That's What Friends Are For

I closed my eyes and rubbed my throbbing temple. Jim was right; there was no way I would think he would lie to me about this.

"Hey, you there?"

"Yeah," I said softly. "She knows you and I are friends and she did it anyway."

"I said something to her and she said for me not to be a bitch and say anything."

"I can't believe this."

"Yeah, well, believe it, because then she told me if I was a good boy and didn't tell you, she'd hook up with me next weekend up here and she'd make it worth my while."

"She ... what?"

"She was drunk, so maybe she didn't mean it, but you should have seen her, Justin. You never wanted to hear it, but I knew she was a little wild—but man, there was a point I thought she was looking for a damn gang bang."

"Did you tell her you were calling me?"

"No. I didn't want to get her going, but she made a couple of cracks earlier that she was going to be staying at your house tomorrow night. According to her, you've been good and she figured she would throw you a bone."

"Throw ... me ... a ..." My temple was throbbing harder, my shock having turned to anger.

"I feel like a dick doing this over the phone, but I'm stuck up here with Josh and we're hanging at his cousin's tomorrow. I wanted you to know before she saw you tomorrow."

"I ... I don't know if I can say thanks," I said in disgust.

"I get it. But we're tight, Justin, and this is bullshit. Dude, I don't care how hot she is, I wouldn't fuck that slut with someone else's dick. Who the hell knows where she's been?"

"I know where she won't be," I told him. As bad as I wanted to finally get laid, there was no way in hell I would get used like this.

"Good, and if she asks, you can tell her I told you."

"She'll figure it out. I'll call her tomorrow. I don't even want her coming here."

"Don't blame you." Jim sighed. "Not for nothing, but a couple of us told you she was stringing you."

"I'm glad you told me, Jim, but I don't need I told you so right now, okay?"

"That's cool man. I won't bring it up again." He laughed.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"I was just thinking I won't have to say I told you so, and neither will anyone else. Fucking Sam will be telling you that for the next six months. She had that bitch pegged from day one."

"Thanks for giving me that to look forward to," I told him dryly. "Thanks again, Jim. Now go try to have some fun."

"Yeah, I will. You be cool, bro, okay? She's not worth anything stupid and there are plenty of girls who have a thing for you. Hey! Justin, you should give Cindy a call! She's told you point-blank she wants to fuck around with you."

"Cindy's ... kind of slutty."

"So what? She wants to fuck, then go ahead and do it. Get yourself over this bitch and have some fun. You got her number, call her! You got the house to yourself. Imagine waking up to her in the morning!" He whistled into the phone. "I think she's home tonight, too, so give her a call."

I pictured Cindy with her long red hair, perfect little ass, and perky tits, and recalled her telling me, "Screw Jen, Justin. I'm a hell of a lot more fun than that stuck-up bitch."

"You know, maybe I will."

I ended the call without saying goodbye and sat back against the couch. I couldn't believe Jen had done this to me. I wasn't sold on the idea that she and I would be in it for the long haul, but I hadn't thought I was going to be part of a rotation.

I felt like a fucking loser. She was probably fucking Rob's brains out right now and planning on showing up here tomorrow like nothing had happened.

I briefly considered letting Jen come by and fucking her anyway. I had been so close to my first time. At this point I would know it didn't mean anything, but it would still be sex.

No, I wouldn't let her laugh at me like that. Jim was right. Cindy had been flirting with me since tenth grade. One phone call and she would be on her way. Again, it would mean nothing. Cindy was a big-time party girl who just liked to screw around. But unlike Jen, Cindy would point-blank say all she wanted was fun, so it wasn't as if I'd be using her or getting used.

Used. How many times had Sam said that to me just today, never mind over the last six months? She'd been absolutely right. Now I felt even worse. I'd been shitty with her earlier. I rubbed my eyes. To my dismay, I felt tears. I could act mad all I wanted to, but I was hurting. I should have fucking known not to trust Jen. She was nothing like me or the rest of my friends.

In a way, I had been like my father, thinking with my cock—not my head—and acting like a jerk just to be with her, in the hope of eventually getting some. I'd have gotten some all right. Some of Rob. Some of whoever she had been with last night.

I wiped my eyes again and realized I wasn't hurt as much as I was frustrated. I'd made good on my promise to my mother, and in all honesty I was proud that I had tried to do it the right way by finding someone I could say I loved, someone to make it special with.

