New Beginnings

"Liv! Are you paying attention? What do you think?" Samantha holds out my phone to show me the picture she chose for me. She was positively giddy as she obsessed over the perfect picture that would lure in many eligible bachelors. It has been a month since our trip to the big city and ever since I met that gorgeous guy the desire to have a romantic relationship crept out of the darkest part of my heart. Maybe I'm being a little melodramatic, but ever since that day I couldn't shake this lonely feeling I've been having. I made the terrible mistake of sharing my feelings with Samantha who then insisted on a dating intervention.

"Liv, I get it! It was only a matter of time before the desire to a have a man fill you up with pleasure overweighed your "holier than thou" attitude" She insisted I download tinder and went to work on creating a stellar profile that and I quote would "put some meat between my buns".

"You got a match!! He is super cute omg" Jenny curiously leaned over her shoulder and nodded in approval. I wasn't meeting him in person, but my hands felt clammy.

"He is into nature, he is an introvert, he loves to read, and he loves taking walks on the beach." I peaked over Sam's shoulder to get a closer look at the mystery boy. He was tall with fair skin and a cute face.

"Omg he is super cute he has such an innocent face it just makes you want to be his friend" Sam crooned excitedly. After giving me a lecture about keeping the conversation going and what not to say Sam and Jenny left. Afterwards I was contemplating what to say to my match when my phone beeped.

"Hi, my name is Dominic, but my friends call me Dom."

My heart was beating fast my match texted me and I didn't even know how to respond.

"Hi, I'm Olivia but my friends call me Liv I'm on this app to socialize how about you?"

Was I being lame? Was the conversation too boring? although it was a dating app I wasn't sure if I was ready for the dating game I just wanted to make a few new friends. I was ready to bury myself under a rock until he replied.

"That's cool. I saw on your profile that you're into Geller mysteries I have the whole collection."

I perked up after he said he was into Geller mysteries; the series of mystery books where five teenagers investigate strange zombie sightings and kidnappings happening in their town. I matched with three other guys and had interesting conversations the whole night. I fell asleep at 2 in the morning during a debate of who was the better superhero between batman and iron man.

A week went by, and I was enjoying every minute of the tinder life there was no pressure to date the guys were chill and interesting I was brimming with excitement every morning when I woke up, I would check my phone for messages. One Sunday evening I was immersed in an episode of the good Doctor when I got a message from Dominic we talked a little and he asked for my number. I decided to give him my Instagram handle instead so we could message each other outside of tinder, I still wasn't comfortable with the idea of giving out my number. After texting each other for a while he asked, "what type of guys are you into?" I didn't really know what to say because I've never been in a relationship before or had a real crush on anyone.

"I don't know I've never been in a relationship before, but I guess I would want to be with someone who has the same beliefs as I do." I felt proud of myself for giving such a classy answer I was caught off guard at his next question.

"So, are you a virgin?" I've never had anyone question my sexual status before, so I felt a little embarrassed. "I'm a little surprised by your question but yes, I am. I felt uneasy talking to someone I barely knew about something so sensitive."

"He said No offense, but I find that hard to believe. Everyone be hoeing nowadays."

My heart sank into my stomach why did I feel like I had to defend myself to this guy? Was being a virgin such a bad thing, such an unusual thing that when you say you are one you are doubted and deemed a liar? Was it so normal to act on the desire to have sex that if you don't you are the odd one out? I wasn't 'hoeing', in fact I had told him I've never had a boyfriend before or had a crush before. Is it normal to have sex with random people you feel nothing for? He later texted me that he didn't want any female friends and he doesn't see where I would factor into his life which was fine by me, but I felt hurt by his previous comments. I felt violated.

"I'm so sorry you had to experience that Liv I guess no matter where you are you're going to find jerks like that." Sam smiled sadly, she blamed herself because she pushed me to join tinder and, in the end, I got humiliated. I didn't blame her though because she wasn't the one who said all those things to me, and the fact still remains that I could have refused to join, and I didn't have to engage in conversation with that guy.

"Sam its cool that was two weeks ago I'm over it lets just forget about it. I want to make the most of the summer before we must stress about school again." We sprawled out on Alans's bed as we patiently waited for Jenny to show up so we could all go to the beach.

