After a terrible day at work (a chaotic lunch rush, a batch of burned bread, and a plugged sink drain), all Alexia wanted to do was relax. She’d take a shower, get into some comfy clothes, and hang out in her bedroom watching Romeo and Juliet.
But as soon as she opened the front door and kicked off her shoes, her parents appeared out of nowhere, their mouths set in a grim line. Alexia knew “relax” wasn’t going to be possible.
“We need to talk,” Dr. Bass said. “Come into the office.”
They disappeared down the hallway.
Alexia just stood there for a second trying to calculate her chances for escape. And if she succeeded with escape, how far would she get before her parents called the cops?
Sighing, she went to the office slowly. Whatever this was, it wasn’t good. This just smelled like trouble.
When she entered the office, her mother shut the door. Her dad sat behind his desk in his large leather chair. He pulled off his glasses and set them on the clean desktop. Alexia’s mom, perched now on the edge of the desk, folded her hands, setting them on her knee. Alexia sat across from her parents. Every nerve in her body snapped and her brain yelled, Run!
“Tell me,” Dr. Bass said, grabbing something from his desk drawer, “what this is.”
The blood pooled in Alexia’s cheeks when she saw what was in her father’s hand.
A condom.
More specifically, the condom Ben had given her, the one in the shiny red wrapper that said RIBBED FOR HER PLEASURE! right across the front.
Crap.
“Um…”
If she pretended not to know, would they buy it?
“I’m really disappointed in you, Alexia,” her mom said. She took in a breath. “I thought we had discussed waiting.”
Alexia shifted, bit her lip. She already felt conflicted enough about losing her virginity and now her parents were lecturing her about it? Tears welled behind her lids. A burning sensation filled her throat.
“I…”
“I suspected you and Benjamin were getting too serious.” Dr. Bass shook his head. “I should have put my foot down. But I will now before it’s too late.”
Alexia shook when her breath faltered with the tears.
“You’re grounded,” Dr. Bass said, “and I think you need to be spending a little more time with your friends and a little less time with your boyfriend.”
She just stared at them, her teeth clenched, tears streaming down her face. She didn’t know what to say.
“Is there anything you have to say?” her mom asked, furrowing her brow.
Alexia shook her head and swiped at the tears.
“You’re excused, then,” her dad said.
Alexia got up and left.
When her phone rang around eleven that night, Alexia dove for it before her parents heard the ring and took the phone from her. They hadn’t exactly gone over the terms of the grounding, and she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be using the cell or not.
A picture of Ben popped up on the screen. Alexia answered, “Hello?”
“Hey! What are you doing? I thought you were going to call me when you got home from work.”
“I was. I just got sidetracked.”
Should she tell him about the condom and the grounding? It was almost too embarrassing. And what was he going to think about her parents’ advice to break away from him?
It’d be just like him to drive over here and confront her parents. He’d try to charm his way back into their good graces.
No, Alexia thought, better to wait.
“Is it too late to come over?” he asked.
“Probably.” She listened to the sounds coming from downstairs. Her parents and her brother were watching a new movie. It didn’t sound like anyone had noticed the phone ringing.
Ben sighed. “I guess I’ll just go ahead and tell you over the phone, then.”
Alexia froze. “Tell me what?” What was he talking about?
“I finally decided what I’m doing this fall.”
“What?” He’d already received a handful of acceptances from colleges in the area. He’d been adamant about choosing. Alexia wouldn’t say so out loud, but she’d wanted him to choose something closer to home so they could see each other.
“I’ve decided,” he began, “that I’m going with Will to Pepperdine University.”
Alexia’s mouth dropped open. She blinked. Furrowed her brow. Had she just heard him right?
“Pepperdine? Like Pepperdine in California?”
“I know it’s far, but I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I just didn’t want to say anything and scare you.”
It felt like her heart had stopped beating.
The air in her lungs felt stale and cold.
“Lexy?”
California?
“Lexy, you’re mad, aren’t you?”
“No,” she said, maybe a bit too quickly. “I’m just…”
“In shock. That’s why I wanted to tell you face-to-face, but I just couldn’t wait.”
Pulling in a breath, she sat up straighter and tried to organize her thoughts. “So, you’re for sure going? Or you’re just thinking about it?”
Maybe there was still time to talk him out of it!
“I already decided. Will and I signed up for classes. We leave August twenty-ninth.”
“That’s…really soon.”
“Yeah.”
“Ben.”
“I know.”
Alexia sat down on her bed and held her head in her hands. She’d just lost her virginity to someone who was moving to the other side of the country. It might as well be Iceland!
She’d already cried a billion times today but suddenly felt on the verge again. Hadn’t she completely drained her tear well? Apparently not. They slipped from the corners of her eyes. Her breath shuddered down her throat.
“Are you crying?” Ben asked, his voice soft and concerned.
“No.” She swallowed. She had to get off the phone before she really started balling. “I have to go.”
“Lexy.”
“Just call me tomorrow, okay?”
“Lexy.”
“I love you,” she said and hung up.
She shut her phone off, tossed it in the corner chair, and then laid back on her bed, curling into her pillow. It still smelled like Ben from the last time he’d been over when her parents had gone out of town.
Alexia took in a big breath of his scent, and the tears fell harder.
Why had he chosen Pepperdine? Why couldn’t he have just gone to college somewhere in Connecticut? And she’d thought him being an hour away was going to be torture.
Their relationship was over. Maybe he wouldn’t break up with her and maybe he’d promise to be the best long-distance boyfriend in the world, but how was she going to survive without him?
They only had five weeks to spend together.
That wasn’t long enough.
How had Alexia gone from single to having a boyfriend to losing her virginity and her boyfriend all in the same year? It was too much. Having a boyfriend was too much.
She closed her eyes against the tears. All she wanted to do was fall asleep now and forget this day ever happened.