Page 60 of Rafferty's Rules
Nope, this is a genuine question, born of a need to know something, and quite fucking urgently.
‘Lis, what did you mean earlier when you said you wanted to add something to the list? Retrospectively?’
She blows out a breath, her wary gaze finding mine. ‘I’ll tell you,’ she answers softly, ‘but please don’t get angry.’
‘Why would I get angry? Especially when we’re talking about the sexy-times list.’ My attempt at lightening the mood pops like a balloon with a pin.
‘Because... because that was my first time.’
‘First time?’
First time what? First time she’s—noooo. And fuck no! Look at yesterday—she’s no virgin. She can’t be, I think, at the exact time she says,
‘My first time having sex.’
‘You’re fucking with me.’ Bad choice of words, but come on!
‘No, I mean, I was—just now, kind of, haha. But also, no, having just had sex for the very first time and all.’ Her expression as she says this is sort of joyful and excited, her eyes shining and bright as she tries to restrain a face-splitting grin.
Totally fucking with me.
No way that was her first time.
In my experience, blood and tears are a myth, unless we’re talking about my first time, but I digress.
No way. She’s not even clinging to me.
‘You’re pullin’ my leg,’ I reply carelessly.
‘Does it matter to you?’ This time, there’s something a little more serious in her voice. ‘That I didn’t say before? That I didn’t warn you?’
‘Why... you ... wouldn’t... say?’
‘Because I’m tired of being treated like a piece of fine china. I wanted an honest experience—my first time to be the best.’
‘Honestexperience.’Fuck, she’s serious.‘You’re not fuckin’ with me, are you?’ Lissa shakes her head. ‘How old are you?’
‘Eighteen.’
What. The. Fuck.
I sit, my body moving like a corpse rising from the dead. The last time I fucked an eighteen-year-old, I wasn’t that much older myself.No, no, no, noooo.This is not happening. I said I wasn’t gonna fuck up anymore.
‘Relax.’ It takes me a moment to realise I have my hands on my head, and Lissa is clutching my elbow. ‘Don’t freak out, please. I’m sorry.Thattime,I was pulling your leg.’
‘It’s not fucking funny.’ I’m a little surprised my reply isn’t delivered with a mouthful of bile. As it is, it’s delivered with a fuck load of side-eye. ‘So you’re not eighteen?’
‘I’m flattered you would even consider me so young, but I’m a positively ancient twenty-five years old.’
‘And you’re not a virgin?’
‘Not anymore I’m not, thanks to your dynamite skills.’
‘Fuck. A twenty-five-year-old virgin. How does that even work?’ So shock has blunted my sensitivity skills, but I doubt there are many eighteen-year-old, hell, sixteen-year-old virgins in Sydney.
‘Well, I’m glad you asked that very difficult question, Rafferty. In layman terms, you basically refrain from sex for those years. Is that concept a little much for you, or are you keeping up with me here?’
‘All right, there’s no need to get arsey about it. I’m just trying to get my head around things.’