For all the good it did me.

I'd made the mistake of waiting for a girl who was only waiting to 'throw me a bone' while sucking everyone else's. Now I was back at square one.The thought of meeting someone, dating them for a while, and seeing if they were the one was out of the question. I was done with that shit. Time to do what Jim and all my other friends had been doing for the last couple of years. Get fucking laid.

I scrolled through my contacts looking for Cindy's number, when I thought about Sam. Even though I was not in the mood to hear her tell me how right she was, I owed her an apology and wanted to get it over with.

Fact was, Sam was usually the first person I called when I was pissed off or upset about anything, and I was the one she always came to when she was in the same boat. I hated to dump stuff on her. But like she always said, that's what friends were for.

She answered on the second ring. "Hey, lover boy, what's up?"

"Listen, Sam, I—"

"You need help cleaning another park tonight to make sure you get your piece tomorrow?"

"Thanks, Sam." I said, "That's not what I needed to hear right now."

"Sorry, did I say that out loud?"

"You say everything out loud," I said softly. "But don't worry; I didn't call to ask you for anything."

"Hey, everything okay?" she asked. "You don't sound good."

"I'm not. I just got some bad news."

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry, Justin! I feel like a jerk! What happened, are you okay?"

The sincere concern in her voice made me feel even worse. Not just for earlier today, but for doubting that she had been looking out for me all along with Jen.

"I guess. I mean it's nothing that serious, I guess."

"What is it?"

"Jim called me. He's at a beach party in Jamestown. The same one where Jen is and ..."

"And what?"

"Sam, you were right. Jim said Jen was slutting around cock teasing all the guys and that her and Rob went into her uncle's house to fuck around."

"Holy shit! And right in front of him? " "Yeah. She ... she was even telling people she was going to do me tomorrow. She said she figured she would throw me a bone."

"Oh, wow. That's crappy, Justin. I'm really sorry."

"Are you? You called it all along."

"I ... I guess I'm not sorry in one way because this would have been worse if you found out after you slept with her, but I'm sorry for you."

"I'm sorry too, Sam. I'm sorry I was an ass today, and I ... I've been one since I met her."

"Don't be sorry. I know you were caught up with her. I think you were more focused on just trying to have the first time and getting to where you were thinking more about the act than the girl. But you don't owe me an apology."

"Yeah, I do. I guess I wasn't sold either and whenever you brought it up, I was a jerk and took it out on you."

"Hey, that's what friends are for. Besides, I rode you a lot about it." She paused. "Justin, are you okay?"

"I—no, Sam, I'm not. I'm pissed off and I'm fucking humiliated! She's up there fucking around and telling people I'm next. Are you kidding?"

"That's pretty low. I didn't think she was that bad."

"Jim said she was drinking and these are her friends, so who knows? But I—"

"It hurts," Sam finished. "I don't blame you."

"And I'm fucking frustrated!" I snapped. "I've been good, Sam, I really have, and tomorrow was supposed to be the day!"

"I know, but would you have wanted it to be with her and then you find that shit out?"

"I ... you know what? Maybe I would have."

"What?"

"Yeah, damn straight!" I was letting the anger get the better of me. "At least if I found out later I would have gotten laid!"

"Yeah, but—"

"And I made a promise about the first time. Once I do it I don't have to think about that stupid promise anymore! I can just go have some real fun like I should have been doing!"

"Justin, that promise is one of the things that make you such a good guy! You're a lot different than—"

"I don't want to be!" I yelled. "I don't want to be an asshole like my dad, but Christ, Sam, there's nothing wrong with having sex! I've missed out on a lot of fun, but know what? No more! I had my heart set on this weekend and I'm getting it!"

"Whoa! Justin, you're not going to still let Jen come over, are you?"

"Fuck her!" I laughed humorlessly. "No—wait—she's fucking everyone else! No, not her."

"Good, but then what do you mean you're still going to?"

"I'm going to call Cindy and—"

"Cindy Reed?" Sam gasped. "Come on, Justin! She'll fuck anyone. May as well as be with Jen."

"She will fuck anyone. That's the point. And she's not like Jen because she doesn't pretend she wants anything except to get laid! She's all but jumped me before. I'm going to call her when I hang up with you and—"

"Justin, don't do that!"

"Why the hell not? I'll get what I want. Cindy will get what she wants. What's the problem?"

