Page 56 of Off Limits
In my arms, Serenity goes rigid. I raise my head to look down at her and remove my fingers from between her thighs, which she then immediately clamps together. Her pretty green eyes are ablaze, blonde hair splayed out over the pillow.
‘Y-you thought I was a virgin?’ she questions, and that’s when I know I’ve messed up.
I pull back a little and search her face. ‘I… I figured you were, yes.’
She looks straight up horrified. Then she wriggles out from beside me and gets to her feet, covering her naked breasts with one arm, picking up her panties with her free hand.
‘Why would you think that?’ she blurts when I’m still on the bed. ‘Why would you think I’m a virgin?’
I shift my body so I’m on my knees. My heart begins to hammer. ‘I… it was just… at the lake, I said about my body count, and you didn’t say anything, so I figured… I just thought—’
Her panties back on, she’s picked up her bra. She turns her back and fastens it. ‘I didn’t say my body count because it was higher than yours, and I didn’t wanna embarrass you!’
My stomach turns over.Fuck. ‘Oh,’ is all I can say.
She bends back down, grabs her jeans and tugs them over her hips.
‘I need to go,’ she mumbles.
‘Wait, what?’ I say and shoot to my feet. ‘What do you mean, you need to go? We can talk about this. I’m sorry I thought you were a virgin.’
‘I told you I had a boyfriend in high school!’
‘So? That doesn’t matter. Plenty of girls have a high school boyfriend and they don’t sleep with them. Some girls wanna wait for the right guy to come along…’
In my mind, I’m tryna say something helpful but it doesn’t seem to work because she’s even more spun out. ‘Jake, I don’t know where you went to school, but in my high school, if you went with a guy, youwentwith a guy, if you know what I mean.’ She violently shakes her head. ‘I don’t know why I came here,’ she mutters. ‘We don’t know each other… at all.’ She picks up her red top and pulls it over her head.
‘Okay, I got it wrong, I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. We can talk about this.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispers, and there are tears in her eyes. ‘I gotta go. I gotta be somewhere.’
I can’t lose her, not for another week. ‘Serenity, please. Don’t leave. So, you’ve been with a couple of guys, it’s all good, I’m totally cool with that.’
She puts one hand to her forehead, like she can’t believe me. ‘Eight. That’s my body count, alright? If you really need to know it. Eight guys.’
Okay, I was not expecting her to say that. But it’s too late because she’s seen my reaction. I swallow.
‘I lost my virginity at sixteen,’ she says, maybe in her own defense. ‘So, technically, that’s one guy per year. So please don’t get all judgy on me.’
‘I’m not judging you, I swear it. I would never do that.’
‘You already did! Look, I didn’t grow up in this perfect little neighborhood like you! Where I come from, there were certain expectations placed on girls my age. Please. Let me go.’
I step out her way and she walks right by me, back into the cabin’s living area, wiping her eyes. I struggle to pull on my shirt and go after her. ‘Serenity, please, I just wanna talk. That’s all.’
She grabs her things. I hover around her like a fly in the Texan heat.
She stops. When she speaks, her voice wavers. ‘Jake, you’re a really nice guy. Like… too nice. And I never meant to lead you on. But I shouldn’t have come here tonight. I… I’m sorry.’
Then she looks to the floor.
‘Serenity… look, I don’t… I don’t expect anything from you. All I wanna do is get to know you. Spend time with you. We don’t have to do anything, just… hang out. Please. I can’t stop thinking about you.’
Her eyes fill up again. She blinks back the tears.
‘At least take the cell phone,’ I say. I get it from the table and press the unit into her hand. I don’t tell her that I can’t handle another week without another word being exchanged between us. Before I let go, I relish the feeling of her fingers against mine.
She keeps her eyes on the floor, but nods her head.
