The Truth About Sex

“Wake your ass up!” Lucy felt a pillow whack against the side of her face and fall to the floor next to her bed. “Lucy, come ON! You’re gonna be late!” She groaned obnoxiously as she flopped onto her side with her back facing the annoyance. This annoyance just happened to be her intolerable, detestable, all around horrible roommate/best friend, Jenna.

“Why do you care?” Lucy huffed into her comforter, surrounding herself with it like a cocoon.

“Because you’ll yell at me if you’re late.”

Lucy laughed just a little because she was right. It was sort of a pact of theirs. As long as Jenna forced Lucy to get up for classes, Lucy let Jenna have the dorm to herself every Thursday night. It worked. After just a few more moments of enjoying the warmth of the sheets, Lucy sat up and glanced over at the girl by her bed. “Well don’t you look nice?” Lucy mumbled, trailing her eyes over the girl.

Jenna was the only girl who could get away with what she wore to classes. Her attire consisted mainly of clothes that Lucy only wished she could pull off. A half shirt splashed with the word “LOVE” right over the chest hung loosely on her torso, and a pair of frayed shorts were pulled tightly over her bottom half. The look was completed with a pair of plain flip-flops and a perfectly rehearsed smile.

“Shut up, bitch,” Jenna laughed, grabbing her phone and checking it once before pushing it into her back pocket. “You’ve got class in an hour, so get up.”

“Where are you off to so early then?” Lucy asked, finally pulling herself out of the refuge of her bed.

Jenna shrugged coyly. “Oh, I don’t know. I may or may not be going to get coffee with Brennan.”

“Brennan? The beard guy?”

“No, the skater guy.”

Lucy nodded once before grabbing her toiletries bag. “Oh, that Brennan. I didn’t think we liked that Brennan. I thought he had a weird looking... you know.”

“His weird looking ‘you know’ turned out not to be a problem, if you catch my drift.”

“That’s disgusting! Even I have higher standards than that,” Lucy laughed. “You said it looked like a link sausage. Were you really able to get past that?” Jenna followed the blonde out, grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste. They walked out from their dorm room and made their way down towards the floor bathrooms.

“Yes, and I called him back,” Jenna replied scandalously, slapping Lucy’s arm. “Maybe you should learn not to judge!”

“It’s sort of hard not to judge when a guy has a link sausage for a-”

“Ooo-kay!” Jenna shoved Lucy towards the bathroom stalls, cutting her off. “I’m gonna brush my teeth and then head out, okay? Just don’t be late. It’s not my problem once you’re out of that bed.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, but continued to the shower stall. The thing about Jenna and Lucy was that they didn’t have the most typical of friendships. Really, when they first met, they hated each other. Long story short, they both slept with the same guy, and ended up at each other’s throats for about a week.

Then they teamed up and got revenge. It was the start of a beautiful- yet slightly offbeat- friendship.

Lucy turned the water on and undressed as it warmed up. Luckily, the showers on that floor heated up faster than the others in that dorm building, so it didn’t take it long until she was able to get in comfortably.

A quick shower was all she was able to take. She was already running late as it was, and she couldn’t risk it even farther by savoring the feel of the hot water. After turning the water off, Lucy wrapped her towel around her body quickly and shuffled to the sink, brushing her teeth. A few minutes later, she was back in her dorm room, dressing.

Lucy chose a pair of shorts and a simple t-shirt for the day; it was a Monday, and she honestly didn’t feel like stressing over an outfit that wasn’t going to even come in handy. Three days into her break from sex, and so far it wasn’t so bad. However, it was only three days in. She wondered if she would still like it three weeks in.


Lucy trudged into her class only five minutes late, a personal best. The teacher hadn’t even come in yet, so she was able to sneak into a seat without being spotted. She slid into a desk behind a blond boy wearing a backwards snapback. “You’re late,” he mumbled, turning around to look at her.

She dropped her bag on the floor beside the desk and laughed, “Um, I’m sorry, but do I even know you?”

