“Um, no.”
“Neither do I,” I said. “Maybe I should find out first.”
I was just about to reach for my laptop when Missy cut me off. “Uh-uh,” she said, shaking her head at me. “No way. You’re not looking anything up now.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Missy said firmly. “You’re going on this date, no matter what the consequences.”
“But—”
“Listen to me, you’re just chickening out, and you’re blaming this stupid rule because it’s easier than admitting that you’re scared. You’re scared to get close to Chance because you might actually like him, and you’re scared to get intimate with a man because you have exactly zero experience with them.”
“Is this supposed to be making me feel better?” I asked, with narrowed eyes. “Because it doesn’t.”
“Forget the stupid rule, okay?” Missy said. “This is just paternalism working at its best. Not every university has this rule, in any case, which means it’s something the faculty dredged up out of the stone ages to assert their own authority. Don’t conform, Nat.”
I laughed. “You would have made a rousing troop leader.”
She ignored me. “And, you and I both know that Chance is way too hot to pass up. Don’t you want your first time to be with a real man, someone who knows his way around a woman’s body? Or would you rather be groped and poked by some inexperienced freshman who’ll cum in five seconds and leave you feeling annoyed and dissatisfied?”
“You certainly know how to paint a picture.”
“Choose.”
I laughed. “Okay, okay, fine,” I conceded. “I would rather lose my virginity to someone like Chance than someone like… Well, you know.”
“Good,” she nodded, with satisfaction. “That’s all I wanted to hear. Now, finish dressing and go get some.”
Laughing nervously, I slipped the black wedges on and turned to the mirror. I decided to wear my hair up in the usual ponytail, just because it was comforting to me and I wanted to feel like myself tonight. I saw Missy’s raised eyebrows, and I knew she would have preferred me to keep my hair down.
“I like it this way,” I said. “It’s comforting to me.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“Sure,” I said sarcastically.
I stood up and slipped on the jacket, then I turned to Missy for her appraisal. “Be honest,” I said, twirling around for her benefit.
“I have to say, you look hot.”
“Really?”
“I kid you not,” she said, putting a hand up to her heart. “And the ponytail works, too. It’s kinda of edgy and sexy. You look like a rebel rock chick.”
“And, that’s a good thing?”
“He’d definitely gonna wanna fuck you.”
I bit my lip. “Should I tell him?”
“Tell him what?”
“You know, that I’m…a virgin?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said in alarm. “Don’t breathe a word to him.”
“But—”