"Your first time shouldn't be that meaningless, not after how long you tried to make it a certain way."

"Fuck that! I tried the right way. I blew off girls who would have because I didn't think they would be serious, and then I get this close and it falls through. I waited long enough to keep my stupid promise to my mother."

"That promise was sweet, not stupid."

"Fine—stupid, sweet—pick what you want. My mother even made a crack that she knows I'm going to while she's away. I will. It just won't be with who she thinks it will be."

"You'll lie to her?"

"I don't think she'll actually ask, Sam. Mom doesn't want to know the details. I'll tell her next week Jen was screwing around on me, then I'll move on and she won't care if I start dating around."

"Is that what you want to do, Justin? Go from girl to girl like your father?"

"Don't pull that shit with me, Sam! I'm not my father! He used women. I won't be using anyone. I'll just hook up with girls just looking to hook up."

"Justin, please think about it first. The summer's coming and you'll be at the beach a lot, and we start PC in September. You'll meet a lot of new girls and—"

"I am not waiting!" I shouted. "I'm not waiting to meet someone, then dating until I see how I feel about them. That could take months! Fuck that!"

"Justin, please calm down. You don't have to yell at me."

"I ... I'm sorry, Sam. I'm not mad at you, but I am mad, and worse, I feel like an idiot, and there's no reason to deny myself having some fun. Sorry if it disappoints you and what you want for me."

"I ... I'm not disappointed about Jen," she said quietly. "And I'm not disappointed in you that you waited. I'm proud of you. Honestly, Justin, I'm upset with myself for not waiting for the right guy."

"And you could still be waiting. At least you had fun and know what it's like. Besides, you used to sit there sometimes and tell me how good Derek was to the point I would tell you to knock it off because you were aggravating me."

"Well, all the guys talked about their girlfriends. Why shouldn't I?" Then she asked, "Why did it bother you?"

"Because I wasn't getting any! You acted like you never cared and you never even tried to impress a guy and you were doing it! Anyway, I called to say I was sorry and to let you know what happened and that you were right. Now I'm going to call Cindy and see—"

"Justin, please don't! Please?"

She sounded more upset than I was, and with a sigh I asked, "Sam, why the hell do you care? You cared about it being Jen and now I see why, but Cindy isn't going to break my heart. I know what I'll be getting, and that's laid."

"Justin, we're friends, right?"

"You're my best friend, Sam. You know that. That's why I called. I ... I needed to vent and tell someone what happened."

"I'm glad you did. Now I am going to ask you a favor."

"I'm not waiting, Sam!" I shook my head as if she could see me. "No way."

"Justin, you're mad, hurt, and frustrated. You don't want to do it like this."

"I—"

"Let me finish. It's only nine o'clock and it's Saturday night. Neither of us have to work tomorrow, so how about I come over and hang out for a while?"

"Sam, no offense, but you're not the girl I'm looking to spend tonight with."

"I ... I know that. You've made it clear I'm not that girl." She sounded put off, but kept going. "Like I said, tonight you're angry, and you should at least calm down. So how about this? I'll come over and on the way I'll stop and grab some popcorn and a couple of cheesy horror movies. We'll just hang out and have some laughs."

"Sam—"

"I promise no 'I told you so,' no 'you should have known better,' and I promise I won't try to talk you out of Cindy."

"You won't? Not sure I believe that."

"I promise. If you want to talk about it, we will. If not, just you and me eating popcorn and making up dialogue for the crappy movies. Just like we used to do before you started dating Jen."

"Yeah, but—"

"And tomorrow, once you've calmed down, if you still want to call Cindy, then go ahead. But I'm asking you to at least take one night to think about it, and I'll keep you company so you're not stewing over it. How's that?"

"I ... I don't know, Sam."

"Please, Justin? Consider it a favor to me."

I closed my eyes and thought about it.

She had a point that right now I was pissed. If I did have Cindy over, it might not be as much fun as it should be. I'd waited this long. One more night wouldn't make a difference. After brushing her off for Jen so much in the last six months, I did owe Sam something.

"Okay. You're right. I'm probably better off with a friend than a slut right now." I laughed. "Too bad I couldn't find a friendly slut!"

"Yeah, too bad. Guess you'll just have to settle for me."

"I'm not settling," I told her, feeling much calmer. "I'd rather spend time with you right now anyway, Sam. You've never let me down and I appreciate you coming over."

