Shut Out(50)

“Okay, all of you, listen,” I said. “The boys are getting organized now. You saw that. They’re fighting back because they want sex. The rivalry isn’t over, but they want the strike to end. Things are about to get harder for us.”

Mary giggled at me. “You sound like an army commander.”

“You should see her play hide-and-seek,” Ellen joked.

“Focus,” I snapped. God, I really did sound like I was in the military. But it was necessary now, wasn’t it? By making himself the leader of the boys’ side, Cash had pretty much turned this into a war. If the boys had tactics, we needed ways to combat them.

“So what do we do?” Ellen asked.

“We’ve got to turn the tables,” I answered. “Fight fire with fire. They want to get half-naked and seduce us? I say we do the same. Push them a little, make them want us. They’re guys. They’ll crack before we do.”

“I thought we weren’t going to be teases,” Chloe said. “That’s what you said at the first meeting.”

“That was before the boys decided to make this a fight. They gave us no choice,” I argued. “I’m not suggesting anything extreme—just wearing shirts that are a little lower-cut than normal, or showing a little leg. That’s all it will take.”

“That actually sounds kind of fun,” Ellen said, grinning. “I have a new dress I’ve been dying for an excuse to wear. Maybe my date tomorrow night is just the occasion.”

A few other girls smiled and whooped in agreement, planning out their methods of temptation.

After the chatter died down, Susan sighed and glanced at the closed blinds over the window. “I just feel so… dirty. Like, I don’t know. Right now, I feel like such a perv.”

“Me, too,” Ellen said. “God, I never thought I’d miss fooling around this much. It’s so embarrassing.”

“Why?” Chloe asked. “Because the boys got you all hot and bothered?”

Ellen shrugged, not looking at her.

Chloe sighed. “Okay, I don’t get you guys. Maybe I’m, like, a bad example of the female race or something, but what is so wrong with thinking about sex? So the f*ck what? Guys do it.”

“That’s because they’re guys,” Ellen said. “It’s normal for them.”

“So if it’s okay for them, why do girls have to feel dirty when they think about it?” Chloe demanded. She looked over at me for help, but all I could do was shrug. Clearly, I was just as much in the dark as the others. Only Chloe seemed to know what she was doing here.

“Look. This is stupid,” she said. “We live in a supposedly equal society, so what’s the big deal? I’m not ashamed to think about sex. Or talk about it. Or have it.”

“Yeah, and look at the way people talk about you.” Kelsey was standing in the doorway of her bedroom, arms crossed over her chest. I hadn’t even heard her come back upstairs.

“I’m not sorry for who I am,” Chloe said flatly.

Kelsey’s arms dropped to her sides, and she stepped into the room. “Then you’re lucky, because not all of us can say that.”

We locked eyes for a second before she looked at the other girls.

“I don’t like sex,” Kelsey said, shrugging. “I used to think that made me weird. Or that if I told anyone, they’d make fun of me or call me a lesbian or something. I’m not; I just don’t enjoy it. But if we’re being all open and honest… Chloe’s comfortable with who she is, and Mary and Lissa came clean, so it’s my turn.”

Chloe stared at Kelsey in awe. I wondered if she was in shock, hearing from someone who didn’t enjoy sex. But she said, “Did you just kind of give me a compliment?”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“I refuse to go down on Luther,” Susan said. Everyone turned to look at her, but she just tossed her dark braids over one shoulder. “What? Something about it just freaks me out. There are some places mouths just aren’t meant to go, you know?”

“That’s the only thing I’ll do with my boyfriend,” someone said from the back of the room. “To me, that’s less scary than going all the way.”

I smiled to myself. Mary and I weren’t the only virgins in the room—and I hadn’t been the only one keeping my lack of experience quiet. It made me feel better, knowing I wasn’t alone, but realizing this also made me kind of sad. Why had I been afraid to admit I was a virgin? Why was anyone?

“So, like, do you hate sex with everyone, or just with Terry?” Chloe asked Kelsey.

“I don’t hate it. I just don’t really enjoy it.”

“Okay, but that didn’t answer my question. Is it bad with everyone, or just Terry?”

Kelsey shifted uneasily. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve only ever been with Terry, so…”

“So he probably just sucks in bed.”

“Chloe,” I chided. “Be nice.”

“What?” she asked. “A lot of teenage boys suck. Believe me, I know. But Kelsey should be thrilled. This means there’s hope for her yet.”

“Unless I stay with Terry,” Kelsey replied pointedly.

Chloe scoffed. “Please. High school sweethearts don’t last forever—and if they do, they end up miserable and start having affairs early. Ask my dad.”