by Eden Proctor
“Get inside; it’s cold out,” he said.
“Are you walking? I can drive you,” she said.
He shook his head. “I’m good. Go inside. Talk to you later,” he said.
She nodded, but he saw the little flash of worry on her face. He thought he was an expert in reading her, which was why today’s request had been such a shock.
“Night, Lex,” he said after she unlocked the door.
“Night, Eric,” she said and with a little wave she walked inside and closed the door.
Eric waited outside until he saw the light come on upstairs. He stayed a moment longer and then began to drift toward his own house, which was a couple of miles away.
And as he did, he tossed over that conversation in his head.
Lexi was too hard on herself. He’d tried to tell her that she was awesome, that it was others who were lacking.
And besides, he hadn’t been joking about the guesthouse.
As far as Eric was concerned, relationships only led to heartbreak, and it wasn’t a halfway bad idea for him and Lexi to just move past all that and live together. They got along great, better than any couple he’d ever met except for his parents, whose affection for each other was otherworldly and something that no one else should ever hope to find.
But that wasn’t fair to Lexi. She wanted more, thought she could find that fantasy, and as much as Eric didn’t believe it, he wouldn’t try to keep something that she desperately wanted from her.
But what to do?
Lexi was pretty, had a great body, but he had never thought of her like that.
But since she had asked that question, he hadn’t been able to do anything else. Try to imagine touching those curves. Imagine her tightness yielding to him.
His dick stirred, and again he was almost instantaneously hard.
Not a reaction he had been expecting, but not one he could deny either.
As he walked home, he thought more, and argued with himself, tried to convince himself this was a terrible idea.
But then he thought of someone else touching Lexi, being her first. His gut clenched, and his mind immediately rejected the thought. He couldn’t let that happen.
By the time he reached his front door, it was decided.
He was going to take his best friend’s virginity.
Chapter 3
Two days later, Lexi was sure she had made a mistake.
What seemed like a good idea, one that she had seen through, was clearly flawed.
She hadn’t talked to Eric since that awkward conversation at the Palace, and that alone was cause for concern.
They rarely went more than a couple of days without at least a text or email, but there had been radio silence from him.
And she sure as hell wasn’t going to reach out. She said more than enough. And as the hours passed, her error became more and more obvious.
She was still convinced of the plan, how good it was. In fact, Eric’s reaction at the Palace told her it was.
He was calm, levelheaded, wouldn’t get taken in by emotions as she would. Except, he wasn’t talking to her anymore.
“Great, Lexi,” she said as she settled against the couch that evening.
She and Eric usually hung out on these nights to watch a reality dating show. An odd combination because Lexi was convinced that it was possible to find true love, even on TV, while Eric took great joy and pleasure in laughing at what he viewed as a foolish quest. Still, despite their different views, they always enjoyed the show together.
Not tonight, though.
Because Lexi had let her big mouth get in the way. She really did want a future, and her mind had latched onto the idea that Eric was the way for that to happen. And she’d gone and done what she always did and let her mouth run before she thought.
Now she was alone, and when the opening credits for the show began to roll, she flipped the volume on the TV off.
She’d have to do something. She’d take it all back, tell him she had made a mistake and that he should just forget it.
Yes, that was it. He really didn’t agree with her and she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their relationship.
She snatched up the phone, intent on telling him just that, but before she could unlock the screen a message popped up.
Late today. I’ll be there in ten minutes.
Instantly, she was relieved.
She knew he got busy, but she had immediately jumped to the worst conclusion. Another way her imagination sometimes got ahead of her.
She didn’t bother to respond and instead turned the TV back on and muted it, knowing that if Eric said he’d be there in ten minutes, she could expect him in less than five.
Like clockwork, there was a knock at the door a few minutes later.
She opened the door without looking and Eric walked in.
“What did I miss?” he said as he tossed his keys and cell phone on her coffee table and then sat on the couch on his end.
“Not sure. I haven’t been watching,” she said.
“Oh. Well it’s a commercial break. Let me grab drinks,” he said.
He jumped up, and Lexi sat down, unable to stop herself from looking at him as he made his way to her fridge and returned a moment later with soda for them both.
He’d had a long day, but still looked perfect, his crisp white shirt not showing a single wrinkle, his dark blond hair still neat. It was sometimes hard to reconcile business Eric with her buddy who shot pool and watched reality shows with her.
But Eric was equally comfortable as both the businessman and the guy at the bar. He was just Eric, didn’t try to be anything else or need to impress anyone else.
She’d often teased him for being so arrogant that he didn’t think he had to impress anyone, but in truth she admired that about him. He was comfortable being himself, told people to take him or leave him on his own terms.
Lexi had long ago given up hope that some of his confidence would rub off on her.
“Unmute the TV. Show’s back on,” Eric said.
Lexi pressed the button and then sound filled the room, but it barely made a dent in her mind. She was preoccupied, trying to formulate what she would say to him.