"That ... that means a lot, Justin. More than you know. You've helped me as much as I've helped you, you know."

"That's what friends are for, right?" I laughed.

"That's right, Justin. Good friends will do anything for each other. I'll be there in an hour."

* * * * *

I looked up when I heard Sam's car pull up and getting off the couch walked over to let her in. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Sam wearing the long black leather coat she had gotten for Christmas.

Granted, it was April and it had cooled down quite a bit, but it wasn't that cold. The second thing that caught my attention was that her long brown hair, which was usually in a braid or a ponytail, was down.

"Hey, Justin!" She held up a bag. "I grabbed a couple of oldie, but not so goodies. I got the Alien Dead and Ghost House. I figured they would be good for some laughs. Got popcorn, too!"

"Um, okay," I said as she pushed past me.

I was surprised when I smelled perfume. I wasn't sure what brand it was, but it smelled pretty damn good.

Sam walked into the living room. At the sound of something clicking on the floor. I looked down. "Wow, what's with those shoes?" I asked, staring at the red heels she was wearing. They were high enough that I wondered how she could walk in them, and had straps that wrapped around her ankles.

As I stared at the shoes, it dawned on me I could see her calves. "Are you wearing a dress?"

"Maybe I felt like dressing up." She turned to face me. "It is Saturday night, after all."

"But you're hanging out with me," I said, closing the door behind me and approaching her. "Usually, you're dressed in—" I stopped and stared at her face, taking in her deep red lips.

"What's the matter?"

"You're wearing make-up!" In addition to her lipstick, Sam's eyelashes looked longer and thicker than usual, she was wearing eye shadow, and her cheeks had more color to them.

"So?"

"Sam, were you going out tonight? Because if you were, you don't have to hang with me."

"Maybe I dressed up for you." She unzipped the top of the jacket, then slipped it off.

"Wow!"

Sam was wearing a red dress that was not only low-cut enough to show cleavage, but calling the skirt short would be doing it a favor. The hem barely reached her mid-thigh. I wondered what she would do if she dropped something and had to bend over.

The dress featured black buttons in the shape of hearts that went down to her waist and staring at the top button, I couldn't help notice how tight the dress was, hugging her small breasts and pushing them up.

"Is that a good 'wow'?" She gave me a big smile.

"I ... yeah, you look great." I told her and wasn't kidding.

Sam's smile widened. When she reached up and pushed her hair back over her shoulder, I noticed that her fingernails were painted the same shade of red as the dress.

"Thank you."

"Why are you wearing that?"

"Oh, I don't know. " She shrugged. "Maybe I'm tired of your tomboy jokes and wanted to show you I can be a woman when I need to be."

"A woman?" I laughed. "You're eighteen."

She rolled her eyes. "Justin, you are one step forward, two steps back, sometimes. You give me a compliment, then you say something stupid."

"Sorry." I pointed at the bag she had tossed on the couch. "You want to give me the popcorn and I'll heat it up while you put the movie in?"

"Not yet. I want to talk to you."

"I thought you said if I didn't want to talk we didn't—"

Without waiting for me to finish, Sam turned her back on me and walked out of the living room and down the hall towards my bedroom.

"Okay," I muttered.

I followed her down the hallway, my eyes glued to the backs of her long legs, which although a little on the thin side had a nice shape to them. Not just her legs; the tight dress was clinging to what I had to admit was a pretty nice ass and she had a sway to her hips I'd never noticed before when she walked.

Sam opened the door to my room. When I entered, she was standing in front of my bed, staring down at the nightstand.

"Oh, candles!" she said, picking up the lighter. "I love candles."

She lit the two small candles and walked around to the other side of the bed to light the pair on my desk. "You always have candles?"

"Tonight was supposed to be, well, you know ..." I sighed. "I thought it would be a nice touch."

"They are." She pointed behind me. "Shut the light off."

"Why?"

"Because I like candlelight." She rolled her eyes. "Why do you always ask questions about everything?"

"I don't know." I hit the switch and turned back to see her standing in the dimly lit room.

"That's better." She nodded. "Nice soft light. Very romantic, very intimate."

"Intimate?" That was an odd word.

"Justin, come sit down. I want to ask you something."

I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it expecting Sam to sit next to me. Instead, she stepped up to me so she was standing directly in front of me between my knees, looking down at me.