Perfect Temptation (The Sexy Series #1) (2 page)

I sulked in the passenger seat. I always became slightly uncomfortable whenever the subject of sex came up during my friends’ conversations. Yes, Jake was undeniably hot, and of course she was right, I did want to eat Jake’s face while in physics class, but I never was outspoken about my feelings towards boys. I kept my mouth shut and I wasn’t going to start being boy crazy a few weeks before becoming a nun.

We arrived at Chrissy’s house. It was a wild party. There were red cups strewn about the front lawn. There was a couch on the sidewalk that a couple was using for their make out session. We heard the music thumping as soon as we got out of the car. The neighbors must have had sound proof walls and windows, because the party was still raging undisturbed. Gloria gave me a cheeky smile as we walked up the walkway to the front door. I shook my head, giving her a look of disapproval.

“
Come on Jess,” Gloria said, as she reached out her right hand at me. I hesitantly grabbed her hand and followed her into the house.

“
Hey guys, come on in,” Chrissy greeted us as we walked into the packed house of revelers. She was wearing a tight, yellow mini skirt with a short, white cotton tee that exposed her midriff. I hated to admit it, but her legs were so long, and beautifully shaped. I could see why Chrissy, and her precocious red curls, were in such high demand from all the boys at school.

Brandon, who was Chrissy’s boyfriend at the time, came up behind her and started pecking at her neck. This guy was a stud too. He was dark skinned, which helped further define and outline his toned arms, and looked awesome in a pair of tight, weathered jeans. Brandon happened to be the star wide receiver at our school, and Chrissy squirmed as soon as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I have some margaritas, you want some?” asked Chrissy.

I gave Gloria a quick
coup d’oeil
and shook my head. Gloria gave me a playful punch on my shoulder and turned to Chrissy and said, “Sure, lead the way.”

As we walked to the kitchen, I realized Gloria was right: every guy at the party was checking me out with intense predatory stares. I felt a strange dichotomous sensation—one of severe vulnerability and a bizarre, awkward confidence. Most of the guys at the party all focused on me and not on Gloria, not on Chrissy; all eyes lasered at me. I instantly regretted my choice of outfit. I lowered my eyes to the ground as I followed the girls; purposely avoiding eye contact.

The kitchen in Chrissy’s house was an expansive one, just like the rest of her home. It had expensive black counter tops and high-end chrome appliances. Her father was a lawyer and her mother owned and operated a designer blouse boutique. They both had gone on a vacation to Belize and left Chrissy alone, oblivious to her sinful ways.

“
Here you go,” Chrissy said, as she handed a Jose Cuervo branded margarita glass to Gloria, filled to the brim with the lime-tequila mix.

“
Jess?” she asked. The strawberry margarita Chrissy had at the end of her outstretched arm was staring me right in the face. I shook my head and put my hands up.

“
Jess? Come on, seriously,” Gloria said, in a dry, caustic tone.

I subtly tugged on Gloria’s blouse as we briefly turned our backs at Chrissy and Brandon. “I told you I wasn’t going to drink and frankly, neither should you,” I said, whispering softly.

“Jess, this is probably the last party we’re going to attend before we all go our separate ways. For once, just let loose and have fun on my terms...please?” Gloria pleaded.

Gloria was very persuasive. She was right; she had always done things on my terms. She always remained my friend despite my constant wariness whenever she’d invite me to a party or ask me to go out with a group of friends, which sometimes included a guy or two. I eventually relented, “One drink, okay?”

“Chrissy, she’ll take one,” Gloria said, sticking her index finger up in the air with gusto.

“
Here you go, there shouldn’t be too much Patron in this one,” Chrissy remarked.

I reluctantly took the margarita glass from Chrissy’s hand. Everyone looked at me with delightful anticipation, as they waited on me, the good girl, the future nun, to take her first sip of alcohol. Brandon stoically grinned as he held Chrissy by her hips. Gloria’s eyebrows were raised as high as they would go and she egged me on, “Just do it...come on!”

“Fine,” I said, slowly placing the salted edge of the glass on my lips. The strawberry concoction entered my mouth, I instantly smelled the pungent, sweet smell of the Patron enter my nostrils, but was immediately overtaken by the sugary, fun, candy-like taste of strawberry margarita mix as it entered my mouth. I gave the group, who displayed elated expressions, a slight nod. “Not bad,” I said. “ I can’t even taste the alcohol.”

“
See, that wasn’t so bad,” Gloria said.

“
Wooooo!” Chrissy yelled, pumping her fist in the air. “Let’s go to the back yard, I want you guys to meet some peeps,” she excitedly said.

I gave the group a playful shrug and said, “sure.”

For the first time in my life I was disobeying the voice in my head that always led me down the path of purity. I wasn’t going to lie, I kind of liked it.

Chapter Three

There
was Jake, standing by the pool with a couple of his buddies. His deep blue eyes, immaculate smile, and perfect jaw line on full display like a proud, colorful peacock. He was about 6’2’’ and wonderfully built. Not overtly buffed out, but slender and strong, kinda like an Olympic swimmer at the height of his physique. His hair was perfectly styled—short, kind of spiky, but preppy at the same time. It was to be expected, his mother was, after all, a professional hair stylist.

There was something rough about Jake though. I knew that he’d get in trouble at school every now and then by being kind of a wise ass, but never breaking the playful barrier. A few detentions here or there but never a suspension. According to Gloria, he lived with his mother. His father left the family when he was four. I lost my father and went out of my way to act on the straight and narrow; Jake, apparently, went the other direction. But it was kind of nice knowing we had something in common.

