Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (3 page)

His
brother flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not yet, but Erin says we
will soon.”

“Oh.”
It was odd, lapping his older brother in such a rite of passage.

“What
’
s it like?”

Kelly
smirked and peeked up at Finn. “It gets better the more you do it.”

“You
slept with her twice?”

“Not
exactly.” He fidgeted and took another sip of beer. “I slept with Lauren Sweeny
too.”

“Jesus,
Kelly!”

“I
know!” He drew in a frustrated breath. In a smaller voice, he said, “I know. I
don
’
t
know what I was thinking. It just happened. I
didn
’
t plan it. As a matter of fact I
planned to not do it with anyone again for a while, but then Lauren whipped out
her boobs and all common sense left.”

“Kelly,
you gotta slow down.”

His
fingers fisted through his hair and he tugged. “I know. I feel like crap. Mum
’
s
mad at me. Dad
’
s
worried I
’
m
gonna make him a grandfather—”

“Mum
and Dad know?”

“Yeah.
She actually put a huge box of rubbers in my drawer. But she
’
s pissed. And worst of all, I
hurt Rachel and Lauren. They
’
re
sort of friends, you know? I don
’
t
want to be an asshole.”

“
Then
don
’
t
be. Kelly, you
’
re
responsible for you. Everything has a consequence. See how we
’
re sitting here now? Well,
tomorrow we
’
re
gonna get suspended for skipping. I knew that before I asked if you wanted to
bail. Sometimes the consequence is worth it and sometimes it
’
s not. You have to think ahead.”

“When
you and Erin do it, you let me know if you can think of anything else. It
’
s hard to say no when it
’
s right in front of you.”

“I
’
m aware. We say no for a reason.”

“What?
Why?
You guys have been together since eighth grade.”

“Because
we
aren
’
t
sure if we want to wait.”

“Wait
for what? Finn, you live once.
Do. It.
”

He
lifted a shoulder. “We probably will soon. Like I said, it
’
s hard to say no, but Erin’s
never been one to easily say yes.”

Yeah,
his brother
’
s
girlfriend was cute, but sort of mean. Kelly sighed and slouched on the futon.
“You
’
re
probably right to hold off. You know Rachel said something about being late.”

“Is
she?”

Kelly
shrugged, hiding his panic with indifference. “We used protection. She said she
’
s not due for another couple
weeks.”

“
Good
luck relaxing
‘til
then.”

“I
know. I
wasn
’
t really stressed, but now I sort of am. It
doesn
’
t
help that she hates my guts now either.”

“You
guys
weren
’
t dating.”

“I
know, but maybe she thought having sex changed things. We
didn
’
t talk about it or anything, but
girls are weird about stuff like that.”

“And
what about Lauren?”

“
I
don’
t think she
’
ll
be showing me her boobs again anytime
soon.”

Finn
nodded and a contemplative silence filled the minutes ticking by. He should be
in gym class right now—

“Were
they nice?”

“What?”

“Lauren
’
s boobs. Were they nice?”

Kelly
laughed. No matter how perfect Finn tried to be, he was still a guy and a
McCullough at that. “Yeah. They were real nice.”

They
didn
’
t
leave the cabin until after dark. Kelly convinced Finn to have a few drinks and
they both needed to sober up some before either one of them could drive or face
their parents. As predicted, they were both suspended for ditching school and,
per McCullough law, they were both punished with cleaning the toilets at his aunt’s
bar and extra chores around the house.

In
the weeks that followed Kelly steered clear of all females. Rachel continued to
hate him from afar and
luckily
informed him she
’
d had her period. Lauren never
smiled his way again. But as school wound down and summer break took shape,
more parties and free time came.

It
was Fourth of July, the annual community picnic, when he next screwed up. Her
name was Shawna and she did things to him he never knew a guy could experience.
He was pretty sure she was responsible for most of the fireworks that night.

After
Shawna came Ella and after Ella came Trish. He
’
d learned a valuable lesson from
Rachel and never promised anything in return. No matter who he was hooking up
with, they always understood he wasn’t into long term.

Sex
was a funny thing at that age. It made a guy popular with
all
the cliques. The jocks wanted him
to come to their parties. The preppy kids gave him a little more respect. And
the girls… it
didn
’
t matter what club they belonged
to. Even the dorky girls batted their eyes at him.

By
the end of sophomore year, he was like Moses parting the Red Sea when he walked
down the halls. People stepped aside for him, laughed at all of his jokes, and
inquired where he
’
d
be each weekend as though it determined where the current hot spot was. He
liked it. He liked it a lot.

His
mum seemed to get over her disappointment and accept that her sons were growing
up. Kelly was no longer the only one with condoms in his sock drawer. When a
woman had five sons it was only practical to accept that boys would be boys.

