“We should go to the city!” he exclaimed, as excited as if he had just discovered a cure for cancer. “There’s tons of stuff to do in New York!”
“Dude, nobody wants to drive down to New York,” I said. By ‘nobody’, I meant ‘me’. I was usually the one who drove us everywhere. Not that I minded, but I didn’t want to drive the two hours it would take to get there.
“Come on, it’ll be great!” he said as he started to grab me up off of the couch. “It’s only seven! We could be in the heart of Manhattan by nine-thirty, ten o’clock at the latest! Then we could party all night!”
“Yeah, but where would we go?” asked Callie. “It’s not like any of us have good fake IDs.” Callie had had one, but it was confiscated at a bar in Chapel Hill two weeks into the school year.
“There are plenty of 18+ clubs in New York,” Tony said. “I went to a few when I visited my sister this summer…”
“Dawnnnn…” Joe and I sighed together. Dawn was Tony’s older sister, and she was HOT. Ever since our balls had dropped, we had teased him mercilessly about it. He took a few playful swings at us. Callie and Amanda both rolled their eyes.
“Seriously. I went to this place with her and a bunch of her friends. I think it’s called the Shadow Room, or something like that. It was insane. Lots of good looking people grinding on each other. Plenty of single guys, Callie,” he said as he winked at her. I was loath to admit it, but comments like that always made me a little jealous. “And Don, there are plenty of girls with lower standards that would be wiling to give you a shot, I’m sure.”
Choosing to ignore that sideswipe, I looked around. Joe and Callie seemed genuinely interested. Amanda had a resigned look on her face, as if to say “I don’t really want to, but I’ll go if you drag me there.” Tony looked at me. “Come on Don, it’s up to you.”
I hesitated for a second, then realized that this was probably the last chance we’d have to do something like this before the new year. I sighed, then nodded my head. “Fine, but you can drive.”
“Awesome! Let’s go!” And with that, we went. Little did any of us know that our group would be irrevocably changed by the time we returned early the next morning.
***
We left Joe’s house in Tony’s aging Taurus, with Amanda in the front seat and Callie squeezed between Joe and I in the back. For some reason, I was hyperaware of Callie’s thigh pressing against mine. Every time she shifted in her seat, I tensed up slightly. I kept anticipating her placing her hand on my knee or her head on my shoulder, although I had absolutely no reason to think she would do such a thing.
The drive to the city took a little under three hours, and as we drove, the five of us kept an almost constant stream of chatter. Most of the conversation focused on the separate lives we had led over the past two months. We talked about classes, professors, roommates, and of course, sex.
“So who’s still got their Streak going?” asked Tony at about the time we drove through New Haven. Callie and I raised our hands. Tony looked at us in the rearview, then spun around in surprise. “No more, Joe? Like, no shit?” Joe nodded. “Nice! Details?”
I should explain. When Tony and Amanda first lost their virginity to each other, it was the middle of baseball season, and Tony’s baseball idol was Joe DiMaggio. Tony first told us about him and Amanda by declaring his streak of “seventeen sexless years was over!” We all laughed at him when he explained it at first, but from that point on, we referred to the quest to lose our virginity as “trying to end the streak.”
“So who is she?” asked Amanda. “You’re still single, right?”
“Yeah, this wasn’t with anybody I dated,” Joe responded. “It was this girl from my dorm that I met at one of the honors orientation meetings. I think she was more interested in me that I was in her.”
“But you still slept with her?” Tony asked, incredulous. We all were. This wasn’t like Joe at all.
“Well, I didn’t find out I wasn’t interested in her until after we hooked up. But, yeah, I guess so…” he mumbled, obviously embarrassed at his out of character actions. “It wasn’t like I set out to be a dick.”
We drove along in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Amanda broke the silence.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter, I guess, as long as you both enjoyed it.” She turned around to face Joe. “So, was it good?”
“I don’t know,” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. “It was my first time! How do I know what good is? I don’t have anything to compare it to!”
“Well, did you both get off?” asked Tony.
“Yeah, we both got off,” Joe said a little more calmly. “It wasn’t her first time. She knew exactly what she was doing.”
“That’s all that matters, man,” said Tony sagely.
“How would you know?” Callie said tauntingly. “You’ve only had sex with one person! It’s not like that was anything close to a one-night stand.”
“But it feels good every time.” He glanced over at Amanda. She slapped his arm.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Callie huffed. “I don’t like the idea of losing it to someone I don’t know, or don’t care about.” She was actually starting to get riled up.