"She is late we are going to miss the chance to get a perfect spot if we don't leave soon." Alan checked his watch and frowned impatiently he was always strict about time management and never failed to chastise us whenever we were late. Jenny would get an earful about the importance of being on time when she finally arrived, and he would definitely grumble about it all the way to the beach. Ten minutes passed before we heard Jenny coming up the stairs Alan murmured "unbelievable" and went to meet her to probably give her an earful.

"Jenny why on earth are you just…wait Jen what's wrong?" Samantha and I glanced at each other before jumping up and going to see what was happening. Jenny was standing at the top of the staircase her eyes were red from crying and she looked tired. We led her into Alans room and made her sit on the bed. I sat beside her and rubbed her back. "What's wrong Jen? Tell us what happened" she sniffled and then told us about what happened to her.

"Guys I'm such an idiot!"

"Jenny! Don't say that you are not an idiot" I was surprised by her self-criticism Jenny had always been quiet and sometimes shy, but she was confident when she wanted to be.

"Well, you remember that guy Amber set me up with? Matt? The guy she said was one of her best friends? It turns out that they are actually more than best friends I went over to his dorm to surprise him and caught her blowing him off." I gasped in shock although we never liked Matt, we never thought he was capable of something like this. I just saw him as an annoying college jock, but I never expected this, worst of all why would Amber set jenny up with him and then turn around and do something like this? Taking a deep breath Jen continued, "when I confronted him about it, he started to cry and say that he's sorry he didn't mean to hurt me. He said it was because I kept holding out on him and kept saying I wasn't ready to have sex and he couldn't bottle up his needs. He said I wouldn't give him what he needed but Amber was always there for him, and he didn't love her like how he loved me because what they had was only sexual but what he and I had was emotional and pure…" she broke down sobbing uncontrollably, "you were right Liv I jump into these relationships too quickly. Maybe if I had given it up like he wanted he wouldn't have cheated on me…" my heart ached as I watch my friend break down over that worthless cheating piece of dog poo. I hugged her while Alan and Sam consoled her. "Listen to me Jen you did nothing wrong he is a horrible person for trying to turn his all on you when he was the one who is in the wrong. He should get his dick chopped off!" Samantha's voice was shaking with anger.

"Don't blame yourself Jen heartbreaks are a part of life, and I think you are brave to go after someone you like and connect with even when you are scared of getting hurt. One day it will all pay off when you find someone who cherishes you more than we do" Alan said sadly. At that moment I felt this surge of determination to cheer her up, so I jumped up and said, "let's go were not going to be moping around. If we give in to being sad all day that loser wins. Let's got to the beach and wash those tears away!"

The ride over to the beach was quiet but not in an awkward way. Jenny knew we had her back, so she wiped her tears and tried to forget about the loser who broke her heart. Upon arriving at the beach, we tried to find a good spot to no avail. The beach was packed. Alan sighed and shook his head in defeat, but he didn't say anything. Ever the optimist I dragged them to the far side of the beach where there was a shaded secluded area. After Alan gave a smile of satisfaction, we got to work of setting up the beach chairs and changing in our swimsuits. I decided to play it safe with a light blue tube top and matching short shorts. The day was beautiful and warm I could have laid in the sand forever.

"Hey Liv, Jen come on some guys just invited us for a ride on their yacht! Are you coming Alan?" Samantha asked excitedly but Alan refused to budge from his spot in the shade. So, we left without him. The yacht was huge, a lot of persons were aboard, and everyone was having a good time. I stood at the railing and look overboard the water looked so clear and blue I envisioned myself going for a swim- "HEADS UP!"- then I remember I can't swim. "Liv!" I get hit hard in the head with a volleyball and before I know it, I'm plunging headfirst into the clear blue water. As I sink to the bottom of the water, I hear murmuring and someone else jump into the water.

"Liv…liv!" I slowly open my eyes and see Samantha hollering and next to her peering down at me was a gorgeous guy with beautiful brown eyes. He flashed me a smile after he realized I was peering up at him. "Hi there, it seems we meet again. The name's Jace."