Free How Long You Should Wait to Have Sex: a Novel by Monique Sorgen Page B

should be inexpensive?
    “I was trying to keep it real,” she explains, when I get around to asking her about it later, “for the surprise.” She’s right, I probably would’ve figured out something was up if she could suddenly afford to take me somewhere nice.
    Overall, the party is a good time. There’s a nice buffet of finger foods, a bartender with a decent selection of wine, beer, and cocktails, and as the night goes on, some people even get up the nerve to dance.
    I find out that it’s my parents who paid for it all, which is a relief, since I don’t want to be indebted to my boss any more than absolutely necessary. My parents are good people, but they probably realized that they wouldn’t have been invited to my party if I had planned it myself. Not because I don’t love them, only because I can allow myself to get a little wilder when they’re not around, and birthday parties still seem like an appropriate time to get buckwild. Especially this last one before I’m expected to become a responsible grown up for the rest of my life.
    As the party goes on though, I’m finding that I’m not going buckwild. In fact, I’m having a hard time enjoying myself at all. My reason for this is not only incredibly bad, but also completely humiliating. It’s because my phone isn’t vibrating in my purse. John hasn’t called me yet. Here I am bragging about how awesome I am at getting everything I want. Meanwhile, I ignored all these nice people’s eligible bachelors for this man, and he doesn’t even have the decency to show up on my birthday?
    Granted, I did see him this morning, so I shouldn’t get so greedy. And it’s not like he promised me he would call, he just said, “if” he finishes his stuff. And it’s kind of my own fault that I’m feeling this pressure right now, since I didn’t have to announce so confidently to everyone I know that he was coming, when we never really set that in stone…
    Once or twice I feel a ghost-vibration coming from my phone, but when I check it, I find out that only my wishful thinking and prospective insanity remain. The more he doesn’t call, the more I can’t focus on catching up with the people who love me—or in some cases, have to act like they like me because it’s their job to be on good terms with me.
    Lacey must’ve caught me checking my phone and looking disappointed as I put it away because she comes over to ask if I’m okay.
    “Yeah, I’m fine,” I half-lie and half-hope.
    “He hasn’t called yet?” She can see right through my veneer of a positive attitude.
    I keep it going anyway, “Well, at least if he doesn’t come, he won’t have to meet my parents so soon.” I laugh weakly, “I had no idea they would be here when I invited him to join along with us, but good luck convincing him of that!”
    “Yeah, that’s the whole problem with your parents planning your party in the first place. My first thought when they told me their idea was, ‘But if you guys plan her surprise party, there won’t be anybody there for her to have birthday sex with!’ But don’t worry, I didn’t say it out loud.” I laugh.
    “It’s okay. I already had birthday sex.”
    “You did?” She seems more concerned than impressed, “You already slept with him?”
    “Yeah. So?” Why is she so concerned about this?
    “So you shouldn’t have given it up on the first night, Sam,” she scolds.
    “You yourself just said I should have birthday sex!”
    “I was joking. That was a joke. And it was only said in my mind.” I don’t get it. What’s the big deal about sleeping with the perfect man?
    “You had sex with Marty!” I argue.
    “Yeah, but that’s different. I don’t like the guy!” she explains, as if that should make sense to anybody.
    Now I’m legitimately worried. Does this really matter? And why does it always fall on the woman to say no? It’s not like we don’t want it as much as they do. So why does it always fall on us to be good?