V is for Virgin (18 page)

I was on a date with Isaac Warren! I was so nervous I could hardly keep myself from shaking. After the server brought us breadsticks and took our drink orders I immersed myself in my menu—it was easier than looking across the table at Isaac.

After a sneak peek his direction, I realized he hadn’t even opened his menu. He saw my curious expression and smiled. “I always judge an Italian place based on its lasagna,” he said. “If it’s better than my Aunt Ani’s I know I’ve found a winner.”

This comment was so cute it made me laugh, and, just like that, the tension was broken between us. “How many times has that happened?” I asked him.

“Never,” he admitted. “My Aunt Ani makes the best lasagna in the world. She owns a restaurant up in Sacramento. I go up there for the summers and help out.” He laughed at a memory and shook his head. “She always makes me wait tables and sticks my cousin Paul in the back washing dishes because he always tries to hit on the customers.”

The conversation rolled casually throughout dinner as Isaac asked me all kinds of questions and told me stories about all the pranks he played on his hopeless cousin Paul growing up. By the time we’d finished our dinner I felt like I’d known Isaac all my life.

“So what’s the verdict?” I asked when he was done with his lasagna. “Can it compete with Aunt Ani’s?”

Isaac stared down at the empty plate with that same searching look he sometimes gives me, then smiled. “No. But it was still good. How was yours?”

I’d had the rigatoni. “Excellent,” I said truthfully. “I ate way too much.”

Just as I’d confessed my overindulgence, the server returned and asked if we’d like any dessert. “Oh,” I said, reaching for my full stomach. “I don’t think I could—”

“Come on, Val,” Isaac interrupted. “Where’s your sense of adventure? This is supposed to be a celebration after all.”

I suppressed a groan. “Fine, I’ll share one, but you have to eat most of it.”

Isaac laughed. “Deal.”

When our waitress returned with one tiramisu and two forks Isaac pushed it towards me. “Ladies first.”

As I took a bite he finally brought the conversation back to today’s events. “Congratulations on the jewelry line, Val. That’s really cool.”

I pushed the dessert back towards him and he picked up his fork. “Thanks,” I said, trying my hardest not to blush. “It is pretty amazing. I was so surprised when those guys wanted a meeting. I still can’t believe they accepted my proposal. Actually, I can’t believe any of it has happened—the campaign, the website, the news interviews….”

“The song?” Isaac teased. “Don’t forget the song.”

“Ha! Trust me, I haven’t forgotten about the song.”

“I kind of like it. It’s catchy.”

When I looked up, Isaac was fighting a smile—still teasing me. I rolled my eyes and decided not to get into that conversation. Instead I said, “And then there’s this whole spokesperson thing. It’s all crazy.”

“Yeah, it’s great.”

“Great?” I shook my head, incredulous. “I can’t believe they want
me
to be the face of their whole foundation.”

“I can.”

Isaac wasn’t smiling anymore. He was staring at me, one hundred percent serious, and had that intensity back in his eyes. I reached for my ice water and started gulping.

“There’s something about you, Val. You’re a born leader. I think it’s that whole no-fear attitude.”

“No fear?” Was he serious?

“When you stood up on the table in the lunchroom?” He laughed again. “You were fierce.”

“That,” I argued, trying not to laugh myself, “was a moment of temporary insanity. After everything with Zach, I’d been pushed right to the edge.”

“But you didn’t jump. You fought your way back through the crowd to higher ground. You forced people to see it your way—to respect you. You practically started a revolution.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m choosing to stay a virgin until I’m married. I’m a real rebel.”

We had a good laugh over that, but once we were back in the car and on our way home, Isaac sobered up. “You told me that there are certain people in the world who can make anything look cool.”

“Are you really going to argue that?” I asked. “Need I remind you that you talked Devon and Lacy into doing the abstinence challenge?”

Isaac smiled, but didn’t lose his focus. “No, I’m sure it’s true, but making things cool is one thing. You’re the kind of person who can make things important.”

The compliment made me speechless. We sat in silence for a minute, and I’m pretty sure that was intentional on Isaac’s part. I think he wanted what he said to sink in before he continued talking.

“I think you should do it,” he finally said. “Be the face of the Not Everybody’s Doing It Foundation. People like you. They listen to you. You could really make a difference.”

Again, I was swept up in silence, overwhelmed by his words. Did Isaac really think so highly of me?

I glanced at the manila envelope on the dash and tried to picture my face on the pamphlets. I tried to imagine myself going from school to school telling kids about my choice—telling them about my birth mother and what can happen if you don’t think about what you’re doing. Part of me wanted to do it, but part of me was terrified just thinking about it.

“I don’t know if I can,” I admitted. “The jewelry at the festival, in front of our own classmates was one thing, but this is different. Being in the spotlight like that? Being a role model? That’s more than a little scary.”

“Valerie, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about you over the last month, it’s that you don’t lack courage. That’s why I like you so much. Seeing what you’re going through makes me want to not be afraid of being myself.”

I glanced up and was shocked to see a tiny hint of pink on Isaac’s cheeks. He shrugged and then forced himself to say, “When I’m around you, I feel like I can do that.”

