Shut Out(12)

“Seriously,” Chloe said. “I mean, I like sex probably about as much as any boy does, and even I know a little bit of abstinence isn’t something to end a relationship over. That’d be pretty f*cked up.”

“Easy for you to say,” Kelsey snapped. “Have you ever even been in a relationship, Chloe? A real one. One that continues even after you put your clothes back on.”

“You know what? Screw you, Kelsey. I don’t have to be in a relationship to know that a guy is a dick if he dumps you because you won’t put out. And no matter what you think of me, I won’t be the one the boys run to when they want to get some. Because… because I’m going to do it. What Lissa said. I’m going to play along. No sex.”

I gaped at Chloe, amazed. “Seriously?”

“Yep. I’m in.”

“Me, too.”

I turned to my right and saw Ellen watching me with her hazel eyes. Something in them seemed skeptical, and I wondered if I’d misunderstood her. Then she shook her head and the flicker of disbelief was gone.

“I’m sick of this fighting. It’s definitely crossed a line.” She gave me a meaningful look before adding, “I think a sex strike is a great idea, and I can try to get some of the other soccer players’ girlfriends in on it. I bet they’ll help. We’re all fed up.”

“R-really?” I beamed at her, half in shock. “Ellen, thank you so much.”

After that, a lot of people seemed to hop on the bandwagon.

“I’ll do it,” Susan said. “Damn, Lissa, you’ve got some brains. I never would have thought of this.”

“I’m in. It’ll make this season more entertaining at least.”

“I guess I’ll do it. Maybe end-of-rivalry sex will be even better than make-up sex.”

I ducked my head to hide the blush creeping up my face. How could these girls be so open about their sex lives? I barely even talked about mine with Chloe. Hell, I couldn’t even say the words for the things I was doing with Randy without cringing.

“We need to make a pact or something,” Chloe said. “Like, an oath. We need to swear to abstain from all sexual activities.”

“What do we swear on?” Susan asked. “The Bible?”

“That’s kind of inappropriate,” I managed to joke. “Considering what we’re swearing about and all.”

“Here.” Ellen placed her backpack on the table and unzipped it. After a few seconds of digging, she pulled out a new issue of Cosmo and tossed it onto the table. “It’s the sex-tips issue. Includes a nice list of all the things we can’t do. We can swear on it.”

Chloe picked up the magazine. “Sweet,” she said, flipping through the pages. She paused and visibly cringed. “Ugh. No, don’t try that. Trust me, not as great as it sounds.”

I grabbed the magazine from Chloe, half wondering and half afraid to see what she was talking about. I held it up for everyone to see. “Okay,” I said. “So we’ll all take a vow. I’ll lay out the rules, and if you agree, you put your hand on the magazine and say, ‘I do.’ Got it?”

Most of the girls nodded.

I placed the magazine on the table, putting my hand over the model’s face on the cover. “I hereby swear to abstain from all forms of sexual activity. This includes but is not limited to anything involving body parts below the belt. That’s either party’s belt. Oh, and second base is outlawed, too. Nothing, um, under the shirt.” I forced myself to continue, despite the way this speech made my face heat up. “I’ll stand my ground, even in the toughest of times, and will resist temptation until the rivalry is put to an end.”

I slid the magazine to Ellen, still feeling a little anxious when our eyes met. But I couldn’t let my composure falter right now. Not with all these girls watching.

I cleared my throat for, like, the millionth time that afternoon. “Do you agree?” I asked.

“I do,” Ellen said solemnly.

She passed it on to Susan. “I do.”

Susan passed it to the girl to her right. “I do.”

“I do.”

“I do.”

When it came to Mary, I saw her hesitate for a minute. She looked at me, took a breath, and placed her hand on the magazine. “I do.”

Then she passed it to Kelsey.

“Just pass it on if you’re too chicken,” Chloe taunted. “You call me a whore, but you’re more hesitant about giving up sex than I am.”

“Shut up,” Kelsey hissed. “Give me that.” She yanked the magazine toward her and put her hand in the dead center of the cover. Her eyes locked with Chloe’s as she said, “I. Do.”

Chloe grinned.

To my amazement, after so much disagreement, all eleven girls at the table—plus me—wound up making the oath. Chloe was the last, and she grinned at me as she swore to be celibate. I knew it would be a challenge for her more than anyone.

But looking at the others, I knew Chloe couldn’t have been the only girl who liked sex. So many others had been hesitant to agree right away. Surely some of the girls had the same reason as Chloe, even if the others were reluctant out of fear of losing their boyfriends. I wondered what the ratio was—how many of the girls just didn’t want to give up sex versus the ones who were afraid of being cheated on.