Prologue - Marissa
“I’m so insanely jealous and so happy for you! My best friend is working for the Chicago f-ing Kings!,” Jessica says.
“I’m beyond ecstatic. This is my dream job!” I exclaim. Glancing down at my mixed drink with the fruit hinged on the side.
I still can’t fathom working there. As a little girl, my school took a field trip to the stadium to meet the team. Back then, I was such tomboy thinking I would be the first girl to be drafted to the NFL. I still remember scraping my knees on the concrete when Jimmy, the class bully, pushed me out of line. I envied the players practicing that day. And I vowed to myself that I would work hard and be right there with them one day. Lucky for me, I grew up to love volleyball even more than football. I never stopped loving football, there was always a special place in my heart for the game. Plus, I was a great catch for any guy - a woman who loved football. I was practically a unicorn amongst the shallow girls who would rather shop than watch.
“Nailing this job is going set my career trajectory,” I say looking at Jessica whose green eyes were just as wide as mine.
“Yep, you’ve always been a sports fanatic and cheers to you for landing this job. I'm jealous that you get to work amongst the muscular fine asses in the industry. Oh my lady, I wish I had your will power,” Jessica shakes her head and smiles.
“Oh it won’t be so hard. I’m a professional and I’m sure my office will be far away from the players and locker rooms.”
“Ok girlie, I can just smell the testosterone in the place. It’s going to be tough being around all those hot ballers. Don’t mind me…,” her voice trails off as she checks out a six-foot something, blue-eyed guy. Turning back to me she says, “You deserve it and no one is as professional as you are,” Jessica smiles.
That’s right, I do deserve it, I’ve worked hard, and earned my place at one of the best teams in the league as the fixer, aka image guru, aka media relations/journalist. Two years ago, I interned at a regional newspaper as their digital sports journalist. I loved it and the internship was paid so I felt like it was a real job. The Skybeam Courier had been a valuable learning experience and a place where I’d built lasting connections with other public relations professionals. The internship and the new job, where just two of the things I could now check off my list. The next check on my list would be a bit harder and I wasn’t sure how to approach it without being promiscuous.
Leave it to Jessica to read my mind and bring up the dreaded but necessary conversation.
“So is tonight the night the hole gets knocked in the Berlin Wall, or you swipe the v-card, or your monkey gets—”
“Jessica!” I giggle and blush. She can be so crass sometimes.
“Here? You are going to bring this up here? The loudest bar in the city?”
“Girl, yes! This is the perfect place to bring it up and the perfect time. We are here celebrating your new job and the guys are so gorge tonight.”
She was right about that point, the guys were beyond hot, but I hadn’t felt the twitch in my sex for anyone in a while and tonight was no different.
“Don’t count on your first-time to be amazing anyway,” Jessica says, “It’s awkward and will probably hurt a bit. But it should be special and someone you care about. You only get one first time.”
Well damn, that really puts the pressure on things. I look across the nightclub at some of the cute guys hanging out tonight. Maybe it’ll be one of them? Nah, I know I couldn’t have my first time be a one-night hook up. My parents gave me the talk when I was in high school and since then, they probably assumed I was sexually active and using protection. Little did they know, I hardly dated in high school or now. The opposite sex did hit on me and I had my fun, but I wasn’t as adventurous as Jessica.
Poor girl, I flashed back to when she told me about her first time and I definitely didn’t want that experience. We were juniors at Fairfield High. Jessica was dating this douche bag, 19 year old drop-out, that gave her crabs. Ewww! That put me off from sex so bad that I didn’t even kiss a guy again until graduation.
“Hey what ever happened to crab-boy, Jessica?” I ask.
“Shit, why are you bringing him up? I have no idea, after I got those itchy fuckers off me, I swear I never saw him again.”
We both laughed. It was so long ago and we were so young.
“Good thing it was only crabs and nothing else.”
“Right!” Jessica snorts, finishing off her drink and eyeing the bar for a space to get another. “Enough about me. Let’s get you laid in this decade- kay? You are hot, and confident. You just have to relax and loosen up.”
Shaking my head, “Sounds easy, but for whatever reason, it hasn’t happened,” I say.
I’m not desperate to have my most precious possession taken from me, but I also don’t want to be the 40 year old virgin. Yeah I am hot, and quite sexy, if I do say so myself. My curves have really kicked in since I’ve gained a few pounds. I know I’m wanted, I just haven’t been passionate about the guys I’ve kissed. I want my first time to be like Baby and Johnny in Dirty Dancing. I've even imagine my first time will be like fireworks and a volcano had a steamy, sparkling baby. In my mind, I’ve waited 23 years to get my cherry popped and I don’t want anything less than the best.