Still A Virgin?! by Kobby Ben (classic novels to read txt) 📕

She got to the departure lounge. Stopping to steady her breath, she looked around. No sign of Alberto. She knew if he was there his presence would get- 

She turned around to see a crowd gathered at the far end of the lounge.

"Found him?" Roman asked when he got to her.

"Think I have." Danielle rushed to the crowd.

* * * * *

"Alberto Cavallini are you working on a new movie?"

Movie. There was always the emo among the jocks. The odd one amongst the bunch. Whilst everyone kept pestering about his fiancé, this person threw in his movie. No doubt it was a ploy to get his attention so he brushed it off.

"Where did you meet your fiancée?"

"How did you propose?"

"On facebook." He answered the last question with a tint of humor to his voice, the reporters calmed down now "I sent her a Facebook gift and with it, will you marry me?"

They laughed and he thought his strategy of leaving without them getting an answer at all was going on well, until-

"Alberto."He watched as the crowd paved way to reveal the redhead wearing his t-shirt over her dress "C'mon." he said to himself silently. Didn't she consider her appearance? He frowned noticing a lean guy in security uniform hold her hand. His jealousy got him marching to them in less than a second.

"Thanks." He said coldly to the security guy "I can take it from here."

Roman felt suddenly intimidated knowing her fiancée was the famous movie director. He stepped back and ran off quickly before she could thank him.

"What are you doing here?" he scowled, moving to her side to grab her arms as they walked past the flashing cameras. This time the paparazzi moved away knowing they'd got what they'd wanted.

In minutes they were out in the tarmac where it was hot and noisy with planes taxiing down the runway and others making touch-downs. "Danielle you know I hate public confrontations." He scolded her.

"You left me no option when you left the note on the fridge." She retorted.

"I said I was leaving for Rome." He snapped back.

"Well if you haven't realized movie star," she shouted at him "this is the first trip you are taking without asking me to come with you."

"If I did, like always, you would have refused. And I am tired of giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"I am tired of how eager you want to have sex with me!" she screamed without thinking "Oh my..." her voice trailed in shock realizing what she had said had hurt him. She came to get him back, not drive him away! What happened to all the communication skills she thought she had?

"Forget it." He walked away, heading for his jet's hangar.

"Alberto," she rushed after him "I am sorry."

"Again, you are sorry!" he halted in rage "Danni," he held her by the shoulders "I don't think I can go on with this anymore." He said sincerely.

"You are dumping me?" she said surprisingly "At an airport?" never in her life had she felt like one of those DHL packages.

"If you can't allow me to have sex with you," he enunciated "you really have some issues to sort out before we go on with this marriage thing."

"You are dumping me?"

"I am putting our relationship on hold."

"On hold?" she repeated incredulously.

Who says that?! On hold?!

"I am late." He said checking his watch.

"Don't worry." She nodded as tears stung her eyes "I am already gone." She turned to leave.

Without giving her a last look he spun around heading for his jet.She turned to see him leave and nodded firmly.Maybe it was time to let go, she told herself continuing with her slow walk.

There was no more him, there was no more marriage. And in the end, the virgin never gets the happily -ever-after.

                     (Kelly Clarkson-Already gone)

Danielle got home by dark. She'd spent all her time that afternoon at East Beach.

Sitting on a rock, she'd stared out to sea in her misery.Alberto. She loved him and it was not something she had found out minutes ago. It was something she'd found out hours ago.As usual, Shelly got out of her room when she heard the door.She stared at Danielle who had sunk with her back to the door, her brown eyes staring at something distant.

"He left me." Danielle said softly, realizing Shelly's presence.Shelly shook her head pitifully, watching her for a while. She moved to sit with her on the floor, pulling her head in her lap.

"And I am not going to cry because breakups shouldn't hurt anymore." She paused in thought "How do I look?"

"Miserable." Shelly combed her fingers through her hair "But that's how you are supposed to look."

"I loved him."

"I know you did."

"I don't want to cry." she admitted airily, fighting back the tears, "I don't want to be those women who weep buckets because their fiancés have called off the wedding."

"Then don't." Shelly advised, "I hate those women too..." she paused thoughtfully, "but it's still loss, and it hurts anyway. I guess I cried a little when Tom died."

Tom had been Shelly's husband. He died in a car accident ten years ago, exactly on the date of her fortieth birthday and their eleventh anniversary. Bad huh? You'd think piling up your anniversaries to a day was romantic. It had been tragic for her. Danni had met her a week after in UCSB when she'd been invited by the college for Writing Workshop retreat. Shelly had been her role model and still was. After the inspiring lecture, Danni had practically stalked her to get her address. The next day she visited to find her cleaning out stuff of her husband, her eyes red from prolonged tears. Danni had offered help and informed her she'd listened to her lecture and how she'd been inspired by her as they went through frames, lots of frames and clothes that had lots of memories of Tom. Shelly pretended to be listening but it was obvious with every piece they packed into a box, she felt like snuggling in the couch with it and crying some more. A las' they were done packing, and just when Danni thought that was the end of her encounter made brief by memories of a lost husband, Shelly had said, "Move in with me, I can do with a roomie through these times."