In fact, it seemed that before she could even blink the show was over.
Eric reached for the remote, muted the TV, and then looked at her. “Spill it,” he said.
She looked at him through hooded eyes, saw his blue gaze assessing her.
She jumped up from the couch and began to pace the small space between the coffee table and television. She looked at Eric briefly, saw that he appeared calm, though she detected some amusement in his expression.
No matter. She had gotten herself into this, and she would get herself out.
“I’m sorry, Eric. I shouldn’t have suggested such a thing. I mean, you taking my virginity. It’s a lot to ask, and I shouldn’t have put you in that position,” she said, still pacing but now looking out the window and not at Eric.
“I—”
He started to speak, but she shook her head and waved him off. “Don’t feel like you need to say anything. It’s totally my responsibility. My fault. If I could take the words back, I would, but I can’t, so we should just—”
“Lex—”
She shook her head again. “No. We’re friends, but I shouldn’t have jumped to any conclusions.” She chuckled. “I mean, really. How could I have even asked—”
“You won’t be able to talk so much with a mouthful of my cock.”
Lexi stopped dead in her tracks and then looked at him, frowning.
“What?” she asked.
He stood and walked around the coffee table smoothly to stand in front of her. “Good. You’re quiet now. I didn’t think I’d be able to get a word in.”
“What?” she repeated, staring at him blankly.
He smiled, a quick, cocky grin. “I’ll do it,” he said.
“Why?” she asked.
His smile faded. “Because you
asked me to.”
“I ask you to do stuff all the time. But anyway, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want anything to come between us,” she said.
She’d always been honest with him, honest to a fault, and she probably was doing so now. But still, she valued their relationship more than most things and she wouldn’t ruin it.
“It’s not going to come between us. Because we’re going to come to an understanding,” he said.
“We are?” she asked.
“We are,” he said, nodding.
“Wait. So you’re really going to… I mean we are going to…?”
“Fuck,” he said.
“Fuck?” she repeated, whispering the word.
“We are. And that’s exactly what it’s going to be. I don’t agree with your reasoning, but I’ll do it. As long as we have an understanding.”
“What understanding?” she said.
Heart began to pound, her palms slicked with sweat as she thought about what this meant, tried to wrap her head around the idea that she was on the verge of changing something that she had thought permanent, and with Eric of all people.
“I’m clean, but we’ll both get tested. You’re on birth control, right?” he said.
She nodded.
“Good.” He looked at her seriously. “And no one else, Lexi,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean as long as we’re doing this, you won’t be with anyone else,” he said.
“You either,” Lexi tossed back before she paused to think about the implication of that statement.
“Of course. And no kissing,” he said.
“What?”
“It’s my rule,” he said, his expression darkening.
Lexi involuntarily licked her lips and noticed that Eric’s gaze followed her tongue.
She hadn’t thought of it, but she realized she would miss kissing. She was intrigued by the idea of having Eric’s lips against hers. But, his rules, and she wouldn’t push him. She finally nodded. “Okay.”
“So just so we understand what this is, Lex. We’re just friends. Nothing more.”
“Are you trying to warn me?”
“Yes,” he said. “You don’t think this will mean anything, but feelings can’t get involved. Because I’m not going to change, Lexi. So don’t get attached, don’t think this changes anything between us. It’s simply a favor for a friend,” he said.
The words seemed oddly ominous, strangely cautionary, but Lexi found herself agreeing.
“Deal,” she said.
She felt strangely nervous after she’d said the words, but then she looked at him. “When?” she said.
He laughed. “So eager. But not now. I just came over to watch the show. Later,” he said.
“So that’s it?”
“Yes. We have an understanding, and I have a valuable piece of information,” he said when he paused at the door.
“What’s that?” she asked.
He smiled. “I know how to keep you quiet,” he said.
The sound of his laughter trailed after him as he left her apartment.
Chapter 4
“You did what!”
Constance Wheeler stared at Lexi with her eyes bugged out in horror.
“Your face is going to get stuck like that,” Lexi said, laughing.
Normally, Constance would have joined in, maybe made a joke, but she was dead silent now, a sure sign of how shocked and serious she was.
Lexi should have been used to this kind of look by now. Constance had reacted the same when Lexi had quit her job and opened a wedding photography business.
She’d come around though, and Lexi had gotten a lot of clients from Constance’s recommendations.
Another look, though, and Lexi didn’t think she’d have an easy time convincing her. In fact, her normally even-keeled friend now gaped at her, soft brown eyes wide with shock and her full lips twisted with worry.
Lexi laughed, the sound nervous. “Constance, calm down. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Constance’s already bugged-out eyes got even wider. “Not a big deal?” she repeated.
Lexi nodded, absentmindedly poking her straw in her glass of soda. “No. Not a big deal,” she said again.
Not entirely true, which was why Lexi had talked to Eric before she’d told Constance.
