A Is for Abstinence by Kelly Oram Page A

recalling a memory. I was sure she was thinking of the day she’d given me the bracelet at the Huntington High School Fall Festival. She’d handed it to me as a joke. It had been an attempt to put some space between us. I don’t think she realized that I kept it.
    The night she gave me the bracelet, she’d blown me off and missed my song. I was so pissed. The brush-off stung. That night I became determined to win her over. I decided I was going to seduce her, take her virginity, and rub my victory in her face as revenge for hurting my pride.
    Somewhere along the way, my need for revenge turned into real feelings and the bracelet became priceless to me. I took it with me on the S is for Sex tour and wore it in my pocket for every performance until I’d lost it toward the end of the tour.
    My mouth lifted into a smirk as we both stared at my bracelet. After everything Val and I had been through together—after I’d pushed her away and lost her because I refused to play her game—I ended up giving her what she wanted anyway.
    Oh, the irony.
    “Eight months, now,” I admitted.
    Val didn’t get it at first. “Eight months, what?” she asked.
    The idea of me abstaining from sex was so impossible to her she couldn’t comprehend what I was saying. I had to spell it out for her. “Haven’t you heard? The A stands for abstinence.”
    I stared down at her, waiting for her to understand, and I saw the exact moment it clicked into place. “You?” she gasped.
    I laughed. The look on her face was worth the last eight months of celibacy.
    My good mood died quickly as she sat there waiting for an explanation. The situation didn’t seem all that funny anymore. I didn’t want to explain it, but I knew I’d have to prove myself to Val if I was going to convince her I was sincere.
    I gritted my teeth and shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “It was my relationship with Adrianna. I loved her, you know? When we broke it off I realized I hadn’t been with anyone else since I’d met her, and that I didn’t want to be with anyone else. The woman ruined me because now I don’t want to sleep with anybody I’m not in love with. Believe me, I tried. When she cheated on me I tried to sleep with a million girls just to get back at her, but I couldn’t do it.”
    I couldn’t believe I was admitting all this in front of the whole freaking world. Adrianna was probably going to see this interview and would laugh about how she broke my heart for the rest of her life.
    I pushed Adrianna from my thoughts. I didn’t care about her anymore. It didn’t matter what she thought. “I figured since I wasn’t doing it anymore anyway, I might as well wear the bracelet.”
    I forced myself to meet Val’s gaze. She’d been waiting for me to look at her. When our eyes met, she stared at me as if she were trying to tell me something important. As if my life depended on whatever secret message she was about to convey.
    “Good for you, Kyle,” she whispered.
    Her eyes misted over, and I realized what she was trying to get me to understand. She was proud of me. I’d surprised her—impressed her, even—and she was proud of me.
    I’d been waiting years to see that look from her. I’d tried so hard to win her approval back in the day, but I’d never gained it. Yes, she’d grown feelings for me, but I’d never fully earned her respect. Until now.
    My chest started to burn. I squeezed her to me again and brought my lips to her ear. “I’ve figured it out, Val.”
    Before I could explain myself, Connie interrupted us. “Are you going to perform something for us today?” she asked me.
    Hell yes, I was going to sing something today.
    My adrenaline spiked. I’d never been so anxious to sing a song in my life. Not even the first time I sang “Cryin’ Shame.”
    “Uh, yeah,” I said.
    Unable to sit still another second, I jumped up and crossed the stage to where my band was set up.
    Things were going to be different this time. Val wasn’t