The Truth About Sex

The more time Topher spent putting her stories on the website, the more she was beginning to like this idea of no sex for a year.

How could she have been so stupid to actually sleep with some of these guys? She really wished she had a re-do button so she could go back and erase some of the worst ones. But, even so, that didn’t stop her from typing away.

During my time at a small community college, I was at a party having a few drinks when I met this guy. He was cute, normal, and I had one too many drinks to care and apparently I thought he was good enough to go back to his apartment with him. It seemed like I was actually going to have a decent night. He was a pretty good kisser (even with the alcohol on his breath), and was well endowed, if you catch my drift. But then, he starts sort of thrusting at me, but not going in. Which was weird, but I didn’t think much about it, thinking he was just trying to get himself worked up. He started speeding up and, breathlessly, asked, “Am I in?” By the time I realized what was happening, he came. All over my leg. He had been thrusting against my thigh, thinking he was inside the whole time. The truth about sex: If you have to ask if it’s in, you’re probably doing it wrong.

With a sigh she hit submit and rested her head against her hand. What in the world was she thinking? It baffled her at how ridiculous she was just for a night with an attractive guy. She remembered telling Duff all about this one and the sound that came from her friend’s mouth was almost unhuman. She had never seen someone laugh so hard in her life and that only made her even more embarrassed that she let it happen. Of course, though, since plenty of time had passed she found herself laughing to herself as well. Why not? The past was in the past and all she could do was focus on the future now.

The future; definitely not what Topher was actually wanting to focus on. But was, unfortunately, unavoidable.

The first week of classes had come and gone and she was thankful that she survived without any problems. Well, almost without any problems. There was one major pain the ass that was causing her trouble and unfortunately he went by the name she hated to hear more than anything: Liam Payne. Aka, the most annoying person she has ever had the misfortune to coexist with.

She had figured that nothing could have been as bad as Duff leaving. Well, she sure as hell was wrong with that assumption. Upon entering her music composition class, she was only horrified to find out that a certain asshole was, also, enrolled in the course.

Couldn’t she just go an entire semester without seeing the jerk? Apparently not.

She tried to convince herself that it was only a few months. The was survivable, right? Sure, Liam would probably try to approach her multiple times to talk to her. Sure, he would make snide comments about how the two should head to bed together. All of that just meant she would have to keep her fists planted at her side and try to bite her tongue through it all.

At least she would try.

She fiddled with the rice in her takeout Chinese box, lost in thought of how she could rid herself of Liam. She could do what she warned him and hit him with her car. Except, that would probably end up with her in a whole lot of trouble. She could try to ignore him, but she knew that her tolerance for annoying people was low and that it was probably out of the question. So what could she do?

“You’re Christopher, right?”

Topher pulled her mouth away from her food and glanced up into the eyes of a girl that had a bright smile spread right across her face. She was short, probably shorter than Topher, but she was pretty, she had to admit. Topher had no idea who she was supposed to be, or why she was even talking to her at that, but she decided to resign and at least give her enough time to explain herself.

“Depends on who wants to know. Can I help you with something?” She cocked her eyebrow up and pursed her lips, waiting for the girl to answer.

“Oh! I’m Sadie, your new roommate,” she answered cheerfully, her smile growing even wider than it already was. “I haven’t had the chance to properly introduce myself this past week. You seem to always come in really late and I’m usually asleep by then. You know what they say; early to bed, early to rise!”

Great. So her new roommate had a mouth that could run on for days. Wonderful.

“And?”

“And?” Sadie hummed and stared at her with confused eyes.

Topher let out a long sigh and rolled her eyes before saying, “What do you want?” She was definitely not in the mood for conversation and was most definitely not in the mood to associate with some big mouth.

“I just came to introduce myself and let you know that I hope that you and I can become such great friends!” Sadie sat down in the seat across from her, without asking, and continued on. “I know that we’re just starting out, but I think that if we spend time together you and I can be best friends before you know it! We can go to club activities together; Oh! You can join the celibacy club with me!”

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me! Topher placed her hand over her mouth so that she wouldn’t burst out into a laughing fit. This girl was joking, right? She had to be joking. Topher really hoped she was joking.

At least she could play along for the poor girl’s sake.

“Oh, of course! I mean virgins for life, right?” Topher grinned and really tried her best to keep it together. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Wonderful!” Sadie clapped her hands together. She trailed off into continuing to talk about it as Topher finally decided to tune her out and go on with her life.



She messed around on her laptop for what seemed like ever and every now and again she would glance up and see Sadie just blabbing away as if Topher was listening to every word she was saying. Topher just chuckled under her breath, wondering how long this girl could actually go on.

