I was still on the phone with Lea when my doorbell rang. Once I opened the front door, Eric came into view, standing in the hall in his yellow shirt and worn-out jeans. His blond hair was unkempt, and his grey-blue eyes twinkled behind a pair of frameless glasses. The boy smiled at me sheepishly.

"Who is coming?" Lea asked.

"Eric." I beckoned him to come inside. "Gotta hang up now."

"Okay. I want to hear everything later."

"Bye, Lee," I deadpanned and hung up.

I texted Eric an hour ago, asking if he was still down to hang out at my place tonight. Aside from my curiosity about how Dean found out about us, I could use his company for the evening. The morning fight with Dean was still too loud, echoing in my head.

Once he stepped inside, I closed the door and headed to the kitchen. "Make yourself comfortable. What do you want to drink?"

"Anything cold will do," he replied, roaming his gaze over my living room. "It's a nice place. Compact but homey."

"Thanks, but messy and cramped would describe this place more accurately."

Eric laughed. "Wait until you see my place. You will change your definition of messy. And look, you still have the luxury of having a dinner table."

I joined him on the couch with two cans of Coke in my hand. He took one and cracked it open before taking a few big gulps. He stopped and flinched from the soda burst.

"Was it Lea on the phone?"

"Yep."

"How did she find her new place?"

"She is ecstatic. She has a cool apartment, and tomorrow her boss will send a company car for her to use. Looks like her company is taking care of her well."

"Good for her."

"Yeah, she deserves it."

We sat there quietly for a few minutes, holding our drinks, our eyes fixed on the TV screen, which showed ads on household appliances.

"I think I screwed up. I told the boys about us going to the funfair," Eric blurted. "Dean got pissed and accused me of playing a game with you."

"Tell me about it. He warned me about it too this morning."

"I get where he came from." He sighed. "I mean, I've been dating girls. Nothing serious, obviously. I'm not like him, you know. But it doesn't mean I'm playing our old game. Not anymore."

I glanced sideways to look at him. "What old game did you guys play?"

Eric leaned back to the couch headrest and slid lower, causing his legs to look painfully long in this position. "We did nasty stuff back in high school. We scored girls and used them as competition. Whoever got the top score by sleeping with as many girls as possible, especially the ones with good scores, won and was entitled to a gift we'd decided on when we started the bet. That was fucked up, I know. We stopped doing it during senior year, though, because we needed to focus on studying. I believe Dean started seeing Susie around that time." He turned his head to me. "But I don't do that shit anymore."

"Okay." I pulled my legs up and hugged them against my chest. "I told Dean we're hooking up for the summer."

"You did?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. And he went ballistic."

"Damn," he mumbled.

Our eyes were back on the TV screen. A girl screamed in a high pitch before running away from her attacker into the darkness. How smart.

"But Dean won't get mad at you for long."

"I don't care. I'm pissed too."

"Shit." He brushed his hair backward. "I'm sorry, Jenny."

"It's not your fault. Dean is just being a dick this time."

Flinching, he sat upright and put his can on the table. He then opened his arms. "Want a hug?"

I stared at his arms, debating if I should have a second thought about our arrangement. Dean's words and Eric's explanation messed up my head a bit.

"I swear it's just a friendly hug. Lea would have done this if she were here, no?"

That did it. I scooted over and snuggled up against him. It was nice, and I needed it. An involuntary sigh left my mouth. "Are you guys still on that bro-code thing, by the way?"

"Not that I know." Eric's voice vibrated through his chest. "We never really agreed on how long it would be. Basically, it was for the game we were playing back then. But for Dean, it seems to be a permanent thing."

"That's crazy," I scoffed, getting more relaxed every minute.

"When has Dean not acted crazy? Especially when you're involved."

"Hmm."

"You know, he cares about you, right? Sometimes, he just doesn't know how to handle his shit."

"Sssshhh."

I closed my eyes as I pressed my forehead into the crook of his neck, listening to my breathing and his heartbeat that had turned into a lullaby. The sound from the TV was muffled in the background.

***

We ended up sleeping together that night, and oh boy, was it embarrassing because I was totally out of practice. It took ninety hours for me just to get it on.

Okay, I was exaggerating, but that was the idea.

I did have my 'me' time occasionally with Emilio, my beloved vibrator, but still, it wasn't enough. It didn't give me the warmth of skin-to-skin contact or the ultimate sensation of taking and giving during sex. My sex skills had been dropping below zero, buried under back-to-back classes and assignments. After a long, fuck-less life, getting used to a real penis again was quite a challenge, as if I was a virgin again. Luckily, Eric didn't see it as an issue.

We'd been seeing each other for weeks now. Because of my schedule, we met up mostly after work. It was nothing romantic. We would grab food, drive to my place, and go straight to the business. He never spent the night since I never let him. It was clear from the start that we didn't look for a serious attachment. I just wanted his dick. Period.

In the blink of an eye, the last week of Eric's stay had arrived. It was Sunday, and we spent a lazy afternoon at my place. The weather had been shitty for days; a very good reason to stay in and be useless. We sprawled on the couch watching children's cartoons while nibbling on chocolate cookies. I slouched with my back against a pile of throw pillows as Eric lay down with his head on my lap. Since his torso was long enough to take up the rest of the space on my couch, he slung his legs over the armrest, with his feet dangling down.

