“So romantic,” Charlie responds in a sarcastic tone.
“Surely, when you’re seeing someone new, it’s okay?” I ask, my eyes widening when I realize I’ve said that out loud instead of inside my head.
“Why the question? It’s not like you’re a virgin, Adriana. Jesus, I can’t believe we’re having this conversation,” Lex mumbles.
“No, but I ain’t no town bike, either.”
Charlie erupts into laugher much to Lex’s annoyance. She takes a while to compose herself, and I can see she is struggling to keep a straight face. Grabbing her hair into her fist, she twists it around and arranges it in a bun. It’s quite warm in the car, and like she can read my mind, she opens the window to let in the fresh air.
Why was I asking for an opinion from my brother? First of all, the light bulb has switched on in my brain, and I realize that Julian and I don’t use them. I haven’t been blessed in the fertility area, so I’m not worried about falling pregnant. It’s that whole ex-lovers can of worms bullshit.
“We’re all adults here, though some may not act like it,” Charlie says, glimpsing at Lex. “What are you worried about, Adriana? Getting back into the game and what’s the norm?”
“Well, take you, for example, since we’re all adults and can talk about this in a calm manner.” I wait for the bomb to explode, but he is ticking away in his seat, hands gripping tightly onto the steering wheel. “No surprises, Lex isn’t your first, and there were others in between. Did you always use them when you slept with someone new?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Adriana. Charlotte doesn’t have a past. End of fucking story,” he snarls.
I swear I feel the car swerve.
“Oh, get over yourself, will you? So?”
Charlie isn’t bothered by Lex as much as I thought she’d be. “I think it’s common sense to use one if you don’t know their history and if you don’t want to fall pregnant.”
“Yeah, I know that, but did you always use one?”
She rubs the crook of her neck nervously. “I can’t remember.”
“What do you mean you can’t remember?” Lex shouts.
“Hey, don’t yell at me, manwhore. There isn’t enough time in a day to list off all your skanks,” Charlie bites back.
“So, you’re telling me other men have been inside you without a condom?”
I may have stirred the pot slightly. And when I say slightly, I have the biggest ladle known to mankind in my hands, and I’m stirring faster than a cyclone.
“You’re riling yourself up over things which can’t be changed,” she warns him.
“You aren’t answering my question,” he grits.
“Oh fine, only one person. There I said it. Now move on because seriously, don’t even start on me, or I’ll bring up your past, and I swear, Alexander Matthew Edwards, you make Hugh Hefner look like a prude.”
I sink into the seat. Only one. No surprises to who that was, an ex-fiancé comes to mind. Am I stupid or what? I didn’t even ask Julian about the other women he’s been with, and the fact that he is ridiculously good-looking means he probably isn’t far off, if not on par, with manwhore Lex. I really need a distraction. Tonight has thrown me a curveball, and the mental anguish is just too much.
“So wh
at kinda bad things has Lex done? Don’t worry, I’m a big girl and can handle my brother’s sordid past.”
He is quiet and extremely pissed off at both of us. God, what an ass. I don’t know how Charlie puts up with him.
“Let’s see, apart from the obvious threesomes, to sex with random strangers across the world. Oh wait, and the infamous gangbang of 2007—”
“Oh my God, Lex! Are you kidding me?” Stunned, my mouth widens in shock.
“What? Where on earth did you hear that from?” Guilty as charged, the tone of his voice softens.
“A reliable source, so don’t you dare deny it,” Charlie huffs.
He is tight-lipped. Busted!