Their relationship had kicked off on a good start, and it had all been girl-time for them. They became best buds going clubbing, shopping and being each other's rock through the tough. She had been the envy of all her course mates, then through graduation. Now, ten years later, their relationship was still strong as the beginning.

"Why didn't you force me to the therapist?" she demanded airily.

"I tried, remember?"

"Well you didn't try harder." She snapped getting out of her lap "Tomorrow I am seeing a shrink." She said firmly "I am 

taking this virginity out."

"I will recommend you one." She stared at her for a while "But 

seriously Danni go do your roots."

"Are they that bad?" she giggled lightly, her eyes glittering instanly "Tomorrow's Monday and I can't make my debut in Newchic looking like this."

They sat in silence for about a minute. Danielle indulging in misery, Shelly wondering who raised her up lying to her virginity had to be preserved till marriage-TO THIRTY!

"Ironic isn't it?" Shelly asked after thought.

"What?"

"An erotic columnist a virgin?" 

 "Please don't start with that. FYI, it's possible I might get fired if anyone finds that out. My boyfriend went, it will be just great to lose my job too." 

 "So you wouldn't take from my purse everytime you need a tampon, trust me to keep that a secret."

Danni cracked up a little, resting her head on Shelly's shoulders and heaving a sigh, "It hurts to be single, again." she uttered sadly.

CHAPTER 4

It was morning and the sun was already out to the fullest, like it always was in S.B.Santa Barbara was far different from New York and all other cities that 'never slept'. In New York, at this time of the year, people should be trudging through thick snow to get to work, in their heavy fur clothing and pricy boots. Whilst in S.B, the majority left early for beaches to avoid the problems of parking and congestion.

For some people like Danielle, they lived the lives of New Yorkers, moving around to work or for work, taking their alarm clocks seriously and staying late to work over-night and getting up early, ignoring musings of an ended relationship.

Now that she had Newchic, Danielle thought, applying her eye-liner, she was going to move from life as a New Yorker to life as a hectic New Yorker. She dropped her liner on her dresser and picked up her rose Maybelline lipgloss. After rubbing her lips against each other to balance the distribution of the lipgloss, she summed up her look.

She had gone casual selecting a black cowl neck sweater dress, a black skinny-legged jeans and matching black flat heeled boots.

Just to note, the choice of clothing had nothing to do with her loss. Just a coincidence she decided to go all black after a breakup.

After minutes of brushing her hair, although it didn't look perfect with all her roots undone, she was good to go, but not without her bag and not forgetting, her purse.

"Hello." Danni greeted entering the kitchen. Shelly's kitchen had no fine line between cottage and modern. With marble counters, broad cooktops, a kitchen island, wall-stove, fine white polyvinyl cabinets and appliances littered everywhere that it was hard to find counterspace, the kitchen prided on elegance and simplicity. The walls had a splash of cream with a horizontal scarlet running through its three sections. The floors were terra-cotta with intricate designs Danni was sure were from countries that paid attention to detail (like Mongolia and Malaysia. Yeah, the ones with the old knitting types who could design handmade that went-insanely-over four hundred bucks-the cost of her purse!). Shelly's garden she spent less time on than she did being a cougar-one-nightstand-tress was the backdrop of the kitchen's glass pane windows with its beautifully pruned hedges splashing an amount of green on the fine cream walls with the help of the invading, persistent sun rays. Despite all the beauty, the woman who was settled on a stool, propped up against her marble counter with a coffee in her hand, was no homerunner.

"Hey." Shelly smiled on seeing Danni in a good mood. She wasn't expecting that after yesterday's break up "You look hot."

Danni shook her head in disagreement pouring herself some coffee "I look Newchic."

"First days," Shelly spoke in reminiscence "Everyone remembers their first time..." she trailed off after her innuendo that was sure to aggravate her listener.

Danni threw her a cold look, leaning against the kitchen counter and sipping her coffee "Good choice of words Shell."

"Sorry." She apologized ironically "You've not had a first time..." she gasped, faking shock.

"Why are you starting with this Shell?" she gripped her coffee mug in annoyance she was sure it would crack if she squeezed a tad bit, but that was all her strength, "I agreed to see the shrink today."

"Great." Shelly smiled "That's what I don't want you to forget." She warned "I don't want you