I grew up in a tiny grey town in the middle of nowhere in Russia. The kind of place where nothing ever happens. Same buildings, same faces, same cold winters that never end. School was small, everyone knew everyone's business. I was quiet, kept to myself mostly. Boys asked me out sometimes, but I always said no. I was waiting for something real. Then, when I was sixteen, a new family moved into the empty apartment next door. Their son was named Maxim. He was nineteen, tall, with dark hair and a quiet smile. He helped his parents carry boxes, and one day he waved at me from the balcony. My heart flipped. We started talking. First just hello in the hallway, then longer chats on the stairs. He told me about the big city he came from, how boring our town felt to him too . We walked together to the small park, sat on the bench, shared earphones to listen to music. He never pushed me. He held my hand once, and that was enough to make me dizzy. I fell hard. I told myself he was the one. I decided right then that I would keep my virginity for him. He would be my first and my last. No one else. I dreamed about it every night, how gentle he would be, how perfect it would feel. I even stopped talking to other boys completely. My friends teased me, said I was crazy, that guys like Maxim don't stay in places like this. But I didn't care. I believed in us. Then summer came. My family went to visit relatives in another region for two weeks. I texted Maxim every day at first. He answered slow, then slower. When I got back, the apartment next door was empty. They had moved out. No goodbye, no note, no last message. I knocked, but strangers lived there now. I checked my phone a hundred times. Nothing. He never called. Never texted. Just gone. It broke me. I cried for days. My mom thought I was sick. My friends said forget him, he wasn't worth it. But I couldn't. Part of me still hoped. Maybe he had to leave suddenly. Maybe he would come back one day and explain. So I kept waiting. I stayed a virgin. No dates, no kisses, no nothing. Every time a boy tried, I thought of Maxim and said no. I told myself I was saving it for him, in case fate brought us together again. Years passed. I turned eighteen last month. I still live in that grey town, but I can't stay stuck anymore. I need to move forward. That's why I came to this casting studio in the city. I traveled all day to get here. When they asked why I'm still a virgin, I told them the story. About Maxim, the promise I made to myself, how I held on even after he disappeared. I said I want to let go now. I want to be open, to feel things, to stop waiting for someone who might never come back. They started the shoot. At first I was nervous, just posing, showing my body like they asked. Lights were warm. Music played soft. Then something changed. I got lost in it. My hands moved on their own. I touched myself slowly, then faster. The feelings built up so strong. I didn't stop. I kept going until waves hit me, one after another, until I shook with orgasms right there on camera. It felt freeing. Like I finally broke the promise I made to a ghost.