The Accidental Virgin (21 page)
Read The Accidental Virgin Online
Authors: Valerie Frankel
He showed himself out.
Looking from Oliver to Charlie, Stacy knew what she had to do. “Oliver,” she said. “Why don’t you wait for me in the bedroom? I need to talk to Charlie alone.”
Oliver stared, dumbfounded. She said, “Right back there,” and pointed. He overcame his surprise and scurried off.
Once he was gone, Charlie said, “How can you pick that kid over me?”
“He’s not a kid,” she said. After kissing Oliver the night before, Stacy had been assured of his manhood. She’d also been impressed by his command of the keyboard. Besides that, Stacy was entranced by the idea of starting fresh with a man who didn’t have too much baggage, or who knew anything about hers. Charlie, on the other hand, knew everything. Not only details like books, movies, favorite food, season, shoe designers. He knew all of Stacy’s secrets and history — and she knew his. Where was the mystery? She wanted to discover someone, and be discovered. To be a virgin in the emotional sense. She could never be new to Charlie. Nor him to her.
She said, “I’m not sure I believe what you said about getting married and having babies.”
He smiled at her. “I’m not sure I believe it myself.”
“If we were meant to be together forever, we shouldn’t make the decision like this.”
“I know, I know,” he said. “Are you really going to let Oliver be your boyfriend?”
“No idea.”
Stranger things have happened,
she thought.
“Lunch Tuesday?” he asked.
“Definitely.”
Stacy gave Charlie a tight hug, and he left. She locked the door behind him, and walked slowly into the bedroom.
Oliver sat on the edge of the bed. She sat next to him and they kissed. Unhurried, but urgent, just as breathless as it’d been the night before. He hooked one arm around her neck, the other around her waist, and held her so tightly, she was practically behind him.
While kissing her ear, he said, “What’s all this revirgin business?”
She briefly explained her situation to him. He listened closely, looking right at her. His eyes were a marvel — the bluest and clearest she’d ever seen. They kissed again. Stacy felt herself rolling down the hill into erotic oblivion. He definitely excited her, powerfully. But could she love Oliver? As he held her, even tighter than before, Stacy had a blinding bolt of insight. It occurred to her that maybe she could. Love him. Someday, in the not-too-distant (or dismal) future.
“Should we get undressed?” asked Oliver. “De-revirginate you?”
Stacy blinked and said, “What’s the rush?”
VALERIE FRANKEL lives in Brooklyn, N. Y., with her two daughters. When not working on fiction, Frankel contributes to many national magazines, including
Mademoiselle, Redbook, Allure, Self
, and
Parenting
. She’s written five novels and co-authored three nonfiction titles, including
The Heartbreak Handbook.
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S
MART VS
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RETTY
Cover design by Christine Van Bree
Cover illustration by Stephanie Power
Copyright
THE ACCIDENTAL VIRGIN
. Copyright © 2003 by Valerie Frankel. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound
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Mobipocket Reader January 2005 eISBN 0-06-077546-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Frankel, Valerie.
The accidental virgin / by Valerie Frankel.— 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-06-093841-2
FIRST EDITION
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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The Accidental Virgin
Valerie Frankel
2003
novel
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eISBN 0-06-077546-7
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Copyright © 2003 by Valerie Frankel
