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dust-covered
box.
    "Co--" I stopped before I yelled the
word. "Mom, really. Condoms? We're not...he -- he
doesn't..."
    I finished with an emphatic shake of
my head, my arms folded across my chest. "And, might I add, gross!
Are those from before I was born?"
    Another one of her laughs, that one
sounding like a lusty bar maid. "Not quite, dear."
    Reaching up, she gripped the point of
my chin so I couldn't look away. "Just take one with you to bed.
I'm too young to be a granny. And, whatever you decide, I want it
to be because you have a choice."
    She turned, her hand resting lightly
on the door. "I'll make sure your father stays in bed. You and
Aiden at least need to talk, young lady."
    I closed my eyes, refusing to talk
about it any further with her. Aiden didn't have anything he want
to discuss -- or do -- with me. No matter what she thought she saw
when he looked at me, she was wrong. Clearly, she wasn't as
infallible as I had once thought. Aiden had made his mind up back
in the woods. He might have genuinely wanted me, was maybe even
turned on by the curves that made other men's stomach roll in
disgust, but he didn't want a virgin.
    The irony of that Catch-22 wasn't lost
on me, only it hurt too much to laugh.
    "Honey, have you...before, you
know?"
    Her voice sounded as pink as my
cheeks! Groaning, I presented her my back, not even realizing she
could read every last wrinkle of my horrified expression in the
mirror.
    "Kevin didn't exactly like girls, did
he?"
    My eyes flew open. I saw her
reflection, her eyes brimming with tender concern.
    "His mother might have been blind, but
not me." Her gaze dipped and I could tell she was remembering just
how awful Kevin's mom was. "You were a good friend to him,
Cece."
    I nodded, my throat too tight to say
anything. Maybe she was all seeing after all.
    "I really am, dear." She threw a wink
at me in the mirror and then disappeared into the hall, her
laughter light and drifting behind her.
    I retreated to the second bedroom and
stripped down to my tee and panties. I waited in bed, restless as
the hours ticked by. Mom turned in around eleven, dragging Dad with
her. I was half certain Aiden had decided to spend the night on the
couch when midnight passed and I was still alone.
    Close to nodding off, I heard the door
open softly around twelve-thirty. My eyes had adjusted to the dark
and I watched him toe off his boots and socks and slide from his
jeans. He folded the jeans over the bottom edge of the bed and then
pulled his t-shirt off and placed it alongside them. He kept his
back to me the entire time.
    Unwilling to let him off the hook by
pretending to sleep, I pushed up on one elbow and whispered his
name.
    "Aiden…"
    In the low light, I saw him run a hand
over his chest and then he raised it to brush a lock of his short
hair behind his ear.
    "Damn it, Aiden. You could at least
talk to me about this." I managed to keep my strangled voice low. I
wanted to yell and throw my pillow at him. He had been more than
ready to fuck me earlier that dad. Why should he freak out and do a
one-eighty because it would be my first time?
    Surprising me, he turned and crossed
over to my bed. Sitting center edge of the mattress, he brushed his
fingertips along my cheek. He bent over me and kissed the other
cheek, his hand cupping the side of my face.
    When a mournful sigh left him, I
punched his shoulder. "Don't you dare back out."
    Grabbing my wrist, he folded my arm
across my chest and leaned closer. "Little girl, there's nothing to
talk about. When I touched you earlier, I wanted your complete
surrender. I lost control, did something I never would have if I'd
known you were a virgin."
    A part of me thrilled at his
confession. He had sought to dominate me, to mark me as his own by
doing something those novice college boys would never have the
balls to do. That didn't mean I was going to let him off the
hook!
    "So you'd rather I found some boy at
school to fuck first?" It wasn't so much a question as