Page 46 of Second Chance Saloon

“What about—”

“We broke up,” Lyla said in a clipped voice. “She drunkenly sent me a text meant for her side piece.”

Jackie winced. “I’m sorry, Lyla.”

Lyla waved her sympathy away. “It’s fine. We’d been growing apart since graduation. Who was I kidding, thinking we could do long distance between Austin and Boston? It was never going to last.”

“Still. It sucks,” Jackie tried again. “Though I’m not sure if I could do long distance myself.”

“Yeah, it’s not great. Wouldn’t recommend.” Lyla turned, a slow smirk reappearing on her lips. “You and Mitch are the couple everyone’s talking about, though.”

Jackie bristled. “People talk about us?”

“Didn’t you know? Matthias from calculus is even hedging bets on how long you’re going to last.”

Her stomach plummeted. “Matthias is a dick.”

It had been about three months since they got together. She knew it wasn’t that long, but everything between them felt so right. Well, almost everything.

“Face it, Jacks. You’re the golden couple,” Lyla stated.

“I’ve always hated that term.”

Lyla elbowed her side, a twinkle in her eye. “So, how are things? If you entertain me, I might even stop calling him Aquaman.”

Another whistle signaled the next round of whatever the heck they were doing down there in the pool.

Jackie chewed on her bottom lip, considering the offer. She kind of wanted to speak with someone about it, see if she was maybe exaggerating or missing something. Lyla was still a relatively new friend, but they’d grown closer than Jackie had ever been before with another girl her age.

She glanced at her wristwatch. There was only about ten minutes left of practice. Enough time for a brief lowdown. “He’s great. We’re great. Only …” She paused, the words not rolling off the tongue.

Lyla leaned in. “Only what?”

Jackie drew in a sharp inhale, the words tumbling out of her on one exhale: “We haven’t had sex yet.”

Lyla’s head jutted back. “You haven’t? But I’ve been staying in the library longer on purpose to give you privacy. You’re telling me my valiant efforts have been wasted?”

Heat travelled in a slow wave across her cheeks. Her fingers twitched, finding the sweatshirt’s zipper and pulling it halfway down her chest. “We’ve … made out a lot. That’s always been great. But we haven’t gone beyond second base.”

“Is there something physically wrong with him?”

“What? No!” Jackie exclaimed. “At least, I don’t think so.”

“Maybe he’s a virgin,” Lyla supplied with a shrug. “You told me he hasn’t had a girlfriend before, right? It’s not really that uncommon.”

Jackie swallowed. Could that be it? Now that Lyla mentioned it, it made sense. Maybe. “But why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“Oh, come on, Jacks. He’s probably embarrassed.”

“Why? There’s nothing wrong with it. We’re only eighteen. I bet more people in our year are virgins than not.”

Lyla pursed her lips smugly. “Not me.”

“Not me either, but still. We’re probably in the minority.”

“It’s not like people go around advertising stuff like that. If I were you, I’d have an honest chat with Mitch. Provided you want to sleep with him, because if you don’t—”

“Of course I do,” Jackie interrupted. “I … We …” Her cheeks heated, again.