“No,” he shrugged. Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Name’s Niall, and I was joking about being late. I mean, you were late, but really, it’s Speech. Who cares?” He turned farther in his seat and raised his arm onto the surface of Lucy’s desk, leaning on it. “You’re Lucy right?”

“And you know that how?”

“Hear-say. But are you Lucy?”

“Why should I tell you?”

Niall paused for a moment, pondering the question. “Dunno,” he finally mumbled, shrugging again. “Just thought it was common courtesy if someone asked.”

Lucy sighed softly and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m Lucy.” Just as she spoke, the teacher strolled through the door and pulled it closed behind him, cueing what was supposed to be the end of all conversation in the room. However, Niall didn’t seem quite bothered.

“Sweet, thought so. You work in the library don’t you? I’ve seen you around.”

“Um, yeah, but I think-” Lucy pointed her pen up towards the front of the class, trying to draw the blond boy’s attention to the teacher.

He continued talking, not paying any attention to what was going on around him. “What do you do down there? Seems like it’d be boring to me. I’d prefer to be playing football. Oh, I mean soccer. I still don’t get why you guys call it soccer. It’s football everywhere else.”

Lucy honestly couldn’t help but smile a tad as the bright-eyed boy rambled on about how he was supposed to practice that afternoon after one of his classes. Niall noticed, which just happened to be at the same time that he stopped talking. “You know,” he said after a long pause, “you’re really pretty. Are you dating anyone?”

“Nope, but I’m not looking to date, either.”

Niall chewed over the information for a moment before nodding. “Oh, well I can respect that. Good for you.”

That was something Lucy hardly ever heard. Usually, the guy would whine about how they were playing hard to get, and sometimes that was the case. But mostly, Lucy just didn’t like the whole dating scene. It was messy and usually ended in disappointment. What was the point?

After class, Lucy stood to grab her belongings. Niall took the opportunity to slide onto her desk, kicking his feet into the seat and sitting on the table top. “So,” he started, reaching up to adjust his hat, “there’s this get together at my place this evening. It’s sort of a back to school thing. I mean, it’s not really huge or anything, but right now it’s just a few guys and it’s going to be this huge sausage fest and I promised I would try to invite some girls but-”

“I’d love to,” Lucy laughed, cutting him off.

“I think they just like to set me up to lose really, but I promised to ask and- Wait, what?”

“I’d love to come.”

Niall shifted on the desk slightly, scratching the back of his neck. “Really? Cause I mean, you don’t have to. It’s going to be boring. But you can invite some friends if you want.”

Lucy nodded and picked her bag up off the floor. “Yeah, what time? And where am I going?”

“Oh, I’ve got a place off campus with a buddy of mine. I think everyone’s going to show up around 7 or so, so anytime around then.” Niall jerked a scrap piece of paper from his notebook and scribbled the address down quickly before handing it to her. “There’ll be some snacks and stuff, probably some drinks. So just bring yourself and a pretty friend, yeah?”

Lucy folded the paper up and stuffed it in her back pocket. “I’ll see what I can scrounge up. Not much to choose from around here.”

“Well if they’re half as pretty as you, I think I can manage.”

“Like I said, I’ll see what I can scrounge up,” she laughed as she turned to walk away.



“But Lucyyyyy,” Jenna groaned, her knees bending a little. “I’ve got a date with Brennan!”

Lucy was perched on the edge of their shared dresser, leaned in towards the mirror to get a closer look at her makeup. “Bring him! I would just really rather not go alone.”

“Why are you even going in the first place then?” Lucy hopped off the dresser and moved over towards the closet to grab a clean shirt.

“I just thought it’d be fun. And this guy seemed really sweet,” she replied, changing her top.

“You, Lucy Moore, are trying to tell me that you thought a guy was sweet? What, was his dick big enough to see the outline through his pants?”

