The Virgin Bet (7 page)

A practicing shut-in, if not for her allergies, surely she’d own at least five cats by now.

“A memorial will be nice,” Tippy commented.

They cuddled together in silence, the TV playing in the background. They spent many evenings like this, and she couldn’t imagine life without Brent. Warning bells sounded, but she shut them off, despite a nagging bad feeling in her gut.
He’ll break your heart.
The voice sounded loud, and clear, but she ignored it, determined to hang on to this happiness as long as possible.

****

She fit so perfectly in his arms while they cuddled on the couch. Brent nuzzled her hair, inhaling its clean apple shampoo scent. He had tried to convince himself that what he and Tippy shared was just hot sex, and nothing more. That it couldn’t be anything more profound. But he loved coming home to find her waiting for him at the end of a long trying day. He loved waking up, and having her snuggled close by his side in the mornings. He even loved how grumpy she was, until she had her morning cup of coffee.

He couldn’t keep denying what grew within him.
Love.

It scared him that Tippy held so much control over his heart, but in their relationship she held the power. She was an enigma, at times she seemed to share in his feelings, but at other times he sensed her putting distance between them. He wasn’t willing to voice what he felt out loud. He’d face down a maniac wielding a gun, but he couldn’t say
I love you
to the little redhead at his side.

She’d put ideas into his head. Notions he hadn’t had before—kids, a wife, a home that wasn’t simply a bachelor pad to crash in. Having someone there to distract him from his stressful career. Someone who could hold an intelligent conversation, and shared his views. The things that Tippy provided him. Things he was coming to rely on.

“Oh, Tippy,” he whispered to her sleeping form snuggled against him. “You’ve done a number on me.”

Music greeted Tippy and Brent as soon as they stepped out of Brent’s SUV. Tippy swiped her sweaty palms on her dress before taking Brent’s hand. She hated the idea of seeing all of her old classmates again. A bunch of posers trying to seem more important than they were. But her date looked dashing in a well-cut dark blue suit, crisp white shirt, and blue tie. No, dashing wasn’t strong enough,
dazzling
worked better. And when his gaze settled on her as they stopped at the double doors, her already racing heart palpated.

He kissed her lips lightly, careful not to smear the new lipstick she’d bought. “The guys will choke on their cheap beer when they see you,” he said.

“I doubt that,” she returned, wrinkling her nose, “but thanks for trying.”

He smoothed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He winked, opened the door for her, and they walked inside. Tippy sucked in a deep breath as her gaze cast over the crowd, trying to recognize faces that’d aged ten years.
Jenny, Stephen, Gary,
she ticked off on her mental checklist. Several people turned as they walked in and gave friendly waves to Brent. She, on the other hand, received curious looks. Didn’t anyone recognize her? Brent hadn’t changed much, outside of becoming even more masculine and handsome. But had she really changed that much? Or, more likely, her attempts at staying invisible in school had worked.

“Brent!” someone shouted. They turned to see a man pushing through the crowd. Chubby and balding, it took her a moment to recognize the second most popular boy in school, Chad Miller. Tippy had been escorted to the reunion by the first most popular.

“Hey,” Brent called back. “Chad, how the hell are you?”

Chad stopped in front of them, and his eyes cast over Tippy head to toe and back up again. His smile remained but his eyebrows knit in puzzlement.

“You look familiar,” Chad said to her.

“She’s Temperance Madison,” Brent replied. “I can’t believe you don’t remember the hottest redhead in school.”

Tippy forced a shaky grin, clutching Brent’s hand tighter. Her face had heated to her ears, and she wanted to retreat to the shadowy fringes of the room.
Why do they still intimidate me?
“You probably remember me as Tippy,” she said, lifting her chin, feigning nonchalant confidence.

Chad’s puzzled eyebrows shot up. “Damn, girl, you clean up good.” He gave her another, more thorough inspection which rankled her, leaving her feeling dirty. “I only remember this shy skinny girl who wouldn’t talk to anyone.”

Chad grabbed her free hand, shaking it in his big meaty paw. She had to work at not jerking her hand away from his clammy grip.

“Thanks,” she said, stemming a sarcastic remark. No point in picking a fight with the guy. “I see you’re married.”

He released her hand, and glanced at his wedding band. “Yeah, been dragging the ball and chain around for five years.” He laughed at his own lame joke, and Tippy instantly pitied his unfortunate wife. “You two tie the knot after graduation?”