“You know Jake, right?” asked Chrissy, as she led us to Jake and his buddies, who were all holding Bud Lights by the pool. Tad and Steve were always attached to Jake. Tad was a little bit on the heavy side, he had a cute face and was known as the school clown, he was extremely funny. Steve was African American and was as fit and handsome as Jake. He had a bit of a reputation around the school as a player and a bit of a playful perv, always the first to play up the sex angle in every conversation. He probably gets away with it because he’s so damn good looking.

“
We’ve met,” said Gloria, smiling coyly.

“
Physics class, right?” Jake asked. I noticed him quickly glancing at my chest with his blissful, blue eyes.

“
Well, the good news tonight is that Jake got a full-ride wrestling scholarship to the University of Iowa,” Chrissy slurred proudly.

“
Congratulations,” I said.

“
Thanks,” he said, with a slight blush.

“
You girls like the margaritas?” asked Tad.

“
Yeah, they’re great—you made them?” asked Gloria.

“
Yes I did. They better be good, my family’s last name
is
Cuervo.”

“
Is it really?” I asked.

“
No,” Tad answered, as the rest of the group chuckled out loud.

Great, now I felt like such a dunce falling for Tad’s dry sense of humor. They probably thought I was socially inept, or worst, someone who was completely out of their element.

“Just teasing ya,” said Tad. “You want another?”

Without even realizing it, I had finished my margarita 10 minutes into our conversation. Other than the ceremonial sip of wine I had during mass every Sunday, this was my first time ingesting alcohol. I was expecting to feel a slight buzz, but I didn’t have one at all. In fact, I just felt real relaxed. No anxiety, just going with the flow of conversation.

“Sure, why not,” I said.

“
I’ll be right back with another,” Tad said enthusiastically. It was cute seeing him proud of his margarita making abilities.

“
So, what are you going to be doing next year?” asked Jake.

I clammed up a little, his question had an inflection of sincere inquiry rather than one of conversational casualness.

“You don’t really want to know,” I said.

“
Sure I do.”

“
Umm...”

“
Come on,” he said with a smile. “Spill the beans.”

I paused, took a deep breath, and said with my eyes closed, “I’m going to be a nun.”

Everyone around the pool stopped talking. Gloria clenched her teeth and grimaced.

“
Wow,” Jake said.

I instantly felt uncomfortable.

“I didn’t know girls still became nuns,” Chrissy said, her eyes half closed and glazed.

Steve giggled as he held his hand over his mouth. “You are going to be the hottest nun of all time!” he added.

“I don’t disagree with Steve, but hey, if that’s what you want to do, and that’s what you’re passionate about, then more power to you,” added Jake.

“
Umm...thanks?” I said.

Well that was nice. I guess the consensus was that I was hot, but the feeling of euphoria of finding out you are desirable was offset by the fact that everyone thinks becoming a nun is a ridiculous concept.

Tad came back from the kitchen with a couple of margaritas in his hands. He gave one to Gloria and one to me. I didn’t feel too buzzed, I felt perfectly capable of drinking another margarita and snatched the drink from Tad’s hand, with confidence.

“
What did I miss,” Tad asked.

“
Jess is going to be a nun,” Chrissy slurred.

“
Holy Shit, really?” Tad said loudly. “You, a nun? You’re going to single-handedly cure the Catholic church’s
pedo
problem.”

“
Tad!” Jake reprimanded.

“
What? I mean...look at her,” Tad said, pointing at me.

“
This is something I always wanted to do. I know it’s hard for people to understand--”

“
Sweetie, if you want to be a nun that is between you and God and your vagina,” Chrissy said, as she stumbled, almost falling into the pool. Brandon managed to catch her by the arm.

The party, surprisingly, continued into the wee hours of the night without the police knocking on the door telling everyone to go home. The music was still pumping loud and clear throughout the neighborhood. Gloria mentioned to me that Chrissy’s dad was a well respected corporate lawyer and at least half the block were his clients, which was a possible explanation why they tolerated the loud music from the party.

I was getting comfortable in my own skin as the night continued. I was on my fourth margarita when I started touching Jake on the shoulder and arm as we talked about everything from our physics teacher, Mr. Jackson, and how he smelled like ginger snaps every morning to talking about our families and how similar their dynamics were to one another. It was safe to say that we were bonding somewhat. I didn’t mind touching his arms as we talked. They were solid as a rock, and I could feel his biceps protruding every time he lifted his arm as he expressed himself in conversation. Jake had the perfect body and he knew it.

Chrissy was extremely drunk and out of her mind. She abruptly suggested a change of pace by asking, “Who wants to go to my parents’ kick-ass hot tub upstairs?”

Steve, unsurprisingly, chimed in first, “Oh boy! I’m game.”

“
Sure, sounds fun,” added Jake.

“
I don’t have my swimsuit, can I borrow one of yours?” Gloria asked Chrissy.

“
Fuck swimsuits! Plus, I don’t have any extras. Can you guys fit in size 38 swim trunks? My dad’s a fat ass,” responded Chrissy.

I whispered to Gloria who was standing next to me, “Is she suggesting we go in naked?”

“I don’t think so,” Gloria responded, conspicuously. “Bra and underwear is fine,” Gloria said out loud.

“
Booo!” yelled Steve. “I’m going in in my birthday suit, screw you guys.”

“
Steve, shut up,” said Jake.

I let out a deep sigh. Even though I was buzzed, I still had a semblance of common sense. Despite my inebriated state, I was still focused and wasn’t going to get out of control any time soon. I was having fun so I didn’t put up any resistance, but I wasn’t going to go buck wild. Just good-natured chatter with Jake in the hot tub.

“Should we wake up Tad?” asked Brandon, who pointed at Tad, who was snoring on the bench next to the diving board.

“
Nah, I don’t want his chubby mess in the jacuzzi,” said Chrissy.