Lucy jerked the bottom of her clean shirt over her belly, glaring at her roommate. “Oh, just shut up.” She moved over to the dresser again to pull out a pair of black skinny jeans. “You know what, don’t come. I don’t care. Go out with Sausage Link.”

A silence fell over the room as Lucy pulled her jeans on and stepped in front of the mirror. She raked a hand through her blonde hair, sneaking a glance at Jenna in the reflection. Their eyes met for just a moment and Jenna sighed, causing Lucy to smile. “Fine. I’ll tell Brennan we’ll go out tomorrow. But you owe me, big time. This dorm better be empty Thursday and Friday.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Lucy squealed, rushing over to the other girl. She threw her arms around her and squeezed tight, but didn’t get a hug in response. Honestly, she hadn’t expected one. Lucy just laughed and pulled away, returning to her reflection in the mirror. “I think it’ll be fun.”

“It better be, or else,” Jenna sighed. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy noticed the hint of a smile playing on Jenna’s lips.

It wasn’t difficult to find the small house just off campus. The address led them to a quaint two story house on the edge of town, and frankly, it didn’t look like a house that two young guys would live in. However, the blond on the front porch told them they were at the right house. When they first pulled into the drive, Niall grinned widely and bounded down the front steps to meet them.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” he said as Lucy got out of passenger’s side of the car. His eyes then snapped over towards Jenna. “And you brought a friend.”

“Niall, this is Jenna, my roommate. Jenna, this is Niall, my classma-”

“Friend. I’m her friend.” Lucy opened her mouth to argue the fact that they had barely spoken enough to even be considered acquaintances, but Niall of course had more to say. “Come on in you two. Michael and Louis are already here, but the rest of the guys are on their way.”

Niall turned to walk towards the house, leaving Lucy and Jenna still standing beside the car. “We sure we want to do this?” Jenna asked, glancing over at her friend. “You barely know this guy.”

Lucy thought about it for just a moment. “I mean, it’s either this or Sausage Link. And this is more than likely going to include free beer.”

“Yeah, okay, free beer wins out.”

“Are you two coming or are you just going to stand there?” Niall called from the porch. The pair stood there for another second before laughing together and walking to the steps. Niall opened the door for them. “Welcome to my palace.” Sweeping an arm in front of them grandly, he ushered them both inside. “Kitchen’s to the left, help yourself. Here’s the living room, where Michael is currently sucking it up on Fifa.” A multi-colored haired boy on the couch flipped Niall off quickly, never tearing his eyes from the television screen. “I think Louis is out in the backyard practicing soccer. And here I am!” Niall threw his arms out at his sides, grinning from ear to ear.

“You’re kidding me,” Jenna mumbled from Lucy’s side. Niall glanced at the girl, his smile faltering for only a second before he was back at it.

“So, like I said, not a big thing. We’re all pretty lame, but once the rest of the guys get here, it won’t be as boring.” Jenna huffed out a laugh, causing Lucy to shoot her a glance. Just then, a loud thump came from the front door. “Oh, excuse me for a second. Ashton and Luke went to get the pizza. I figure that’s them.” Niall excused himself from the two girls, leaving them alone.

“Okay, seriously, this is boring. Tell me again why I came,” Jenna groaned.

“Because you’re my best friend and you love me very, very much.”

“Dammit Ashton, can’t you help out?!” shouted someone from the doorway. They stumbled in, pizza boxes hiding their face. Niall took a few of the boxes from the top of the pile quickly. A tall boy with a lip ring moved farther into the house, almost tripping as he passed by the girls, and placed the remainder of the pizza on the kitchen counter.

A few seconds later, another boy strolled through the door as Niall carried the pizza he had rescued into the kitchen beside the other. A piece of pizza hung lazily from his mouth, and he shut the door behind him. “Sorry,” he laughed, taking the pizza from his mouth. “Had to get the door, you know?”

Niall coughed out a loud laugh. “You’re so full of shit, Ash.” He walked out of the kitchen, his eyes landing on the girls. “I- I mean, you’re full of crap.”

