And when he’s done, he collapses on top of me, rolls to the side when I grunt and try to escape, and wraps his arms around me. “We’re going to do this again. Later, when I’m not so sleepy and content.”
I cry into my pillow, sticky and wet from his come. I wipe as much of it as I can on the pillowcase and then just lie still as the hours tick off. I don’t fall asleep until there’s a crack of light coming through the closed blinds.
I feel like I just barely closed my eyes when Nolan gets up and walks into the bathroom. I roll over and watch him disappear inside, then scoot over on to the other side of the bed so he won’t get any funny ideas about fucking me again when he comes back. I pretend to sleep. I squeeze my eyes closed and start breathing heavy. Faking it.
He returns a few minutes later, but he doesn’t join me in bed. I feel a wave of relief. I can’t fuck him again. Ever. He’s too much. Way too much. That hurt so bad last night. It wiped away all the stuff I loved. I will never have sex again, I know it. My vagina is permanently damaged.
“What the fuck, Ivy?” Nolan asks, annoyed. “Why didn’t you tell me you were on your period? I would’ve put a towel down.”
“I’m not—” I stop. Because I realize what’s on the bed. Blood. Evidence of my lie.
But before I can say anything else, someone is pounding on his door.
“Nolan!” Claudette’s voice booms from outside. “Open this fucking door, right now!”
Chapter Seventeen - Nolan
“I thought you said your sister was out of town?”
I just stare at Ivy, ignoring my sister’s tantrum. “What do you mean you’re not on your period? Then why were you bleeding last night?” It’s not a lot of blood, but it’s definitely blood.
“Nolan,” Ivy says. “I can explain.”
“Explain what?”
Claudette is still pounding on the front door to the room. In fact, she might be kicking it.
“I just…”
“Wait,” I say, putting the pieces together. “No. It’s not possible. You’re… you were a virgin? Jesus Christ, Ivy! What the fuck is wrong with you?”
She jumps up from the bed as I pull on some shorts. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” I look around for her clothes, realize she came here in a bathing suit, and then fish through my drawers until I come up with a shorts and t-shirt for her too. “Put these on,” I say, throwing them at her.
“Why are you mad?”
I grab my hair to think this through as I pace the room. Claudette is still throwing her fit. “I took your virginity?”
Ivy pulls the shorts up and then hastily drags the t-shirt over her head. “Why are you mad about it?”
“Why didn’t you say something? Holy shit. I fucked you hard, Ivy. You can’t tell me that it felt good!”
“Some of it did.”
“Some of it?” I just shake my head at her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” When she says nothing I get angry. “Ivy Rockwell, I need that fucking answer. Now.”
“Because you might not have wanted to.”
“Is this the reason you came here? To trick me into taking your virginity?”
“You’re the one who invited me here!” she yells. “You came on to me!”
I need to calm down. I need a deep breath and about ten minutes to think about this, and I can’t fucking do that with my goddamned sister screaming outside.
“I didn’t trick you, Nolan,” Ivy says.
“But you didn’t tell me, either. Why not? And don’t say because I might have put a stop to it. That’s fucking lame. It’s my right not to fuck you, isn’t it? So what you did, Ivy, was fucking dishonest. Do you have any idea how bad this looks from my point of view?”
“Nolan, look—”
But before Ivy can finish, Claudette comes barging in, having apparently given up hope that I will answer the door and used her master key. “Get away from him, Ivy.”
“Jesus Christ. I’m not dangerous, Claudette. She doesn’t need your protection. Believe me, she’s got her secrets too.”
“That’s why I’m here, Nolan. She certainly does have her secrets. Did you know she lied on her résumé?”
“I did not lie!” Ivy yells.
“Are you trying to tell me that you actually did graduate Brown with an MBA, Ivy? Because I’ve already checked, honey. You’re as fake as that blonde hair you have.”
“I don’t dye my hair!”
“Enough!” I say. “Enough. Now what the fuck is going on here?”
“That résumé she sent us is a lie!” Claudette yells.
“I didn’t send you people a résumé! You came knocking on my door!” Ivy’s face is red and she’s breathing hard, clutching the t-shirt at her chest like she needs something to hold onto.
I took her virginity. I made her give me a blow job. I flipped her over and fucked her hard. I thought she was screaming out of pleasure, but it was fake. It was all a lie.
I hold absolutely still. And in that moment, everything goes still. Ivy goes still. Claudette goes still. And there are about three seconds of complete silence before I look at Ivy.
“You lied to me.”
“Nolan,” she says, taking a step towards me.
“Stop,” I say. “And answer my question. Did you graduate Brown with an MBA?”
She shakes her head, her face nothing but a frown.
I glance at Claudette and find a satisfied look on her face, her arms crossed over her chest, her chin tipped up in smugness, like she’s so very proud that she caught Ivy in this lie. And she doesn’t even know about the other lie yet.
Two lies. Two. I don’t put up with lies. Not even one lie. So the fact that Ivy Rockwell tricked me into taking her virginity and lied on her résumé… well, I can’t.
“I think you need to leave, Ivy. It was nice meeting you.”
Ivy sighs, then nods her head, walks across the bungalow, and out the door.
I look back at Claudette.
“I knew there was something weird about her, Nolan. I told her to stay away from you.”