Anita

The cafeteria, as usual, was loud. Students grouped with their friends and classmates at the tables around the room, chatting loudly, and my friend Hayley and I were the same.

“I’m so jealous,” Hayley muttered, pouting at me from across the table. “How did you end up in a closet with Evan? I was at another party and had some drunk guy hit on me and grab my ass, then had his girlfriend giving me shit when I tried to complain because she thought I was going after her man. As if I’m that kind of girl.”

Her nose wrinkled in irritation. Hayley was my closest friend. Just like Evan, we’d gone through high school together, though it wasn’t until our sophomore year when we were grouped for a project that we realized we had a lot in common and became friends. She was the first real best friend I’d ever had, and we shared pretty much everything.

So, of course, I told her about last night.

“It felt amazing,” I said, sighing. “Best thing I’ve ever felt. So much better than doing it myself, too.”

I didn’t mean to admit that out loud, and the moment I realized I’d said it, even before Hayley started giggling, my face burned in a fierce blush.

We both had our food in front of us, but we were too busy talking to eat. Luckily, there was some distance between our tables and the others, and there were loud murmurs in the room, or we’d be starting awkward rumors.

“How was it, though?” She asked, once she’d regained control of herself. “Was it as magical as you always thought?”

I shrugged, keeping my head down, but my lips twitched into a smile. “Hayley, it was so much more amazing than that. I mean, there was a little pain, but then everything just felt so amazing, I thought I was going to burst, and then it felt like I did and it was so good…”

Hayley rolled her eyes. “I’ve been there; you don’t have to keep telling me.”

Unlike me, up until last night, Hayley wasn’t so shy. She was attractive, with light brown hair and matching eyes. Puberty was good to her, and in our junior year, she’d grown ample curves that had boys paying attention to her. Another reason I was probably unnoticed, was because compared to her, I faded into the background. My body wasn’t bad, but I was shy, so I was almost always dressed in something baggy.

I lifted my head up, pushed the hair I’d dyed back to my original dark color over my shoulder and nudged the bridge of my glasses higher up my nose over my bright blue eyes.

“Anyway, you know what happened afterward. The cops showed up; we had to leave.” I grimaced. “Ugh, it was so embarrassing. We would have been found completely naked if someone hadn't warned us, we didn’t notice at all. I didn’t even put on my underwear, just got everything I could on, got my shoes, and ran out of there.”

“So, does he know who you are?”

My eyebrows shot up. “You mean Evan?” I snorted. “Of course not. And I panicked and left without saying anything, so now, I need to find a way to get him to recognize me. Somehow.”

I didn’t know if that night meant anything to him as it did to me. I lost my virginity, but more than that, my first time went to the guy I’d been dreaming about for a few years now. Even if he told me it meant nothing, I knew I couldn’t just go up to him and say, he we had sex want to do it again? Not when I was back to, well, me.

“Just tell Evan the truth,” Hayley said, shrugging. “That you were the girl he fucked in the closet of his parent’s house during a party last Friday.”

I grimaced. “No way. It’s not even a secret, the rumor has been going around that it happened, and he’s not looking for the girl. You must have heard it, too, right? How people are saying it was either not that good or nothing happened?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what kids are like. Hell, I heard once that he pulled a college girl in there, you know? Just ignore what people say and go for it.”

I sighed, slowly shaking my head. “If he doesn’t want to know who it was, then I can't force it. He never looks at me, anyway.”

Hayley opened her pretty, plump mouth to say something but stopped. The sound around us changed, and I looked up to see it was because Evan was coming by. He passed right by our table, and as if to prove me right, he didn’t spare our table a glance, like we weren’t even there. Instead, his eyes passed over us as he checked out the cheerleaders some tables away from us.

I turned back to Hayley with a wry look, and she shrugged, pouting.

“I have to make him notice me,” I said, not willing to give up just yet. “It’s fine if he approaches me. I’ll find a way.”

I thought of how gentle he’d been that night, and knew I would regret it if I didn’t at least try something.