“Alright,” Lucy sighed, walking over to Niall. She threw an arm around his shoulder, which caused him to raise an eyebrow as he glanced at her. “If we’re going to be friends, you’ve got to cut the shit. We’re ladies, not nuns.”

“Nuns would involve celibacy, and no one should have to go through that,” Jenna piped in.

Lucy bit the inside of her lip to keep from cracking up. She wasn’t sure if it was Jenna’s completely untrue statement that threatened to make her burst out laughing, or the slight blush that was creeping onto Niall’s cheeks.

“Well then!” The boy who Lucy could only guess was Ashton clapped his hands together, breaking the awkward silence. “Who wants a beer?”

As time went on, the awkwardness of the whole situation completely dissipated. Lucy found herself chatting happily with the lip ring boy, whose name turned out to be Luke. “So, how do you know Niall?” he asked, lifting his beer bottle to his lips. He took a quick pull from the bottle and leaned his shoulder against the wall.

“Honestly?” Lucy smirked slightly, pressing her back against the wall as she glanced up at him. Luke gave her a nod to continue. “I literally just talked to him for the first time this morning. I’ve seen him around campus but I’ve never spoke to him.”

Luke laughed, “How the hell did he get you here then?”

“No clue, really. He told me I was pretty, asked me if I was looking to date, then said he respected my decision and moved on from it. Then he just rambled.” Lucy took a drink and shrugged. “He’s just got a way with words, I guess.”

Luke shifted slightly closer to Lucy and cleared his throat. “So, uh, you’re not looking to date?”

Lucy looked up towards the boy quickly. He was so tall, she had to crane her neck to be able to get a good look at his face. “Not really,” she answered. “I don’t do the whole ‘dating’ thing.”

“Well that’s a shame.” Lucy had been taking a sip of her beer when he spoke, and she damn near choked on the liquid.

She swallowed hard, trying to play it cool. “And why’s that?”

Slowly, he brought the bottle back to his lips, the corners of them pulled up almost unnoticeably. “Oh, no reason,” Luke shrugged before taking another sip.

Dammit.

Luke was attractive, that much was for sure. Lucy felt that instant connection with him too, but she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. A pretty face and a few sweet words weren’t going to do the trick that easily.

However, alcohol was a different story.

Lucy wasn’t sure who had made the first move. It could have been her when she turned around to throw her third beer bottle away. Or maybe it was Luke as he reached for his fourth.

It didn’t really matter who made the first move after that. All that mattered was the crashing of lips, teeth, and hips, the moan that slipped from her lips as he pushed her back against the kitchen counter, and the slight taste of residual alcohol on their tongues. All that mattered was that it felt damn good to Lucy, and she fleetingly wondered why the hell she ever made the pact in the first place.

Luke’s hands slipped to her waist, which he then grasped so he could hoist her onto the countertop behind her. Once she settled, she wrapped her legs around his waist, securing him to her as close as possible.

“Thought you weren’t the dating type,” Luke exhaled as he worked his way from her lips all across her jaw, down to her neck.

“Mmm, this isn’t dating, now is it?”

A laugh feathered down the soft skin of her neck. “Guess you’re right.” Luke made his way back up to her lips, sucking the bottom one in between his. Lucy let out a small breath and meshed her fingers into the back of his hair where she tugged gently. “How about we go somewhere a bit more private?” His voice was low as he pulled away, searching her face for an answer.

She almost went with him. She almost basically dragged him out of that kitchen and up to the nearest empty bedroom.

But instead, Lucy just had to have a moment of clear thought, which ruined the whole thing. Of course, she would think clearly when she was a bit tipsy and there was a good looking guy almost begging to sleep with her. Her luck.

“I- I can’t,” she finally sighed, reaching a hand up to rub her forehead in frustration.

Luke’s brows creased together in confusion. “What?” He shook his head a bit as he tried to figure out just what went wrong. “Too soon?”