“No,” she said before Brent could reply, feeling embarrassed for reasons she couldn’t pin down. “We’re just—”

“We’re dating,” Brent interrupted before she could say
friends
. He wrapped his arm possessively around her shoulders, pulling her close. Chad’s oily smile appraised the two of them as a couple. She could read his mind
The class nerd? What the hell is wrong with Brent?
She tensed and Brent felt it. His eyebrow cocked up in question as he looked down at her. Tippy looked away toward the refreshment table.

“Never would’ve seen this coming,” Chad said too loudly. More attention had settled on them, and Tippy felt sweat beading on her brow. “You two are so different. Brent, how many of the cheerleaders did you hook up with back in school? Me and the boys counted at least three; Becky, Cindy, and, oh, what’s her name? The one with the huge tits.”

Tippy ground her teeth so hard her jaw ached. She wanted to deck Chad so bad it hurt. He gave Brent a hearty slap on the shoulder. “Guess everybody changes.”

“Tippy and I are perfect for each other,” Brent said. “I had a crush on her in high school, and I’m a pretty damned lucky man she gave me a chance now.” He guided Tippy away, toward a long table set with food and drinks. “That was uncomfortable,” he said once they were out of earshot.

“You had a crush on me in school?” Tippy asked, still reeling a bit from that revelation.

His magical grin appeared. He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Yes I did, but you were out of my league and I knew it. That’s why I got so upset when you shot me down.”

“Oh,” was all she could think to say. She felt squirmy inside, and she couldn’t stop a silly grin from spreading across her face. The quarterback had had the hots for her, even now that gave her a rush of shallow pride. He’d been genuine when he’d asked her to prom, she hadn’t been part of the virgin bet. The last brick of the wall she’d built against Brent crumbled. She could trust him. Even if their future wasn’t certain, she could love him without fear that he was a liar.

Brent picked up a cracker topped with cheese. He popped it in his mouth. “Tippy, don’t worry about these people,” he said after he’d swallowed the bite. “Eat something.”

She stared at the fair and wrinkled her nose, the last thing she wanted was to eat.

“I’m not hungry.”

He leveled a stern look on her. “Eat.” He collected a variety of samples onto a paper plate and handed it to her. Then he filled two cups with punch. “We’re going to have a wonderful time tonight. Chad’s jealous of my hot date. From what I hear, his marriage is on the rocks.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Been dipping in the gossip pool, have we?”

He lifted a shoulder. “It’s good to have ammunition whenever you need it.”

Tippy couldn’t help but chuckle. “You sound like a woman. Maybe I’m rubbing off on you?”

Brent laughed. “God I hope so.”

Tippy braved a look over her shoulder, even more of their classmates were watching the two of them. The oddest couple at the reunion.
How on
earth
did he get stuck with her? Did he get drunk and knock her up?
She could hear their questions bouncing around in her brain. She wanted to leave. More than anything on the planet she wanted to leave. She set the food and punch down.

“I-I can’t do this Brent,” she stammered. Then her vision blurred and she blinked back the tears.

He reached out and tilted her chin up. “Hey, you’re okay. I told you, don’t worry about them. You need to face your demons, and put this high school crap behind you.”

He brushed away the tears that had leaked down her cheeks. What did Brent know about unpopularity? Kids making mean remarks just loud enough for you to hear. Giggling when you walked by. Turning the lights off in the bathroom when you were in a stall. Maybe she didn’t get beat up, thank God, but lots of little things had piled up in the back of her mind over the years. Temporarily forgotten, but now she remembered it all.

She shook her head, backing away from his touch. “You can’t understand, Brent.”

“Was it really that bad for you?”

She sniffed. Brent searched the crowd. “Tell me who bullied you, and I’ll deal with it right now.”

“No,” she said. “It was so long ago. You’re right, I need to move past it.” The band struck up a slow song from their generation. “Let’s dance.”

She dragged him to the dance floor. He pulled her tight into his arms. She melted into his solid strength, and breathed in his clean masculine scent. She was so far outside of her comfort zone she felt like she might combust on the spot. This was why she was an introvert—to avoid exactly these sort of awkward social situations, as well as confrontation. She wouldn’t back down from a fight but she did her best to avoid one.

Brent didn’t seem to be a big extrovert, but he did like being around people. He worked with the public and as far as she could tell, he was good at his job. While they were out on dates people would often stop and chat, and have something to thank him for. He was an all-around nice guy and a good cop as far as the community was concerned.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his arms as they swayed to the music. Perhaps this was what prom would’ve been like with Brent. She looked up and met his eyes.

