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"She's your aunt, Talia. Not a random stranger. I love Minnie as much as anyone else, but you make it sound as though she adopted some child she didn't even know." I can feel the words of protest filling up my chest. I peer down the road, not sure what we are stopped for.
This is an old argument between Olivia and I, nothing new. We are not about to cover any new ground right now if we bicker.
"Hey, can I ask you to change the subject again?"
Olivia looks surprised, but she just shrugs. "Sure. What do you want to talk about?" Then she gets a mischievous smile on her face. "Maybe about going back to the Raven’s Head Club?"
My entire face turns bright pink. I look at her and wish that I hadn't ever been so loose with my emotions and with my body. That's one way to say it, at least.
"I think I still have a hangover from drinking all that alcohol. Can you have a hangover for a month?"
She grands. "Maybe. Or maybe you're experiencing withdrawals from the really wild sex that you had that night."
"Olivia! I didn't tell you any of the details because I didn't want you to get any ideas about having another night out like that one."
"No, but you did say that you lost your v-card. When I found you the next morning, you were still wearing your same clothes. I asked what you had been doing, and you went bright pink and couldn't meet my eyes. We've been friends for long enough that I know exactly what that means."
In order to appear as prim as possible, I fold my hands just below my waist. "For your information, I think I was more drunk than I should've been. And you didn't say anything when I left the place with Burn."
"Should I have?" Olivia frowns and sticks her hands in her pockets.
"No, I mean not exactly. I certainly had fun. And he was... very attractive. But it's not a chapter of my life that I am particularly proud of, nor one I care to repeat."
Olivia bleats out a laugh. "Sorry. It's just, if you'd asked me what I thought you felt about that night, I would have repeated that exact line. She had fun, but she doesn't care to revisit the experience."
I sigh, thinking of Burn's blue-green gaze. It was mesmerizing, almost more intoxicating than the alcohol. And I really let it all hang out when I was with him, as they say. It was very unlike me.
I straighten my coat, feeling rather embarrassed over the whole thing.
Olivia puts her arm around me, hugging me. "Come on. You had fun. No harm was done. Condoms were used. Everyone got what they wanted out of the night."
"Condoms?" I give her a look.
"Yeah. Condoms. Burn seems like the kind of guy that gets around and doesn't worry about protection too much." She pauses, a question in the air between us. "Please tell me that you were safe."
My cheeks couldn't be more red. "Well, no. I honestly didn't even think about it. Do you think I have anything to worry about?"
Olivia comes to my rescue fairly quickly. "Surely not. I'm just saying, you know, for the future, make sure you use condoms. You don't want to end up carrying some stranger's baby or anything."
"Can you imagine?" I say with a laugh. "I mean, how would I even go about finding a random guy that I got super drunk with and did the nasty with? It’s laughable."
"I don't even know. You have always been such a good girl in comparison with literally everyone else. It would be surprising, to say the least."
I blow out a breath.
"Well, it's the first and the last time that we ever have to go down that specific road. After all, you only lose your virginity once. It’s more than okay for you to have gone out and gotten your jollies, but I think the Ravens Head is not exactly the scene you want to hang out at."
"Definitely not. It was thrilling for one night. But I don't think it will be an everyday thing for me. Even if I didn't pay for a single drink all night."
Olivia grins. "Yeah well." She comes to a street corner and then pauses, looking both ways. "I have to go to the public library. They have a book on hold for me. Should I come by the store later?"
"Yeah. I just found a DVD player at the dollar store and I have a pile of old Fawlty Towers DVDs. So that's what I'll be doing all night tonight."
“Sounds thrilling. Tell Minnie I said hi, will you?”
She gives me a tiny hug and then heads off. I turn and walk the remaining two blocks, stopping just outside the book shop.
I slow to a stop, realizing that Aunt Minnie has started changing the display. Currently, there are red, green, silver, and navy gift boxes sketched onto the glass with erasable glass markers. Gold marker urges people to buy their holiday gifts inside the store, the beautifully decorated font swirling off to blend in with the ribbons decorating the packages, the contrasting colors looking very neat.