“You know, you kind of do look like ass.”

She cursed to herself after hearing the remark from behind and knowing exactly who would be joining her in only a few seconds.

“Cute ass, but ass.”

Was he stalking her now? God, she hoped not. She would possibly prefer an actual stalker over him any day. And that was saying a lot.

Topher turned around slowly, only to come face to face to the one person she was hoping not to see. Liam stood there with a smirk pulling at the corner of his lip, one eyebrow raised. Liam wasn’t necessarily her favorite person; that was for sure. However, she was still human. Her eyes slowly moved down his body, even though she begged them not to. He was wearing a basketball jersey and a pair of baggy shorts, and the attire was topped off with a basketball that sat firmly under his arm. He looked like the typical jock, and as much as she hated to admit it, he looked good.

But looks can only get you so far, especially when you’re Liam Payne standing in front of Topher Reed. It was going to take a lot more than his hand running through his slightly damp hair, or the sheen that covered his whole body. He had obviously just gotten out of the gym and was still covered in sweat. It was hard to believe that a sweaty boy could be the least bit sexy, but Liam pulled it off better than any guy she had ever seen. “Dammit,” she sighed internally, ripping her eyes away from the boy in front of her.

Liam chuckled deeply, his eyes scrunching up in the corners and she couldn’t help but curse again. Somebody that was that much of a dick shouldn’t be allowed to look that good.

He walked past her, dancing his fingers along her shoulder in the process, and standing between the two girls at the table. He glanced at the girl who had finally finished talking and was now staring at him with big eyes, as if she had just seen a saint.

And that’s when it came to her. Liam didn’t seem like he was going to give up on her anytime soon…so maybe she could trick him into it. It could work, right? It might take some time, but she definitely thought that she could push this girl and Liam together so that maybe both of them would leave her the hell alone.

“Oh, Sarah this is Liam. Liam, this is Sarah.”

“Sadie,” she corrected her, smiling wide at the boy and flicking her hair over her shoulder just like those girls on TV. “It’s Sadie.”

“Yeah, hi.” Liam just grinned in return before leaning in slightly, flashing his eyes at her. “Sadie, could you excuse Topher and I? I really need to talk to her about something.”

“Of course!” Sadie gathered her things quickly and stood up, straightening out her skirt and holding her books to her chest. “Talk away – oh and Topher? We can talk about the celibacy club later, okay? See you then!” And with that, she walked away swiftly.

Liam laughed as he took the empty seat across from her, his eyes instantly meeting with her. “Celibacy club? Topher Reed in celibacy club?”

“It’s a joke.” Topher rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember inviting you to sit with me, Liam. Don’t make me go all mean girls on you.”

“If that’s the case then I’ll have to start calling you Gretchen, huh?”

She really hated that fact that he had made her laugh. She hated it even more that he noticed that she had and she knew that he would probably hold that against her at some point. That was his specialty, right? Using her weak moments to get in some rude remark.

“Didn’t I make myself clear when I told you to stay away from me or are you too stupid to understand English anymore?” She was really beginning to wonder if he just tuned out everything he didn’t want to hear and focused on what he did. Maybe if she started talking really slow he would begin to understand that she didn’t want to be near him.

“Hmm, I did see you going into the tutor center last week. If I told you I was too stupid would you tutor me in it? Or, you know, we could always pretend to study and do some other things. If that’s what you’re into,” he shrugged and then there it was; that stupid grin that he thought worked on everything so he could get his way. “What do you say?” Unfortunately for him, there was at least one person that could turn it down.

“Oh Liam,” she grinned and shook her head, “I do believe you’ve mistaken me for someone who actually gives a damn if you fail or not. Sorry, but you are the last person in the world that I would tutor. And by last person, I mean that if you and I were the only two people on Earth I would choose the dirt over you.”

He leaned forward, his hands stretching out to grab hers. He stared at her with soft eyes, though behind that, it was obvious he was still being the same dick he always was. “You’re being quite cruel, Christopher. Isn’t there a nice bone in that fine body of yours?”

“Topher,” she corrected him for probably the thousandth time since they met. But she leaned forward and took his hands, cupping them between hers. “And I’m plenty nice, Liam. It’s just that I don’t like you and, again, I wouldn’t be nice to you if we were the last two people on Earth. Do you understand or should I talk a little slower for your brain to comprehend?”

“You know, I don’t think it’s just me. I don’t believe that you could be nice at all. You’re just not that type of person, Topher Reed. You’re kind of a bitch,” he sneered. “Oh, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Because, you know, I’m a nice person.”

Oh. No. He. Didn’t.

