, “Excuse me,” to Aiden.
“Hey,” I say when Dawson answers.
“Hey, yourself. You about done with practice?”
“It’s not really over yet, but I don’t think they are going to get to my next scene, so I’m going to sneak out of here. I need some real kisses. Not fake play kisses.”
The first thing out of Dawson’s mouth when I get to his room is, “Just how many fake kisses did you get tonight?”
“Just one. But the director didn’t like it, so he made us do it again. Differently.”
“Who did you kiss?”
“The Bad Prince.”
Dawson pulls me onto his bed and kisses me. “I can be bad.”
“I’m pretty sure we couldn’t do your kind of bad in front of an audience.” I run my hand through the back of his hair and down his back. Then I just wrap my arms around him and hug him. Tightly.
He pulls me closer to his chest and hugs me back. “What’s this for?”
“I love you, Dawson. I did this survey thing tonight about sex and the person’s conclusion was that sex doesn’t equal love, but I told him that sometimes, if you’re really lucky, sex can lead to love. I feel really lucky to be with you. I can’t tell you how excited I am for you to meet my family. For us to spend the weekend with them. I’m sorry that I waited so long to tell you that I love you. I was just scared. I’m not scared anymore. I totally and completely am in love with you.”
He buries his head in my chest and gives me another hug. “I love you too, Keatie. I know we did things a little bit backward, but it worked for us. You made me believe in love again.”
I get tears in my eyes because he makes me so happy. “You made me believe in love too.”
He kisses me. Just kisses me. Over and over again until I have to leave to make curfew.
An emergency landing.
11pm
After I get to my room, I dig through my clothes and pack for our trip. We’ll be leaving at six, which doesn’t give me much time to shower and get ready after dance practice.
I pack mostly casual clothes. Yoga pants and sweatshirts for hanging out with the girls. A cute sweater dress and boots to wear for dinner Saturday night. A sexy bra and panties for Dawson’s enjoyment. A skirt, tights, sweater and boots to wear back home.
I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. My little sisters are going to be so surprised. Mom and Tommy will be happy. And I’ll even get to meet Kiki, my namesake dog.
I fall into bed, close my eyes, and imagine how good it will feel to hug my family again.
I wake a few hours later in a cold sweat. I was on the plane with Dawson. I told him everything and he was super supportive and understanding, but then the captain announced that we were making an emergency landing. Vincent walked out of the cockpit dressed as a pilot. He pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot Dawson. I started screaming.
Friday, October 14th
Effortless.
Drama
Just as the bell rings for the end of drama class, my teacher says, “Miss Monroe, could you stay for a moment, please?”