Waiting for You(14)

“If he’s not looking to get involved with anyone, maybe he’s taking some time to deal with…well, whatever he’s got to deal with. And good for him if he is.”

That might actually make some sense, except—“I don’t think he is dealing with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think he’s dealing with anything right now. He’s sort of…closed down.”

“Well, there you go. Project. You should stay far, far away.”

Erin opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again. It was a moot point, anyway. She didn’t have to stay away from Jake. He was going to stay away from her.

“Let’s change the subject. What have you been reading lately?”

“Ooh, that reminds me.” Beth reached into her purse and pulled out an eReader. “I finally got one!”

Erin grinned at her. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“I know, I know. I love paper books so much. But I read so fast that it’s a real pain for traveling. I have to pack, like, ten books for every trip. And now I can pack three thousand in this little thing! I got it last week right before I flew out here.”

“Have you already started loading it up?”

“Of course. I’m a total junkie. And I have to say, it’s nice to be able to read something steamy on the plane without having to hide the cover from the businessman next to me reading his Wall Street Journal or whatever. As far as anyone knows, I could be reading War and Peace.”

Erin laughed. “And what are you actually reading?”

“Romance all the way, baby.”

“Vampires and highlanders?”

“You know me so well. But I’ve been in the mood for some realism with my escapism lately, so I’ve been on a contemporary kick. No billionaires or sheiks allowed, and no virgin heroines. It’s just too unbelievable, at least in this day and age. Whoever heard of a woman in her twenties or thirties who’s never had sex?”

Erin couldn’t control her involuntary reaction. She flushed bright red, instantly and completely, and couldn’t say a word.

Beth froze with her fork halfway to her mouth, staring at her. Erin blushed even harder, the heat so intense she could feel it coming off her skin.

After a moment Beth set her fork carefully back on her plate. “Whoa. Okay, tell me the truth. Are you a virgin heroine?”

Erin dropped her eyes. “Um.” She cleared her throat. “I wouldn’t call myself a heroine. My life is way too boring for that.”

She looked back up at Beth, who was slowly shaking her head. “My God, I can’t believe it. A real life virgin. I feel like I should be speaking in hushed tones. Can I touch you?”

“Very funny.”

“No, but seriously. How is this possible? I mean, I know you didn’t sleep with anybody in high school, because I was there. But I assumed you had sex when you went to college, because everyone has sex in college. How did you not have sex in college? And how come I didn’t know about this? Does Allison know?”

“No. It’s not something I talk about, because it’s embarrassing,” she said with pointed emphasis.

“Well, suck it up,” Beth said cheerfully. “I’m going back to California in a few hours, which means all your secrets are safe with me. So start talking. How did it not happen in college?”

Erin gave into the inevitable. “I don’t know. I was ready for it to, but then it just…didn’t.”

“You had boyfriends, though. Who was that guy your sophomore year? You guys were pretty serious. Tim? No…Ted.”

Erin nodded. “Ted. He was really sweet, and we dated for six months before we even talked about sleeping together.”

“Six months? My God. He must have been the most patient guy on the planet. Or gay. Or was he really religious, or something?”

“Not that I know of. But when we finally decided to try, he—well, he couldn’t.”

“You mean he was impotent?”

“I don’t know. At the time, though, I figured it was me. That he didn’t want me enough to—”

“Get it up?”

“Yes.” Erin could still recall in painful detail the humiliation of that failed attempt. “You can imagine how great that was for my self-esteem. Especially since he wouldn’t talk about it and broke up with me the next day.”

“He was probably mortified.”

“I can see that now,” Erin acknowledged. “But at the time…”

“You thought it was your fault.” Beth’s voice was sympathetic.

“Yeah. I did.”

“Okay, so then what?”