“Hey!” said Joe defensively. “It wasn’t my first choice either. It just kinda happened.”
“Well, that’s fine for you, Joe, but I hope my first time isn’t like that,” she responded. She was starting to get snippy.
“Is that why you haven’t done it yet?” Tony challenged her point-blank.
“Yes,” she replied simply.
Tony exploded with laughter. “Oh, Callie the virtuous! I’m heartily sorry for having offended thee!”
“You’re such an asshole Tony,” Callie snapped back at him. “Just because all you care about is getting your rocks off doesn’t mean that’s what everyone cares about.” She sat back in her seat and pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head before crossing her arms over her chest.
“Oh, come on, you know I’m just kidding with you,” Tony replied. She didn’t reply, staring silently at her chest.
We stayed fairly silent for most of the rest of the way through Connecticut, the conversation not resuming until we neared the New York border. Callie remained quiet for the rest of the ride, only talking when addressed directly, and then only in monosyllables.
I was surprised by her reaction to Joe’s story. Sex was something we had never really talked about, considering how little we knew about it. I had had a fairly average dating life throughout high school, and despite repeated attempts to score, hadn’t yet succeeded. The only time I had even been totally naked with a girl, I couldn’t even remember, I had been so drunk. I knew Callie hadn’t really been interested in anybody, and I always assumed that meant she had little interest in sex. Now, however, I wondered. It was something she had obviously thought about, and the way she spoke, she seemed to want to find somebody. I don’t think the others in the car picked up on it, but I had known her longer than any of them, and I could hear the subtle traces of regret in her voice.
We parked the car at New Rochelle and took the MTA the rest of the way in to the city. By this time, Callie had taken off her hood and was talking with us again, although there was a fire in her look I couldn’t quite place. Tony led the four of us to the right subway at Grand Central, and we arrived downtown around 10:30. After fifteen or so minutes of wandering, we found the place Tony was looking for. It was a huge building in the middle of the block, with a neon sign that spelled out “MIDNIGHT LOUNGE” over the entrance. It was so bright, it lit up the sidewalk and the surrounding buildings as if it were day. There was a long line leading to a big bouncer guarding the door, marking some hands with an “x” and affixing wristbands to others. We got in without a problem, the “x” mark on our hands a signal that the bartender couldn’t serve us alcohol.
We crossed the threshold of the door, shedding our sweaters as we went to the coat check-in. The entrance to the club itself was covered by a black curtain, but as people walked through, you could see the bright lights bisecting the darkened room, people melded to each other and moving in time to the deafening thud-thud-thud of the bass. Finally, our coats stored, we walked through the curtain.
“What did I tell you guys about this place?” yelled Tony as we took the scene in. The room was about the size of a gymnasium, and it was packed. The crowd thinned out as one moved further back from the stage the DJ was set up on, but up in front, all we could see was a wildly gyrating mass of bodies. Amanda, energized by the crowd, grabbed Tony’s hand and started working her way into the middle of the dance floor. Tony followed obediently, and they disappeared from view, with only an occasional glimpse of their heads revealing their location. Joe, Callie and I all looked at each other for a moment, wondering what to do. Joe was the first to move. Shrugging his shoulders, he headed towards the large group of dancing bodies, hoping to stay close to Tony and Amanda. However, he was immediately intercepted by a petite dark-haired girl who grabbed his wrist and danced seductively in his direction. Grinning, he started moving with her in the same direction Tony and Amanda had gone. Soon, we lost sight of him, as well.
Callie and I stood there awkwardly for a moment. I wondered if she was even interested in dancing after the argument she had had in the car, but that question was quickly answered as she moved closer to me. Bringing her lips to my ear, she shouted “Fuck it! Let’s dance!” Her early moodiness was gone; she seemed more eager to be here. I nodded, and we belatedly followed the others into the crowd.
***
I had forgotten how much I enjoyed dancing. I was awful at it, but with my friends around, it didn’t seem to matter too much. Tony and Amanda initially stayed close to each other, as did Callie and I. Joe had a constant stream of hot girls coming up to him, so he started out dancing with them. We all traded off time on the dance floor, with the three guys dancing with the two girls. I was always amazed that Amanda and Tony were both secure enough with each other to not feel jealous when we switched partners, but they had always been that way. Besides, I liked dancing with Amanda. She wasn’t above dancing dirtily with any of us, and she kept grinding her tight ass against me as she moved around me. I couldn’t help but get a little aroused. These were my best friends, but I’m only human.
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