"I don't feel like going to work today," I whined.

"Why don't you call in sick?"

The idea is tempting, but the sweet voice in me reminded me it was not a noble thing to do. But again, I'd been the trophy employee at Gwen's bookstore. I never missed a shift, and I was almost always available when someone needed a backup. I earned some slacks. "I can do that."

"Awesome. I'm too lazy to move my ass. Don't wanna go home yet." Eric yawned. "What time is your new roommate coming?"

"I'm not sure, she said sometime before dinner, if her brother is awake by then," I replied, playing with his hair that had gotten pretty long. "You need a haircut."

"I know. What's her name again?"

"Nadine. She takes the same major as I do."

"Nadine. Sounds familiar. Does she know Dean? "

"They kinda fooled around during the time Dean and Susie broke up. Dean must have mentioned her name," I explained while French-braiding his bangs.

"Yeah, maybe. What are you doing?"

"Giving you a hairdo. I'll do your eyes after this. They're beautiful. Sometimes they look almost electric blue. Why don't you wear a contact lens? Glasses hide your eyes."

"Nah, contact lenses suck. I find wearing glasses more practical. Besides, I look cute and smart with glasses on. Girls like smart-ass guys."

I raised my brows. "Do they?"

"I think so. You're a girl. You tell me."

"How do you know I'm a girl?"

"The last time I checked, you still were." He glanced up at me, smirking. "Should I check again?"

Who would have said no for sex on a lazy Sunday afternoon? "Hmm, it might be a good idea."

In one swift movement, Eric propped himself up and pulled me down so that I lay flat on my back. His torso hovered over me. He quickly took off his glasses and laid them on the coffee table.

"Let's see what you've got," he said, slowly slipping his hands under my shirt, caressing the skin on my abdomen in a circular motion. Gently, he pushed my shirt up, exposing my cotton white bra. His eyes dilated as his hands cupped my swells and massaged them. "Thank god they're still here," he mumbled, making me chuckle.

"So, it's official. I'm still a girl."

"Nuh-uh, how do I know if these aren't fake?" Eric's hands snaked under my back to unhook my bra. Once my boobs sprung free, Eric didn't waste his time.

I moaned as his mouth made contact with my nipple. His fingers flicked and pinched my other pink nub, urging me to arch my back. "Easy there. It's also the time of the month. Too sore."

"Oh." He let go of my nipples and trailed kisses up to my neck, to my chin, and he stopped on my mouth. "Let's find something less sore, then," he murmured on my lips as his fingers brushed over my stomach, down to my navel before drawing a line along the band of my shorts. Teasing.

I cackled again. "It tickles!"

"Okay, something less ticklish, then." Eric grinned, slipping his hand inside my panties. His fingers traced down until they found my bud. "There you are." He started rubbing my clit, and I open my legs wider to give him access. His fingers roamed further down to my slit and slid into my opening. He smirked, "Ah, I was right, you're still a girl."

His movement was getting bold, pushing his digits into my pussy, forcing a groan of pleasure out of my mouth. "God." I moaned when his thumb poked on my clit and formed a rhythmical circular motion on the most sensitive part of my body. I felt the warm gush flowing out of my pussy, dampening his palm.

"No, the name is Eric," he replied as he pulled his shirt off over his head.

"Shut up and fuck me," I growled.

We quickly undressed, and I was on my back again without any garments on my skin when I ripped open the foil. He wasn't fast enough, since he was distracted by the view of my naked body. Impatiently, I grabbed the condom and put it on his erect cock.

"Get inside," I ordered.

Eric laughed. "Eager, aren't we?" Within a record time, he positioned himself between my legs.

"Oomph." I groaned as he pushed himself into me.

"Fuck," he grunted at the same time. He stayed still for a few seconds to let us adjust to the sensation before starting to move slowly. As we began picking up the pace, the room was filled with the sound of our heavy breathing, panting, and moaning.

Still relentlessly pumping his dick into me, Eric trailed sloppy kisses along my jawline. "I'm going to cum." He nuzzled under my earlobe and sucked me hard as his thrusts became urgent.

"No. Wait for me, I'm not there yet." I writhed under him, focusing on every pleasure my body could embrace to bring me to my climax.

"Your pussy feels so good, Jennifer. Your wall is so tight gripping my cock," Eric whispered in my ear in a husky voice, helping me to come closer to the finishing line. "Yeah...that's it. I can feel it. Come for me, baby."

I grunted as I met his every thrust, welcoming the building intensity in my core until I found my release. I froze as my body exploded, shattered into pieces. Eric made a guttural sound, ramming into me for a few more seconds before emptying himself into the condom.

Catching our breath, we lay there, satiated.

"That was awesome," Eric mumbled into my breast after he could talk again.

"Hmm." I hummed as my eyes remained closed, thinking how ironic it was. I fucked him to piss off Dean, but then I reached my explosive climax with his dick inside me after he called me Jennifer. I was fucked on so many levels.

"Eric?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you not call me Jennifer?"

It took him several seconds to reply, "Why? Does it bother you?"

I was weighing my answer, but then I decided to pick a clear and honest one. "Yes. Only one person calls me Jennifer. And I want to keep it that way."