The Last Virgin in Texas Read online

  The Last Virgin in Texas

  Jennifer Woodhull

  Septem Stellae Publishing

  Acknowledgments

  Cover Design by Kari March Design

  A special thank you to the first readers who helped me make this book everything I wanted it to be. Crystal, Margaux, Marcie, Renee, Angela, Vivian, and Ginelle, thank you for your time, care, openness, and generosity of spirit. I appreciate you more than you know.

  All contents in this book are the original work of Jennifer Woodhull. Any locations are fictionalized, and all contents are from the imagination of the author. Any similarities to real people, living or dead, places, or events are coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 Jennifer Woodhull

  All rights reserved.

  A special spin-off of this book, featuring Maisie and Dodger’s story is available to subscribers to my mailing list of free.

  Click here to get your copy of The Biggest Heart in Texas.

  Contents

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also By Jennifer Woodhull

  Untitled

  The Dating Alternative - Chapter 1

  The Dating Alternative - Chapter 2

  About This Book

  The Last Virgin in Texas is set in a fictionalized version of the town of Shiner, Texas. I love small towns. They have their own unique culture and local mythology. Even in the same state or the same county, each one is unique.

  Although the version of Shiner in this story is different from the actual town, I tried to capture all that is growing up in a place where everyone knows your name—the kind of place where everyone remembers that epic, last-minute score that took the high school team to the state championships, and that time you got drunk after graduation and threw up in the town crank’s flowerbed.

  The hometown of Tucker and Gretchen came from my list of the best town names in America. To the fine people of Shiner, Texas, thank you for the glimmer of inspiration. I’m raising a longneck in a toast to you. Cheers!

  One

  “Aunt Sophia would stroke out if she saw you in that getup.”

  My cousin and best friend, Maisie, circles me. She crosses her arms over her chest, and strokes her chin with her thumb and forefinger, her nose turned up as she appraises me. “Damn you look hot, cuz.”

  “Thanks,” I eke out. “You’re sure it’s not too much?”

  “Too much? Too little, maybes” she scoffs. “Seriously, Gretch, you look good enough to eat.”

  I blush wildly. “I’m changing.” I try bolting for the bathroom, but she grabs my arm.

  “You’re not changing. Jesus Christ, it’s just a dress.” She rolls her eyes. “I mean, it doesn’t look like that on me, but God gave me all the height and you all the tits in this family, unfortunately.” She blows out a wistful sigh as she stares at my boobs.

  I can’t help but laugh. She’s right. The five-foot-two on my driver’s license is a lie by an inch at least. Maybe two. Maisie is two years older than me, but it wouldn’t matter if she weren’t. She’s five-nine and slim, with high cheekbones and honey-colored waves. Her eyes are big and blue. She’s gorgeous.

  I haven’t gotten any taller since I was sixteen. Still, in the years since my height topped out, my boobs have continued to grow. I’d love perky little B-cups like hers. Instead, I have to wear granny bras or underwires that dig into my ribs all day. But, it’s like Mama says, I suppose. “We all have our burdens to bear.”

  “I’m nervous.” I chew on my bottom lip, giving myself one last look in the mirror.

  “Of course, you’re nervous!” She shakes her head. “Who in their right mind isn’t nervous when they know they’re about to pop their cherry?”

  “You make it all sound so romantic.” I roll my eyes.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah! I’m sure it will all be rose petals and soft music and stars in Tucker’s eyes. You’ll prob’ly be the first woman in history that doesn’t hurt like a motherfucker or bleed like a stuck pig, too.”

  She laughs.

  I don’t.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go through with it.” I flop down on the end of her bed, letting my hands fall to my sides as I hang my head.

  “You’re going through with it. Damn, Gretchen, you can’t stay a virgin forever. It’s fuckin’ weird. You’re gonna end up one of those girls nobody wants to bang cause you’re too old to still be a virgin and guys think there’s something wrong with you.” She grabs my wrist and pulls me to my feet. “So get your ass up, go meet Tucker and do the dirty, girlie!”

  “You are so comforting, have I ever told you that? I mean seriously, you should be a therapist or some shit.” I look up at her.

  “I know. I should totally counsel people on how to fix their fucked-up lives. I’d rock at that.” She smirks and puts her palm on my shoulder, rubbing slightly. “Seriously, though…it’s gonna hurt. For like a minute, you’re gonna think it was the biggest mistake of your life, but then after that? Like, right after that?” She looks skyward and grins. “Holy shit that’s when things get good.”

  She folds her long arms around me and draws me against her chest. “Besides, Tucker is one of the hottest guys I ever knew in my life. There’s no way he won’t make it fun.”

  She kisses the top of my head with a smack, then swats me on the ass. “So, go! Get! I’ll see you on the other side when you’re finally a woman.” She winks as I grab my purse.

  “Thanks.” I give her a nervous smile as I leave. “I’ll report back after. Love ya, cuz.”

