Aly sat on her bed, wondering how much of an idiot she was. Sure, she could blame her roommate – it was Michelle that got her into this situation, after all. She really didn’t have a leg to stand on though, her rooommate only gently pushed and she went along with the rest of it.
Every footstep in the hall, or brush of shadow across her door had her sitting upright, with her breath held and heart racing. It had started out as giggling whispers, tales passed down from upperclassman. They called it a key party – girls would place their room key in a hat, and the guys would draw one and go to whatever room the key fit into. It wasn’t long before the whispers turned into half joking ideas, and then more much less joking ideas being talked about among the more inexperienced students at the school.
Both Michelle and Aly were virgins. Friends since middle school, they had dated a number of guys but never anything serious. Michelle heard the whispers first, and wondered late at night about it with Aly. The pair giggled and joked about it, but it was a shock to Aly when Michelle announced that it was happening. An all-virgin key party. Though she had a lot of reservations, Aly was swept up in the thrill and soon the night was here. A fortuitous conversation with friends going out of town got Michelle a separate room to stay in, so Aly had their room to herself.
Aly’s heart leapt into her throat and her thoughts were drug back to the present when a shadow stopped at her door, and the handle jiggled with a key being inserted into a lock. She smoothed her long, black skirt and swallowed. She couldn’t decide what she should be feeling. On one hand, she was terrified about what was likely to come that evening. No man had ever seen her naked, nor had she ever seen a man naked. Aside from an awkward conversation with her mother when she got her first boyfriend, and a very confusing day of class with bananas, she only knew of the general basics of what was supposed to go on. What if she got it wrong? What if he thought she was ugly? Could she escape out the window before he got in the room? Her thoughts raced. What if she was wearing the wrong thing? Michelle had tried to take her lingerie shopping, but now wondered if her simple bra and plain panties were the right thing to wear.
She was spared any further chaotic thoughts as the door swung open and a boy, the boy, a man? The man who was going to be with her this evening stepped into the room. He was taller than her, around 6 feet tall maybe and looking fairly lean. Dusky blond hair sat rumpled on his head. The angry death metal t-shirt he wore – black, of course – stood out in stark contrast to the apparent nervousness that also showed on his face.
He licked his lips and glanced around, before settling his eyes on her. “Oh um…hi.”
Aly didn’t quite know how to react. He was at least as nervous as she was. “Hi.” She smiled, “I’m Aly.”
He smiled warmly back at her. “I’m Tom.” He held up the key, tagged with her room number. “I guess this is the right place?” His eyes looked her over, and she felt a warm flush cross her face. His gaze hung briefly below her face, lingering on the bare skin showed by the open top button of her white blouse.
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