Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Which is why I’ve already tuned into Omega’s frequency and said hello to my old favorites. I haven’t gotten chastised for it yet, so maybe it’s not a rule I’m breaking.
At this specific moment, there are tumbleweeds rolling through comms.
I hear panting breaths from the breakroom, and I rub the side of my face.
On a car ride home from Dalton, Xander told me, “I don’t know how much you heard during study period.” Not a lot. I’d been on comms. “But we were serious about checking it off together.”
“Checking what off?” I asked.
“Sex. Our virginity or whatever.” He shrugged. “Spencer is going to Yale in the fall. We’re just friends, or…I don’t even know if she considers us that. She seemed surprised when I used the word.” He adjusted in his seat, nervous even recounting it. “But it makes sense. We’re both eighteen, and we both don’t want to go into college virgins.”
I frowned, one hand on the wheel. “Nothing wrong with being a virgin.”
Xander slumped back. “Yeah, there is, Donnelly. At least for me, there is. I don’t want the anxiety of who’s going to be my first all the way throughout college when there’ve already been rumors I’ve had sex. I’d rather just have it. And Spencer’s the same way. She doesn’t want to worry about this dumb life milestone when other college students talk about sex.” He explained how she said, You play truth or dare once, and someone asks your favorite position—then you either become a liar or the virgin.
I told him, “Anyone who’d make fun of a virgin isn’t worth being around.”
“I know, wise one,” Xander said under his breath. “I know, but…maybe she just doesn’t want to be made fun of at all.” He shrugged tenser that time. “It’s happening, man, and I’d prefer if you were the one on my detail that day.”
“It’ll be me,” I assured, and he calmed down with a giant breath. Less as his bodyguard and more as his sister’s boyfriend, I wanted to ensure he’d be safe about this. “You got condoms yet?”
“Yeah, I already asked Moffy what brand I should get like a year ago. Not that I really thought I’d be using them then…”
Xander didn’t want to lose his virginity at his house. That’d mean he’d have to bring a girl home. His dad would bombard Spencer with questions, and Lo would likely tell them to leave the bedroom door open.
Normal teens don’t have a problem venturing to a random basement to screw—or maneuvering around the backseat of a car. That was my first-time experience.
But if Spencer was caught in public with Xander, it’d be sensationalized online. Xander weighed the media firestorm: Who’s house did Xander Hale come out of? Is that a girl he’s with? What’s her name? Her date of birth? Her zodiac sign? Are they even compatible?
He figured Superheroes & Scones was the perfect place. It’s somewhere press and fans wouldn’t question his presence. Plus, he’s spent so much time here, it’s practically one of his second homes. Firmly in his comfort zone.
When Spencer arrived at the store, I let her inside. If anyone spotted Xander, Superheroes & Scones would become a security nightmare. So we’d already done an impeccable job of slipping inside unseen.
Xander was trying to limit the number of people who knew he was here to me, myself, and I. So far, so good. I’ve kept this from literally everyone…except for Luna.
We share our locations. I told her I’d be stopping by the store with Xander on this rainy Saturday afternoon, but thankfully she didn’t ask why. I doubt she’d be able to guess what’s happening anyway.
When Spencer stepped into Superheroes & Scones, she closed her black umbrella and shook out the wet droplets. I locked the door behind her. She wore the same Dalton school uniform, her brown auburn-tinted hair half-up with tiny, braided strands. Besides the umbrella, she looked exactly the same as she did every single day in the library.
Are we sure she isn’t a real ghost? Luna would’ve whispered to me.
It made me miss my girlfriend. And we’d been apart for only four hours.
Spencer was quiet.
“He’s in the back,” I said and led her towards the breakroom.
Xander slipped out into the main storefront. He wore his black House Stark shirt and acid-washed jeans, his hair styled out of his face. He smiled. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Spencer stopped a foot away, like there’d been a forcefield around him. She stumbled on his clothes, then looked down at her plaid skirt. “I came from school…”
“On a Saturday?” He smiled a little more.
“Chess club meets every other Saturday morning. I didn’t have time to change.”
“You need to wai—?”
“No,” she said fast. “I still want to do this.” She unzipped her backpack, then peered up. “Do you?”
“I want to do this,” he confirmed strongly. I kept my distance while he checked her out. “You look great, Spence. Seriously.”