“I should have gone with you,” she said loud enough for him to hear.

He cocked his head. “Gone where?”

“To prom.”

His broad smile met his eyes. “Yes, you should have.”

He swept her in a circle then dipped her. She laughed, and when he pulled her back up, he kissed the end of her nose. She didn’t care that eyes were on them, she ignored the panicky part of her that wordlessly whispered
I love you Brent.
He was wonderful, perfect, and all hers for the evening. And be damned all the lookie loos and rubberneckers. She was dancing with the quarterback. The dowdy book nerd with too much red hair had the ‘it’ guy all to herself. And to celebrate, she pulled his mouth in and kissed him long and hard on the lips. He gripped her hips, and she felt the vibrations as he growled in approval.

When the kiss broke, she searched his eyes, desperately hoping to see what she felt reflected in his own gaze. She saw desire, amusement—and that’s it. Her heart hurt a little, but she shrugged it off. Enjoy the now, that’s what she’d have to do to survive this relationship with Brent.

“Tippy!” Someone shouted.

She turned in Brent’s embrace and saw a woman waving wildly. It took a moment to recognize the face. “Melanie,” she called back.

If anyone was her best friend in school it’d been Melanie, her fellow nerd. The song ended, and Brent gave her a gentle nudge to go chat with her friend.

“You look amazing, Tippy,” her old friend gushed.

Melanie looked little changed save she’d chopped off her long hair. “You do too, you’ve barely changed.”

Her friend laughed and held her arms out to the side. “Three kids say otherwise. Now tell me what you’ve been up to and why you’re here with him.”

Tippy recalled how Melanie had never been a fan of the jocks in their school. Unfortunately, she’d been the brunt of some the worst offenders’ mean jabs.

“Long story,” she said, wanting to evade that line of questioning. “Tell me about your kids.”

And before she knew it they’d fallen into an easy but animated conversation about baby birthing, teaching—she’d become a sixth grade teacher—and married life. Listening to Melanie’s hectic existence left Tippy with a longing to know the same. A familiar feeling she’d had all too often lately. Nearby, Brent chatted with his old crowd, shooting her encouraging grins from time to time.

Another couple of her old friends appeared, and then Tippy realized she was having a good time. Reconnecting with them, and exchanging numbers. She was glad that Brent had twisted her arm and made her go. Otherwise this would have just been another boring night at home alone.

They hung out separately with their respective crowds for several hours. But they exchanged a few telling looks. Later tonight,
his gaze said, you’re mine in every way I want.

Mike, their lost classmate’s memorial came up and they showed it on a large screen up front of the room. Touching scenes from his youth, and then from his adult life. Wedding pictures, childbirths, then when he’d gotten sick and lost his hair from cancer treatments. Though she’d barely known him in school, and what she had known she didn’t particularly care for, seeing the tribute left her teary eyed. She felt bad for thinking negative thoughts about him, because Mike certainly hadn’t deserved the hand fate had dealt him.

As the evening started to wrap up, she noticed Brent missing from the room. She went in search of him and found him outside, standing away from the double doors with his friend Chad who smoked a cigarette.

“So you showed up with Tippy Madison,” she heard Chad say.

Tippy frowned, and stepped back in the shadows, out of eyeshot.

Brent lifted a shoulder. “She’s amazing,” he said.

Chad guffawed then hacked out a smoker’s cough. “Yeah I bet. I bet she’s a wildcat, the quiet ones always are.”

Brent didn’t say anything, but Chad carried on with the same train of stupid thought. “And speaking of bets, did you win this one?”

“Win one what?” Brent asked.

Tippy’s mouth went dry and her heart beat a hard rhythm in her breast.

“The virgin bet. Did you take her cherry? She was worth the most points, remember? One hundred fifty, if I remember correctly. Scoring her automatically left you a winner since we all figured she was a muff-diver. I bet she’s a real slut in the sack.”

She heard Brent chuckle. “Yeah, I do remember the point system, Chad. I remember how much she was worth.”

Tippy’s eyes glazed with tears. She spun on her heel and rushed back inside, dashing to the bathroom. That’s what she’d been, a bet. She’d been duped into the virgin bet. And he’d won. Her heart shattered.

****

Brent’s fist connected with Chad’s jaw. Chad stumbled back from the blow, catching a tree trunk before he went down. He rubbed his damaged jaw.