That was the most sincere compliment anyone had ever given me, I was more stunned than flattered at the moment. “You’re
Isaac Warren
,” I said when I could speak. “The most popular guy in the entire senior class. If we looked up the word ‘cool’ on Wikipedia I’d bet we’d find a picture of you. Your name is scribbled on the notebook of just about every girl in school with little hearts around it. How could
you
be afraid of being yourself?”

“Val.” Isaac said in a tone of voice that suggested I was being ludicrous. “I’m an eighteen-year-old male virgin who goes to church every Sunday, and won’t even watch R rated movies. I’m not exactly the life of the party.”

“But…”

“You think I quote scripture around just anybody? If I did that at the lunch table, my friends would laugh me right out of school. But it’s different with you.
You’re
different.” Isaac glanced at the envelope in the dash. “You should do it.”

Isaac gave me a lot to think about. All his compliments were deeper than just trying to be nice. He was trying to get me to see the situation and myself in a way I hadn’t before. I didn’t know what to make of it. Any of it.

I didn’t even know what I thought about Isaac. He was so intense. I knew he meant all the things he’d said, but I didn’t know if I was the person he seemed to think I was. I didn’t know if I could be.

I was pretty quiet most of the way home and Isaac seemed to understand that I needed a little space. I needed time to process it all. But after about twenty minutes of silence I could feel him glance sideways every now and then. “I’m sorry,” I said with a sigh. “I’m not being the most exciting company right now. It’s just a lot to think about.”

“It’s okay,” Isaac said. “I’m glad that you’re taking it so seriously. It’s a big decision.”

I sighed again. “I don’t know what to do. I know you said I should, and it’s probably the right thing to do, but I don’t know if I can. It’s a lot of pressure.” I hesitated a minute and then admitted, “It’s kind of scary.”

To my surprise Isaac said, “I know exactly how you feel.”

“You do?”

Isaac locked his gaze on the freeway ahead of him, “My parents want me to go on a mission.”

“A mission?” I asked confused.

“For my church,” Isaac explained. “Be a missionary.”

“You mean those guys who knock on your door wearing suits and nametags and hand out bibles and stuff?”

Isaac chuckled. “Exactly.”

“Okay, I’m glad I’m not you.
That
is scary.”

“Very scary,” Isaac agreed. “And just like you, I know it would be the right thing, but I’m not sure I want to do it. That’s why I like your V is for Virgin campaign so much. It’s not about having sex. It’s about making choices for yourself.

“My whole life my parents have been talking about me going on a mission. My dad went. My grandpa went. My big brother went. Even my oldest sister went. Everyone expects me to go too, but nobody’s ever asked me if I want to. Maybe I do, I don’t know. But if I do go I want it to be because
I
want to. Not because my parents want me to, or because I’m afraid of what people will say if I don’t.”

And I thought I had pressure to deal with. I had no idea what to say to that, and ended up letting out a heavy sigh.

“Sorry,” Isaac said. “I didn’t mean to unload on you like that. It’s just, it’s nice to have someone who understands.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It is nice. Thanks.”

Isaac glanced my way again and then picked up my hand off my lap and gave it a squeeze. When he didn’t let go I willed myself not to tremble. I was holding hands with Isaac Warren!

When we got to my house Isaac walked me to my door but didn’t attempt to kiss, or even hug me goodnight. “It was really nice getting to know you better, Val,” he said, giving my hand another squeeze before stepping away from me. “If I didn’t completely freak you out tonight, we should go out again sometime.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded. “Thanks again, Isaac. For the ride, dinner, listening… all of it.”

He smiled, a light, simple smile. “Goodnight, Val. See you at school tomorrow.”

Isaac Warren had me going crazy, and it had nothing to do with whether or not I liked him. I couldn’t get over the things he’d said about me being a good role model. I’d read through all the information the Not Everybody’s Doing It people gave me while I was busy not sleeping last night, and I still wasn’t any closer to making a decision.

Since I was already awake I decided to head over to the school early. She stopped in the computer lab to see if any of the abstinence challenge responses would help me figure anything out. They’ve always seemed to help before, and even if they didn’t, well, at least they were always entertaining. Today’s were a bit startling though.

OscarTheAbstinentGrouch
: Abstinence blows.

Devil_in_desguise
: I thought the point was that it doesn’t blow LOL.

TheNewJamesDean
: No, that’s his girlfriend! You people are all lame.

No-Sex-Nate
: That’s right. No Sex Nate. That’s what the guys are calling me at school now. Thanks a lot, Virgin Val.

No-Sex-Kitten
: Aw, but you’re taking it like a champ, baby! Thanks for doing this with me. I love you!

No-Sex-Nate
: Love you too, KittyKat!

Beachbum57
: This was our first weekend trying the abstinence challenge. It was harder than I thought it’d be. Not that we do it all the time, but we had my house to ourselves Friday night and almost didn’t make it. We ended up playing Monopoly. We actually had a lot of fun, but my BF is a cheater LOL.

BarbieNKen
: We lasted 4 days. Abstinence FAIL haha. I guess there’s no questioning that we were ready for sex.

OscarTheAbstinentGrouch
: Lucky you. I haven’t had sex in 11 days!!! If I get a permanent case of blue balls I’m going to sue.