“Excuse me?” Topher was a bit taken back, but not for the reason expected. Most people would have been angry for his choice of insults, but not Topher. She already knew she was a bitch so that wasn’t any news to her, nor was she going to let it bother her. “Are you calling me a liar?”

He dropped his head slightly, mumbling something under his breath before letting his eyes rise up to look at her. “And if I am?” Liam challenged, his eyes narrowing at her as if he had come up with something suddenly. “I bet you couldn’t be nice to me for the rest of the day.”

It wasn’t exactly like she didn’t like to be nice; it was more like she didn’t have a reason to be. Why should she when the whole world usually wasn’t to her? She had her reason or being a bitch, sure, though if you asked her direction there was no way in hell she would tell you them. Those were her secrets. Her demons. And she wasn’t up to letting anyone discover them just yet.

But, there was one thing about Topher Reed that people should know; she would never turn down a challenge or a bet.

“I bet you I can.”

“I really don’t think you can do it, Toph,” Topher groaned as Liam gave her a short little nickname. Toph? Really? That sounds like Tofu. “Why don’t we make a wager then? I mean, if you really think you, of all people, could be nice. How about it, Topher?”

“What do you want?”

“What do you want? I mean, aside from touching my body.”

She thought about it for a moment. The real thing she wanted was for him to disappear and leave her alone once and for all.

“I want you to stop talking to me,” she admitted. “Forever.”

Liam looked a bit bothered by her request. Topher wasn’t sure why, but he looked a bit sad. Maybe he was human after all. Or, maybe he was just being a fake like he always was. Nope, she wasn’t falling for his tricks.

“Fine,” he nodded in agreement. “If you win I will stop talking to you. You’ll never hear another word from me.” So far, this bet wasn’t looking too bad to her. A way to get him out of her life once and for all? She’d take that up in a heartbeat.

“And if you win?”

Well, his mood improved as he smiled a smile that really made Topher begin to wonder what he was up to. It was full of mischief and it really gave an unsettling feeling in pit of her stomach.

“You come and watch me play.”

Wait, what?

“Basketball? The season hasn’t started yet.”

“That doesn’t mean I haven’t.”

She exhaled deeply, running a hand through her hair and twisting it between her fingers. Why did he want her to come and watch him play basketball? She hated sports, especially basketball since the school seemed to be completely obsessed with it. But, it was a bet. And she knew that she would win and she definitely couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get Liam Payne out of her life.

“Fine,” Topher closed her laptop and stuffed it back into her bag. “I’m only agreeing to this because I know that I’m going to win.

“I really don’t think you will.”

“Game on then, Payne.”

Game on.



“Oh come on,” Liam scoffed as he stood around Topher’s record collection, going through the albums. “Constantines? Really?”

Well, there they were. Somehow she had gone from refusing to spend any time with this guy to him now intruding in on her space and going through her things. How did that happen? Apparently this whole “being nice” bet meant that he got to tag along with her wherever she went. She kept trying to convince herself that it was worth it though. As long as it got him out of her life, she would let him be near her just for this one day.

“Excuse me? I love them.”

“You don’t have any Kanye?” Liam groaned. “Or Jay–Z?”

“Do you take me as someone who really listens to that crap?” Well, that was one other thing she would be adding to the list of why she hates him: his music taste sucks.

“You disappoint me, Christopher.” Her glare was heavy on him and she was pretty sure he could feel it burning into him. “Right, sorry. Topher. That reminds me. Why is your real name Christopher? I’ve always been curious.” He spun around quickly, smiling wide. “Did you get a sex change?”

“No!” she yelled, pulling the pillow behind her out and chucking it right at his head. He just caught it no problem and tossed it back.

“It was just a question, Toph. I mean, it would definitely explain some things. You’ve got the attitude of a dude.”

She gritted her teeth and squeezed her hands into fists. This guy was definitely making this whole being nice thing hard. If he continued up with his own commentary on her life then she might not be able to hold out any longer.

“So,” she tried to change the subject as quickly as possible, “how’s…basketball?” Why was she even making small talk with him? All the bet said was that she had to be nice; not that she actually had to talk to him. But, even so, the silence was killing her a bit and she didn’t like him snooping around her things and not saying a word.

He finally put down one of her many records and moved over towards her, plopping down onto the bed and sprawling out, making himself comfortable. Not happening, she mused as she shoved her hands against his sides and sent him tumbling off the side of the bed.

“Hey!” Liam popped up quickly, throwing his arms over the bed to hold himself up. “That wasn’t very nice!”

“It was an accident.” She turned her head away, trying not to show how much she wanted to laugh. Nope, not an accident. But he didn’t need to know that. Would that have counted as an automatic loss in the bet? Nah.