“No, it’s just something stupid. Not you, I promise.” Lucy hopped off the counter, stumbling only slightly once when her feet hit the floor, and started for the doorway. Before Luke could stop her, she had walked out the door. She needed air. She felt slightly panicked as she walked through the living room where the boys- and Jenna, oddly- were all playing some video game. Lucy went completely unnoticed, slipping out the backdoor to the yard.

Once she was out there, she let out an audible groan into the warm, damp Georgia air, letting her head fall backwards. As the last notes of her groan slipped from her throat, the crickets started their music again. There was no such thing as silence in the south.

“Problems?” a voice called from a bit away. Lucy dropped her head back forwards, searching the dark for the source of the sound. A figure started to come into focus as he walked closer to her, a soccer ball under his arm.

“Ah, you must be Louis,” Lucy affirmed with a nod.

He continued to get closer as he replied, “Maybe, who’s asking?”

“Not asking, stating.”

“Okay, so who’s stating, if we’re getting technical about it?” Finally, the boy became visible under the barely-there light of the moon. His hair was sticking to his forehead with a slick sheen of sweat, and the ends of it curled up at the base of his neck. He tilted his head to one side, letting his eyes travel down the girl’s body and back up again. A tiny smile pulled his lips just barely away from his teeth when he met her eyes again. “So you’re Lucy.”

She sighed, shifting her weight from one foot to another. “I take it I’m a bit famous.”

Louis laughed, “Niall mentioned he had a friend coming over. Nothing to worry about.” He dropped the soccer ball to the ground, toying with it a bit with the edge of his shoe. “So, problems?” he repeated.

“Just a stupid deal I made with myself. No big deal.”

“Sure seemed like a big deal the way you rushed out of there.”

“Okay,” Lucy laughed, lacking humor, “no offense, but I don’t really know you, and I’m sorta drunk, so I don’t know if talking about my feelings with you is going to get me much help.”

“Whoa, okay then.” Louis held his hands up and took a step back.

“Sorry,” she sighed, shaking her head. “It’s not your fault.”

Louis simply shrugged as Lucy turned to walk back towards the house. “Hey,” he called out, causing her to turn back around and face him. “You gonna be alright?”

Lucy stayed silent for a moment. It wasn’t that she didn’t know the answer; of course she was going to be okay. The real reason she didn’t reply right away was because of how surprised she was that he had asked that. He had only just met her, and he was checking to make sure she was going to be okay.

“Yeah,” she finally replied, nodding. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Louis gave her a small smile, nodded once, and kicked the ball away towards the other side of the yard.

She contemplated continuing the conversation, but she had already embarrassed herself enough for the night. Instead, she turned around and headed back into the house out of the muggy air.

“YES!” Jenna yelled as she walked in, standing up from the couch and holding her arms above her head. “Beat you again!” Niall tossed the controller down on the table in front of him.

“No fair. You cheated.”

Jenna rolled her eyes. “Sore loser. That’s what you are.” Lucy walked over to the back of the couch behind Jenna, laughing. “Oh, there you are. I wasn’t sure where you had run off to,” Jenna said as she turned around to face her. “You about ready to get out of here.”

Lucy nodded. “Yeah, I believe so.”

“Aw,” Niall whined. “You didn’t get to meet my roommate.”

“Well, if you’ll have us, I’m sure we could pencil in another hang out session soon.” Niall stood up from the couch as Lucy spoke. “Thanks for having us.”

“No problem, really. It was f-”

Before Niall could finish, the front door started to push open. “Oh, there they are now. They were at the radio station for a bit.”

“Well, well,” a voice chuckled from the door. Lucy wanted to make herself as small as possible and remove herself from the situation, but as much as she wished it would happen, it didn’t. Instead, she turned to look at the curly-headed boy walking through the door. He was accompanied by another dark headed boy beside him. “It must be fate, Juliet.”

“Lucy, Jen, this is Harry, my roommate, and my friend Calum.”