  I walk the half mile from the house my cousin shares with my Aunt Helen and Uncle Frank, to Jared Berringer’s house. He and Tucker have been best friends their whole lives. Since he lives reasonably close to Maisie, I meet Tucker there. Besides, I didn’t want Tucker to pick me up at my place because Mama would still be home now. That would cause all kinds of problems.

  First off, if she saw me in this sundress, she’d have a fit, so I’d have had to wear a long-sleeved blouse and ankle-length skirt. Second of all, if she saw that it was Tucker Kane I’ve been going out with, she’d have an even bigger fit. Mama doesn’t like boys for a start and certainly doesn’t like any that don’t go to First Holiness Baptist Church. Tucker’s family only goes to church on Christmas and Easter, and even then, they’re Presbyterians. They may as well worship Satan as far as Mama is concerned.

  “Hey there, Gretch-en.” Jared leans against the open doorframe with one muscular forearm. “Don’t you look prettier than a perfume ad?”

  “Hey, Jared,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest as he scans my body up an
d down, making me feel exposed and nervous. “Tucker here?”

  “Yeah, come on in,” he sweeps his hand beside him and closes the door behind me when I walk in. I can feel his eyes boring into my ass, something I suspect he’s thought about doing with his dick, as I walk past a small, round table in the middle of the foyer whose only purpose seems to be to hold a vase full of flowers.

  Aunt Helen’s place is nice. It’s big—four bedrooms—so my cousin has her own room, plus Aunt Helen and Uncle Frank’s room, a guest room, and Uncle Frank’s office. On the half-mile walk from Aunt Helen’s to the Berringer house, the houses get nicer, and bigger, on every block.

  Jared’s family has a front hall, five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a den and a pool. I’ve heard talk they’re millionaires, but I don’t know if that’s true or not. Tucker’s parents have a small farm just outside of town, so he spends a lot of time hanging out at Jared’s place since it’s close to everything in town.

  “Hey Tuck,” Jared calls as we walk down the stairs into the den. “Your girl’s here. She looks hot as shit, too.” I turn to flip him off and he smirks as he replies. “You couldn’t handle it, sweetheart.”

  When I get down to the den, Tucker’s sitting on the sofa and his head whips around toward me. “Hey,” he says, standing.

  He smiles as he looks me up and down. “You look great, Gretchen.” He steps forward and takes my hand, pulling me to him. “Really great,” he leans down to sweep a kiss across my lips.

  I feel my cheeks grow hot, and feel something else in my belly, too. We’ve been dating for about six months, but we’ve known each other most all our lives, in a way. Tucker was a year ahead of me in school. When I graduated, he was there to see some guys from the football team walk, and we ran into each other. We started talking, and it surprised me when he asked me out.

  Now, just because I haven’t had sex, full sex, I mean, doesn’t mean I’m exactly innocent, either. I had boyfriends in high school, even though I had to sneak out to see them behind Mama’s back. There were plenty of make-out sessions in hay barns, and finger bangs in the back of cars. I give a pretty damn spectacular blowjob, if Tucker is to be believed. He’s even gone down on me a few times. I was nervous as hell about it at first, but once he got started, I liked it. I liked it a lot.

  Tonight’s different, though. Tonight, we’re going out to a nice dinner up in Victoria, then, once Mama leaves for bingo, we’re going back to my house for sex. Real, full, grown-up, dick-in-vagina sex! I’m excited, and terrified, and not entirely sure I won’t screw it up. Or be terrible at it. Or hate it. Or all of the above, maybe. It’s time, though. Not because I’m still a virgin at almost nineteen years old, and not because Maisie says I need my v-card punched, but because Tucker and I are serious. I mean, we’ve never said the words, but I know what’s between us is real.

  “You ready to go?” He asks, one arm still tucked around my back.

  “Uh-huh. You?”

  “Yeah, let’s get outta here.” His lips curl up at one side and the sweet, sexy smirk makes my stomach do flips.

  Hell, yeah. Let’s get to the good stuff.

  Two

  I ain’t even gonna lie. It’s been…hard. Real hard. I heard the rumors before I asked Gretchen out, that she was a virgin. I didn’t care, though. I knew that might mean I’d have to wait to be with her, but I liked her. She’s funny, and cool, smart, and so fucking beautiful. She’s a tiny little thing with big green eyes and soft, full pink lips. Her hair is so blonde it’s almost white—just like one of them fairies on that TV show. And her tits? Holy God in Heaven her tits are spec-fucking-tacular. They’re big and round and soft and they feel amazing under my touch…and under my tongue.

  When I turned around in Jared’s basement and saw Gretchen coming down the stairs a little while ago? Holy shit. She looked so good I wanted to kick Jared out of his own house and take her right then and there. She has on a strappy little sundress that she probably got from her cousin Maisie based on how tight and low-cut it is on her. It nips in at her waist and exposes the soft skin of her shoulders, so I get to feel the heat of her skin every time I put my arm around her. As gorgeous as she in it, though, I can’t wait to get it off of her.

