Virgin(6)

Some of the boys sighed in boredom, but even Charlie refrained from criticizing this, probably because he was just as curious as everyone else to see who drank. I started to wonder if I could drink for this one. Obviously I hadn’t actually ever had a boyfriend to cheat on, but back when I was messaging James Martell during those two weeks pre–Bite Job, I once got drunk and accidentally snogged someone else at a party. I think it lasted two point five seconds, and I have no idea who it was, but it was definitely cheating.

Feeling confident and sexually active, I drank some of my vodka and Coke. Three other people drank with me, and ten did not. Oh God, I was in the minority. This was dangerous, because someone could ask me about my story, and what exactly would I—

“Ellie! I can’t believe you’ve cheated on someone! That seems so unlike you! So tell us, who were you dating, and who did you shag?” On cue, Hannah interrupted my thoughts and brought me crashing back to the reality of Luke’s living room with its vinyl records stuck to the walls.

Shag? Surely cheating could include snogging, right? Why did EVERYTHING have to be about sex?

“Oh God, um, it was ages ago. I was seventeen, and I was dating this guy called James Mar—” I paused, suddenly remembering that Joe, one of the guys in the room, had gone to the same school as James. Hopefully he would have no idea who I was talking about, especially because I was trying to pass off this casual fling (could I even call it a fling?) as a bona fide relationship.

“So, yeah, I was dating James, and I hooked up with someone else. When I was drunk, at a party. Not very exciting.” I laughed awkwardly.

Hannah looked at me with raised eyebrows and did a feminine snort as she turned away, literally flouncing her hair. I’d thought only shampoo models did that.

Marie, a Belgian ex-model with a block fringe, asked, “So, it is my turn now?” All the boys looked up at the sound of her accent and grinned their assent. “Okay, so I have had anal sex.”

I choked on the pretzel I was eating and coughed. No one noticed because all the boys were grinning and admiring Marie’s looks while Hannah shrieked about her getting the rules wrong and ruining the game. I grabbed my glass and drank quickly, feeling better as the bits of pretzel were flushed down my throat.

I looked up to see who had actually drunk for this, wondering if Charlie would. I saw Hannah staring at me with her beady eyes as she shrieked, “Oh my God—Ellie just drank as well! So that’s five of the boys, Marie, Emma, and Ellie. Wow, Ellie, you’re such a dark horse.”

All of them were staring at me. I saw Charlie’s appreciative expression and something like lust spreading across his face. I felt the blood drain out of my cheeks and tried to force my face into something resembling a smile. I shrugged as I fake-smiled too brightly and reached back into the bowl of pretzels.

“So, who did you do it with?” asked Hannah persistently. I could have killed her.

Luckily, Emma—the only girl there whose clothes looked way more Topshop than charity shop—came to my rescue. “Uh, I thought we were playing Never Have I Ever, not Twenty Questions,” she said.

Hannah shrugged and Emma carried on. “But if we are allowed to ask questions, then why don’t you tell us your cheating story? You already made Ellie tell hers.”

Hannah looked confused. “Um, I didn’t drink for the cheating one.”

Emma’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, my bad. I got confused with the question. For a second, I thought it was about being the person who slept with someone who was already in a relationship . . . like you did with Tom. Oh shit, I’ve said too much,” she finished as Hannah’s face went purple.

Kara turned around in shock. “TOM, AS IN, MY EX-BOYFRIEND TOM?” she screeched.

Emma shot me a wink and I let out a yelp of laughter, which no one noticed because they were too engrossed in watching Kara scream at Hannah. I grabbed my coat and bag and slipped towards the door, using this as the perfect escape opportunity. I was about to leave when Emma snuck out from behind me.

“So, how much fun was that?” She grinned.

“You saved me,” I replied gratefully.

“From that skank? I know, I can’t stand her.”

I stared at her with my mouth wide open. “No way, are you serious? I thought everyone loved her. She’s so pretty and confident and has the Shoreditch style down to a T.”

Emma rolled her bright blue eyes. “Okay, so she’s pretty, but it seems like she only owns one dress, and her personality is so grating it hurts to be around her for more than an hour.”

I started laughing, surprised. Who would have thought anyone else could see past Hannah’s fake flower headband into her un-hippie heart? “Oh my God, I couldn’t be happier you just said that,” I cried. “I thought I was the only one who hated her.”