He pulled himself up fully, going back to how he was laying before. He kept his eyes glued to her and he seemed like he was thinking of something. She sighed and glanced over at him out of the corner of her eyes. “What?”

“I was wondering,” he propped himself up with his elbows, “are you really not interested in me? I don’t mean to sound modest, but I’m a pretty likeable person. So I don’t see why you are always so mean to me.”

She was surprised by his question. She really didn’t expect him to really be worried about her not liking him. Didn’t he have plenty of people to do that in her place? So why did he care that she didn’t?

“You’re an asshole,” she shrugged. “And you annoy me often so it kind of turns me off. You are ridiculous.”

He rolled his eyes and pushed himself up, moving just a tad bit closer to her. “So…you’re telling me that if I made a move on you then you would push me away?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying–”

Her heart skipped a beat as she felt a clumsy pressure against her lips. She felt completely frozen and honestly confused. He was kissing her. He was actually kissing her. Topher tried to pull away, but something in her just stopped her from doing so. And she just couldn’t understand it.

She took in a deep, shaky breath and stilled herself under his lips. What should she do? Should she pull away? She wanted to, of course, but somehow, instead, she was slowly gliding her lips and moving them along with Liam’s.

They soon found a rhythm as Topher rested her hands on the nape of Liam’s neck and pushed herself up on him slightly. Their lip movements were slow and Liam let his hands slide down to her waist, keeping her still against him.

Liam tasted like mints, mostly, but with a sweet aftertaste that made her crave more of him. She tilted her head a little, taking it in, and catching Liam’s bottom lip between hers. He drew back for only a second to catch his breath, but immediately went back in, changing their position and pushing her on her back against the mattress.

She took in her own breath, the slight smell of sweat mixing with the cologne he was wearing was driving her crazy; in a good way. He smelled so fresh despite his unwashed body from practicing earlier. She didn’t know how he could pull it off, but he did so, and he did it well.

Topher reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck again and pulled him back in. She moved her lips with his once again and smiled, only a little, as his bit of stubble scratched slightly against her face.

She was actually giving in. She was giving in to him. How in the hell did that happen? Only moments ago was she cursing herself for allowing him in her dorm and now she was lying on her bed making out with him as if the history between the two meant nothing.

He dragged his lips across her chin and moved his way up towards her ear, planting small kisses along her neck. He smirked to himself as he whispered, “I knew you couldn’t resist me.”

And that was it. He had completely ruined it and she should have expected nothing less from Liam Payne.

She ripped herself away quickly and pushed him off of her, her eyes wide with shock. He had really gotten her. He had found a way to weasel himself around all of her barriers and blocks she had put up against him.

He had actually gotten the better of her.

“You are such a dick!” She wasn’t even thinking straight as she pulled her arm back and swung right at him, punching him right in the face. He let out a yelp as he tumbled backwards and landed back on the floor, his hand shooting right up to cover his new wound.

“What the fuck?!” Liam stared at up at her, a bit stunned that she had just done that. “Did you really just punch me?!”

“Oh, oh, oh,” she grumbled as she prepared to go in for round two. “You definitely deserved that you no good, perverted, arrogant son of a bitch!”

“Aha!” Liam pointed at her, smiling so wide. “You lost!”

“What?!”

“You were mean! That means you lost the bet and I won!”

Her face dropped as she stared down at him. No way… She lost? She really lost? That wasn’t possible. Topher Reed never lost a bet. But she did. And it just made her hate him even more.

“You know what? Punching you was worth it!” She got off the bed and pulled him off the floor, practically pushing him aggressively towards her door. “Get the hell out of my room!”

“Wait one second.” He stopped and turned towards her once he was out in the hallway. “Now that I won that means that you have to come watch me play sometime.”

“I don’t care! But right now you better get the hell away from me or that bruise isn’t going to be the only black and blue part of your body soon!” And with that, she slammed the door right in his face.

She let out the loudest, most aggravated yell as she kicked everything and anything that was in her path as she paced her room.

How could she let that happen? She had promised herself so many times that she would never get pulled into Liam Payne’s trap ever and yet she just went along with it and let the two of them kiss.

Not anymore. No, this was never happening ever again. So she lost the bet. She could live with that. So she didn’t win the chance to get Liam out of her life. She’ll find a way to manage. But there was no way in hell Liam Payne would ever get her like that again.

And that was a promise.

As pissed as she was at that moment…she couldn’t help but smile to herself, knowing that she got in a good punch against him. That would definitely be sore on him in the morning.

And she was okay with that.