Britt drummed her fingers on the table as she picked at her salad. In a way, she wished she hadn't agreed to the pact. For one thing, as far as she was concerned, she wasn't a virgin anymore anyway. She'd dated Lorelai Snow for three steamy weeks last winter and they'd barely kept their tongues out of each other's pussies. True, she'd never had sex with a guy, nor had she touched or even seen a naked penis. But technically—TECHNICALLY—she'd had sex and therefore wasn't a virgin.
So why had she agreed to the pact? Curiosity, she supposed. So what if nine out of every ten people she was attracted to happened to be a woman? The complicating factor, she thought as she scraped her plate clean, was that Allison had gone and changed the rules on them. Allison had insisted that they not just have sex with a guy, but that it be an older man, preferably older than 25. Worse, the other girls had agreed without even a thought. Britt figured she probably could have weaseled out, but on the other hand, she didn't want to miss out. She hated it when her three best friends had already experienced something she hadn't.
Problem was, she didn't actually know any older guys. She hadn't planned to get a summer job so she couldn't fish in any of those pools. And, unlike Allison, all of Britt's neighbors were either really old or women. She supposed that she could try to track down one of her high school teachers. Now that she had graduated, she would be fair game.
She was still turning the idea over in her head when she heard a loud, rumbly engine outside. A very familiar engine.
Britt had flung the front door open before he even had a chance to knock, and he had only a moment to brace himself before she jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.
"Uncle Owen!"
"Hey, kiddo! I thought I told you to cut it out with the Uncle stuff. It makes me feel old!" he teased.
"If I can't call you Uncle then you can't call me kiddo," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Don't act like a kid if you don't want to be treated like a kid," he said, and dug his fingertips into her sides to tickle her. She shrieked and wriggled in his arms until he dropped her back onto her feet. Then she hugged him tightly again, burying her face in his shirt. He smelled so nice, his cologne that same comforting scent he'd always worn.
Owen wasn't really her uncle, but he'd grown up on the same block as her dad and they had become lifelong friends. He was always around when she was growing up, until he'd moved away when she was about thirteen. She had missed him so much. Not just him, with the way that he treated her like she was important to him, and his sense of humor, and the endless snuggles, but everything was better when he was around. Her parents argued a lot, but when he was there they stopped, just like magic.
And right now, she would have him all to herself. The thought sent a pulse of excitement through her.
"I didn't know you were coming," she said, pulling out of his arms and bringing his suitcase inside.
"I didn't know I was coming until yesterday. Business has been good, but I've been working too much. So I decided to take a vacation, surprise my favorite family. Come up here and spend some time with my best girl," he said with a wink.
"Well, you're going to be spending all your time with your best girl, because my parents are on vacation, too." Britt shrugged, setting his suitcase down in the living room. "They decided to take a second honeymoon or some shit, which is dumb because they're going to fight just as much when they come home as they did before they left, but whatever. At least I get the house to myself."
Owen's smile faded. "Oh. Hmm. I guess I should have called."
Her heart sank. "Do you not want to hang out with me?"
He pulled her into another hug. "Hey, of course I do. I just didn't want to get in the way of you having the house to yourself. I know how nice that can be, especially for someone your age. So, if you wanted to be alone, I completely respect that."
"No, I... this is better," she insisted. It was true, she would have liked to have a couple more days of solitude. But she'd never spent much time with Owen alone, and it would be more fun with him around anyway. "I haven't seen you in like, has it been two years or something?"
"Yeah, something like that. It's a crime! I don't even live that far away. It's just... it's hard to get away, you know?"
Britt shrugged again. "So you'll stay?"
"If you're sure you want me to, absolutely. We'll have a great time together, just you and me."
Just you and me, she thought with a smile.
"Since my parents aren't here, I guess you could sleep in their room if you wanted to."
Owen wrinkled his nose. "Nah, I think that would be weird. I'll just hang on the pullout as usual. Listen, why don't I take you out to dinner tonight? Just you and me, I don't think we've ever done that."
"I would love that! Do we get to go in your car?"
"Of course."
Britt did a little hip-shimmying dance. Owen had the sweetest car: a vintage Porsche convertible with the original deep purple paint. Usually when he came to visit they went in her parents' SUV so they would all fit comfortably, but she'd always try to wheedle at least one ride out of him.
They played video games most of the afternoon, and Britt whooped Owen's butt at Mario Kart.