Free Slow Burn by Nicole Christie

and blurt out the now over told tale of How Johnny Cheated on Juliet and Broke her Little Virgin Heart.  It’s the edited version, of course.  Some things I’m just not willing to share, even with my super cool aunt.
    “And now I’m stuck going to Leclare on Monday,” I conclude with a sigh.
    “Wow.”
    Michelle sits back in her seat, shaking her head.  She takes the sunglasses that are sitting on top of her head, and sticks it in her purse, shaking back her curly brown hair.  “Do you think they were really having sex in there?”
    I grimace, looking down at my tea.  “I don’t know.  He says no, and it’s not like I looked closely, you know?   But whether he did or didn’t, he still cheated on me, so…it’s over.”
    I choke back a sob, and try to turn it into a cough.  Michelle’s not fooled.  She reaches over and pats my shoulder. 
    “Oh, Juliet.  All the things I want to tell you are the things my mom said to me when I was your age and got dumped by a guy.  But I remember wanting to throw my Coke in her face when she said them, so I’m not going to do that to you.  Not when you have hot tea.”
    A chuckle escapes me.  “It’ s lukewarm now.  But—just tell me one thing, okay—no matter how lame.  I think I need to hear it.  Just one, though.”
    She smiles sympathetically.  “It’s not the end of the world.  It’s trite, but true.  Shoot, I thought my boyfriend in senior year was the love of my life—now I can’t even remember his name.  Greg or Craig.  And he was my first.”
    I almost feel h orrified for her.  “You can’t remember his name?”
    Michelle throws a fortune cookie at me. “Hey, that was—shit, almost twenty years ago!  And it wasn’t that great an experience, you know?  Oh, well, I guess you don’t know yet.  But you will.  Hey, I guess I do have some advice for you:  don’t have sex in high school!”  She points her chopsticks at me for emphasis.
    I make a face at her.  “Okay…”
    “No, seriously.  Aside from the obvious reasons—you’re too young, teen pregnancy, stds, blah, blah, blah—wait until you’re older, and the guy is older and more experienced.  Your first time is going to suck, anyway.”  She laughs like she said something funny.  “But if you’re with a guy who knows what he’s doing, and is patient—then it can be an…eh…okay experience.  High school guys, though—zero patience and horny as hell.”
    “Hm,” I say, not exactly agreeing.
    “The worst thing?” she mumbles through a mouthful of noodles.  “Their egos are more fragile.  So, not only do you have to suffer through these painful techniques they learned from watching porn—you have to pretend to like it, or they get all butt hurt on you.”
    She’s nodding at me wisely right now, chewing her noodles and looking kind of proud at having shared her insights with me.
    “Wow,” I say, my appetite suddenly gone.  “I don’t…I don’t know what to do with that.  Thank you, though.  For the advice.  I’ll keep it in mind.”
    “Seriously though.  I’m so sorry, Juliet,” Michelle says sympathetically.  “I know how you felt about him.  But you’re going to get through this, okay?  And—I hate to say this—but maybe it’s for the best.”
    My brow furrows in consternation.  “I said tell me one thing, Michelle.  Something else I wouldn’t mind hearing?  ‘You’ll learn to love again.’  But ‘it’s for the best?’  That’s like, the shittiest thing you could say!”
    Michelle smiles apologetically , but her gaze is pitiless.  “You told me yourself—the two of you were fighting more often than not, and you said his possessiveness was driving you crazy.”
    “Yeah, we were a mess , but I loved it.”  I sigh, slumping back into the cracked red vinyl of the booth. “The drama, the passion…it made me feel a part of something special.  Like, here’s this gorgeous amazing guy, and he’s totally obsessed