He
was always careful and he never took what
wasn
’
t offered. He
didn
’
t have to work for it. Not until
he met Lexi.

Lexi
was a senior and she was hot as hell. Her entire being seemed to throb with sexuality.
From her wavy red hair to her long ass legs, she was everything a teenage boy
’
s fantasies were made of. She
didn
’
t
look like she belonged in high school. She looked like she belonged in a
centerfold. The night she approached him at a party something changed in Kelly.

Usually,
he called the shots, but not this time. She walked up to him, cutting a path
right through the swarm of underage drinkers swaying with their plastic cups
and
didn
’
t
stop until she was staring him right in the eye.

“
Wanna
come upstairs?
” Her
voice was like velvet, smooth and sultry.

Kelly
sipped his beer and placed the empty cup on the cluttered table. When he stood,
she
didn
’
t
wait for confirmation. With the confidence of a queen, she marched up the
steps, never looking back to see if he followed.

It
was the first time he
’
d
ever had sex in an actual bed. And like everything else Lexi, there was nothing
juvenile about the way she took a man. She seduced him, made love to him, took
him to places he
’
d
never dreamed.

Afterward,
they lay in the bed naked and talked until the party broke up. He was stunned
at how potent she was, how experienced and knowing she seemed. By the time he
got home that night he knew something was different. There was no afterglow,
only anticipation to see her again.

The
following Monday he
’
d
found her in the hall by her locker. Without giving it much thought, he leaned
in and kissed her.

She
pulled back and frowned at him. “What are you doing?”

He
laughed nervously. “What do you mean? I
’
m kissing you.”

She
glanced around anxiously. “
Well
…don
’
t.”

His
brow tightened. “What do you mean?”

She
grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a semi-empty stairwell. “Kelly, the other
night was fun, but that
’
s
all it was.”

“Nothing
wrong with having fun twice.”

She
laughed nervously. “
I don’
t
think that
’
s
smart.”

“Why?
You enjoyed yourself.”

“Yeah,
I did. But I
’
m
graduating soon and in August I
’
m
off to Penn State. There
’
s
no point in getting mixed up with a guy like you when there
isn
’
t a chance we
’
ll
stay together.”

He
drew back. “What do you mean a guy like me?”

Her
mouth opened as she seemed to struggle for an explanation. “Come on, Kelly.
Everyone in this school has your number. You
’
re
that guy.
”

“What
the hell
’
s
that mean?”

“It
means you were born in Center County and you’re gonna die in Center County.
High school will always be your glory days. I mean, what
’
s your average? Have you even
applied for colleges? You
’
re
the guy everyone loves. The bad boy who can show a girl a good time. You
’
re not someone
’s
future.
”

Blanking
his expression, he shoved back the sharp cut of her words. He
hadn
’
t
applied to college because he
’
d
bombed his SATs and his grades
weren
’
t enough to carry his ass. He had
no idea what would happen to him after high school, but feared she was right.
What if this part of his life was as good as it got? He
’
d eventually get older, fatter,
and lazier.

“
Look,
” she said, as the bell rang.
“You
’
re
a nice guy, but I can
’
t
wait for someone while I
’
m
at college making a future and he
’
s
sitting at home reliving his glory days, wishing he could turn back the clock.
There
’
s
nothing wrong with who you are. People like you and you
’
re really funny, but you’re not
the guy for me. I gotta go. I
’
m
gonna be late.”

She
left him there as the halls emptied and quieted. He had to be somewhere, but
for the life of him,
couldn
’
t think of one good reason to
show up. Why bother if he was only ever going to be some has-been in some
shitty town?

Turning,
he took the stairs at a sprint. His feet
didn
’
t stop until he was at his truck.
His books were tossed carelessly inside and he peeled out of the parking lot.
He
wasn
’
t
sure where he was driving, but pulled over when he found an empty section of
road. His fingers gripped the wheel as he breathed hard through his teeth.

She
hadn
’
t
even given him a chance. How many other people saw him as just some nobody
holding claim to the current definition of cool that would be outdated
tomorrow? Reaching in his pocket he thumbed through hundreds of phone numbers.
There was no doubt he
’
d
been around.

With
each contact came a memory. After Rachel and Lauren, he
’
d learned to make it perfectly
clear he was good for a night and nothing more, but after a while that bit of
information seemed assumed. It was like that was all
he
was really wanted for, nothing more.

Everyone
wanted a piece of him, but none of the girls ever asked him out or showed any
interest in anything long term. Even Rachel was involved with some college guy
and Lauren was over a year deep with the class president. It was as though he
’
d literally screwed over all the
good girls. But they were fine with that. They
’
d gotten exactly what they
wanted—a good time—which was pretty much all he was worth.