  I take her to the Red Lobster up in Victoria for dinner. It’s about thirty miles outside of Shiner, where we live. I’ve been saving up for a while, picking up work on a couple of neighbors’ farms for extra cash the last few months, and socking it away. She thinks I’m taking her to a nice dinner because she told me tonight’s the night—she wants to do it for the first time. There’s a lot more she doesn’t know, though.

  Jared’s uncle lives out in California. He works for an animation studio doing some kinda advertising. We went out to visit him before I started seeing Gretchen. He convinced Jared and me to get some headshots and go on some auditions.

  “Ya’ll are both hot as hell, and in this town, hot and young can turn into successful, and I mean quick. I’ll hook you up…get you in touch with an agent friend of mine. If nothing comes of it, at least you’ll have some fun.”

  So, on a whim, we did it. We both had some photos done, talked to an agent, and did a couple of auditions. We didn’t expect much of anything to come of it.

  Except, something did come of it.

  A few weeks ago, Jared got a call to come back out and audition for a part in a TV movie. It’s about a college football player that gets blinded in an accident. Anyway, they called him back, and he auditioned, and it sounds like that lucky bastard is a shoe-in for the part. It doesn’t pay a crazy amount of money, but it’s enough for him to move out there and give this acting thing a try.

  He asked me if I’d want to move out there with him. I talked to the agent again, and he has some stuff lined up for me, so I thought, what the hell? Why not give it a try?

  Gretchen has always wanted to get out of Shiner, anyway. She’s talked forever about moving to New York or Atlanta, or anywhere besides here. So, tonight, after, well, everything, I’m going to ask her to come with us. Jared’s okay with it, and I have enough saved to keep us going. Thing is, we’re supposed to leave in two days. I know that doesn’t seem like much time to decide, and her Mama’s gonna flip her fucking lid. If she wants to be with me, though, I figure it’s best to rip off the Band-Aid, ya know?

  “Oh my God, those cheddar biscuits were so damn good.” She lolls her head back against the worn headrest of my pickup as we drive home. “I’m so fat after all that food.” She runs her palm across her belly and giggles.

  “You never been fat in your whole life.” I lace my fingers in hers and bringing them up to my lips. “You’ve always been just right.”

  “How do you know? You didn’t know me my whole life,” she challenges.

  “You been behind me in school since first grade, Gretchen. Maybe we weren’t close, but I’ve known you as long as anybody.” The glance I give her has a little edge to it. I don’t like her being hard on herself, especially about her looks because she’s the prettiest girl I ever knew.

  “Well, okay, maybe not fat, but I don’t think my belly’s ever been so full.” She grins.

  Your belly’s about to be full of me, darlin’, and I promise you won’t be complaining about it.

  As we get closer to her side of town, I ask again, “You’re sure your Mama won’t be home?”

  “I told you, she took the bus over to Smithville to play bingo at the VFW with the rest of the church nags.” Her laugh is light and playful and damn if I don’t love hearing her so happy tonight.

  I pull up around the back of her house and she opens the kitchen door which has no less than three locks on it. “Mama’s terrified of escaped killers and sex maniacs.” She rolls her eyes as she unlocks the final deadbolt.

  “She’s onto somethin’, cause that dress is turning me into a sex maniac.” I smirk, standing close behind her and running my hands up her sides, which elicits a giggle.

  We walk through the house to her bedroom and she drops he
r purse on the chair, then steps out of her Converse. In her room there are art posters on top of pink, painted walls, and a white wicker chair filled with stuffed animals. There're shelves full of books, and stacks of drawing pads next to buckets full of markers. Little drawings she’s done are tacked up all over. The space is soft and sweet, but colorful. There are little boxes and baskets tucked into the nooks on the bookshelf. It’s innocent, but at the same time, you know this room is hiding some naughty little secrets. Her room is just like her.

  She looks up at me and crosses her arms, running her palms up the outside of them.

  “You nervous, darlin’?” I already know the answer, but she nods.

  “It’s just me, Gretchen. It’s still just me. You know how much you mean to me, right?” She nods again. “Are you sure you still wanna do this?” Her green eyes grow dark and a devilish grin crosses those full lips of hers. She nods again, slowly, her eyes locked on mine.

  I remember the first time I kissed her, a few months ago. It was our second date. We went to the movies with her cousin Maisie and a guy she had gone out with a few times. When I took them home to drop them off at Maisie’s house, Gretchen hugged me and said goodnight. When she turned to walk up the sidewalk to the front door, I tugged on her hand and pulled her back. I slid my hands up her back, gripping the back of her neck through soft handfuls of blonde curls. I looked down into that sweet, gorgeous face and she just took my breath away. I asked if I could kiss her, and she nodded her agreement.