Constance huffed and then shook her head. “It’s happened,” she said on a heavy breath, eyes still wide.
“What happened, Constance?” Lexi asked when her friend moved her gaze over Lexi’s face.
“You lost your mind, that’s what,” Constance said.
Rare for her friend to express such disapproval, but Lexi wasn’t surprised. Perhaps this was a little different than usual. But she wouldn’t tell Constance that because she didn’t want to risk having Constance talk her out of it. Though she wondered if there was anything that could ever talk her out of taking this opportunity.
“You’re overreacting. It’s not a big deal,” Lexi said, taking a sip of soda, one she hoped was nonchalant.
“Not a big deal? Lexi, you don’t believe that,” she said.
“I do.”
“If you thought it wasn’t a big deal, you wouldn’t have waited this long. Giving your virginity,” she paused and looked around the restaurant and then lowered her voice, “your virginity to Eric is a big deal.”
Lexi frowned, but Constance didn’t seem deterred. “Giving my virginity. You’re making it into something it isn’t. I am just doing what I should have a long time ago, freeing myself from the burden.”
“Crap, Lexi,” Constance said. Then she leaned back, but didn’t take her sharp eyes off Lexi for a second.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Lexi said.
“I’m trying to figure out what’s gotten into you. What happened?” Constance replied.
Constance was good.
Lexi was ready to stick to her guns, argue this point to the end, so what did Constance do? She took the opposite approach and got all concerned and compassionate on her. It was that same compassion that had made them friends in the first place.
They’d met when Lexi got a job in a secretarial pool at a big company. She’d sucked at it, but Constance had been patient, kind, and their relationship had grown. Lexi hadn’t lasted six months, but she and Constance had been friends for years, even before she’d met Eric.
“Constance, I’m fine,” she said, making her best attempt to throw Constance off the trail. Not an easy feat, because as kind and compassionate as her friend was, she was also not easily duped.
But there was nothing for Constance to be worried about. This was not a big deal. It was simply her doing something she should have a long time ago, and nothing more. She would convince Constance of that and move on.
“I can’t believe he agreed,” Constance said.
“What does that mean?” Lexi asked.
Constance waved a hand and then leaned back. “Calm down, Lexi. Don’t get defensive,” she said.
“I’m not defensive,” Lexi replied, but at the same time she could feel the frown that twisted her features. When she met Constance’s eyes and saw the knowing look in it, she gave a smile. “Not that defensive. But the way you said that…” Lexi said.
“It’s not what you’re thinking. I know you’re all caught up thinking there’s something wrong with you, but Eric always struck me as a good guy. Cocky, but decent. I can’t believe he agreed to this harebrained scheme.”
“It is not a harebrained scheme and it’s exactly because he’s decent that he agreed. We’ve been friends for years. He’s just doing me a favor.”
“Hell of a favor,” Constance said.
“Jesus, Constance, you’re making it sound like he’s going to the seventh layer of hell,” Lexi said, hating the pout in her voice but unable to keep it out.
“You’re being defensive and dramatic. You know that’s not what I mean. It’s just…that’s a big burden for a man’s take on,” s
he said.
“Yes, you’re starting to see reason. It is. Assuming I could be normal enough to actually get to that point, the minute a guy finds out, he’ll freak and run. Who wants that responsibility? But with Eric I don’t have to worry about this. I’ll get some much-needed experience without the pressure of having to worry about anything else, and he’ll get the satisfaction of having done a good deed,” Lexi said.
She nodded when she finished, again remembering why this was such a good idea.
“I don’t know, Lex,” Constance said, sighing deeply.
“You worry too much. I guess I can thank Milo for that,” she said.
At the mention of her boss’s name, Constance shivered.
“I’m away from him for the moment, so let’s not discuss him. I’m more concerned about you anyway,” she said.
“Don’t be,” Lexi said. “I’m fine.”
“So I assume I won’t be able to talk you out of this?” Constance said.
“No,” Lexi replied, though she wasn’t entirely sure that was true. Constance probably could, but Lexi hoped she wouldn’t try.
Her friend nodded. “You know I will always support you, but for the record, I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said.
“It’ll be fine, and you worry too much,” Lexi said.
“Whatever you say,” Constance replied. “Take care of yourself. And tell Eric if he hurts you, I will find him.”
Lexi laughed and Constance joined in.
“I will,” she said a moment later. “But everything will be fine.”
Chapter 5
It will be fine, Lexi whispered in her head as she parked and then walked up Eric’s driveway a week later.
She tried to remind herself of the confidence she had shown with Constance. She hadn’t changed her mind. In fact, she had thought of little else but this moment all week, but now that the moment was rapidly approaching, she couldn’t help the nervousness.
And the excitement.
She didn’t know which was worse.
She’d considered changing her mind and telling Eric to forget she’d said anything. But the thought of missing out on this made doing so impossible. She was finally going to rid herself of her pesky virginity, and she’d get to do so with Eric, a person she trusted.