Three Little Words

“I know, but fair is fair.” She shrugged and laid her head on my chest again. “So my mom told me not to call anyone my boyfriend. I… think she kinda knew, though. She helped me get around my dad’s dumb rules. I couldn’t go on dates or talk to a guy on the phone, but she let me hang out at their house. It was just down the beach from us, and there was a really nice break where we could surf. She told my dad I was with Noelani, but duh, Peter was her brother, so he was there too.”

“Okay, but I’m still confused. Even if you didn’t call him that, why wasn’t he your boyfriend?”

“He just wasn’t. We weren’t like that. I just did things with him.”

“Fellatio things.”

“Right. I can’t explain it. And besides, you haven’t told me about your group secret yet.”

“Lani and Peter are yours?”

“Part of it.”

“You like keeping secrets from me.”

“Sort of. I hate when you see right through me, but I like telling you stuff.

I mean, I’ve never had a guy I trusted enough to share these things with. I knew my girlfriend would never betray me, ’cause we’d both be in trouble, but guys always brag about stuff.”

“Most guys in high school are idiots, but that’s not the real problem.

Society has a double standard. Guys who get laid are cool; girls who do it are sluts. That’s why guys’ll tell anyone who’ll listen, while girls only tell their closest friends.”

“You understand.”

“Yeah, I do, which is why I kept my mouth shut in high school. I figured out pretty quick that girls like sex as much as guys, but they have to be careful about their reputations. I also learned that girls who don’t have to worry about it—because their boyfriends aren’t blabbermouths—are a lot more likely to have sex with you. Repeatedly.”

“Mmm hmm. And that’s why I’m in bed with you.”

“Yep. Trust is a huge part of it. I mean, sure, I talk about my sex life with close friends, but that’s it. You’ll never hear me brag to a stranger about

something you and I do in private. It’s none of his damn business! And I don’t want you to feel bad for having the same urges guys do.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “That’s why I do things with you. And why I tell you things. I know you won’t use them against me to make me feel guilty.”

“Never.”

“Besides, you seem to enjoy it.” She squeezed my erection as proof.

“Yeah, I really like hearing about your past.”

“I can tell. You get super-hard every time I talk about a girl, or if I even mention giving head.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Most guys don’t like to hear about another guy. Not when we’re… you know. But you’re different. I used to think you didn’t care about me, but now I realize it’s ’cause you’re so darn self-confident. I mean, you don’t get jealous. So I like telling you stuff. It… turns me on too.” She stroked my hard-on while she considered her next words.

“I keep secrets mostly to keep you interested,” she admitted. “And ’cause I don’t want you to think I’m a tramp. Six guys may not seem like a lot to you, but it’s a lot to me. I grew up thinking it was only going to be one!”

I chuckled. “What do you think now?”

“Well, six doesn’t sound so bad, Mr. Thirty. And… I think maybe it’ll be seven if you have your way.”

“Seven? How?”

“You want me to do it with Trip too.”

“That scares you?”

“Of course it does! What kind of—? Never mind. You know what kind of girl I am.”

“What kind is that?”

“The kind who likes… all the things Sister Prune doesn’t.”

“Sister Prune lives in a fantasy world.”

“And we live in the real one. Yeah, I get it. And if I want to keep you happy, I have to do things with you.”

“You don’t have to,” I objected.

“Okay, so I want to. There, I said it. Are you happy?”

“Are you?”

She thought about it. “More than ever. Sometimes I feel guilty about what we’re doing, but then I think about Marianne. Or Sabrina. Or even my mom.

I mean, she’s the best woman I know. She’s a good Catholic—better than the rest of us, that’s for sure—but she doesn’t try to be perfect.

“And the more I think about it, the more I realize she’s known all along what I was doing with other girls. I think it bothered her, especially at first, but she saw how my dad was. Rich too, when he was home. They were so stupid and protective about me and guys. So my mom did what she always does. She worked behind the scenes and made sure I had… um…

friendships.”

“That’s what parents are supposed to do.”

“I know. But I guess it’s weird to think about my mom as a woman, one who knows about sex. I mean, she’s always been ‘Mom.’ You know?” She chuckled at a memory. “I used to think she’d only had sex six times, once for each of us. When I got older I realized how silly that was. And since I started dating you, I’ve been paying attention to how she and my dad are together.

They’re really affectionate.”

“My parents too.”

“Mmm hmm. I noticed that about them. They’re a lot more open about sex than mine are, but still… Lately I’ve noticed that my parents make little innuendos all the time! My mom especially. I think she lets me hear them on purpose, ’cause she knows what you and I are doing.”