Chuckling, I said, “What are you embarrassed about?”
She lifted her gaze to me. “Oh, you know, just how I completely short circuited and then freaked out. But I blame it on you.”
“Me?” I tried not to laugh. “How do you figure that?”
“Because you were,” she waved her hand in the air motioning it over my body, “you know.”
“Naked?” I said for her since she seemed as if she didn’t want to say the word.
“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Naked.”
“In my defense, I didn’t plan on running out here in only a towel, but someone decided to wake up the entire apartment building.” I gave her a pointed look.
She looked chagrined. “Whoops.”
“Yeah, whoops,” I said with a small smile. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Water would be great, thank you.”
Going to the kitchen, I grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and came back out to sit on the couch adjacent to the one she was sitting on. As I handed her one of the bottles, she said thank you again, and we both took a drink.
“So,” I said, breaking the silence. “Let’s get back to talking about how embarrassed you were about seeing me naked. Is that because you liked it?”
“What? No! I wouldn’t say Ilikedit, I mean, like is a strong word. I was merely caught off-guard.” She was trying for nonchalance, but I wasn’t buying it.
I kept watching her, waiting for her to try to deny it. She remained quiet, fidgeting with the loose threads on the bottom of her shorts.
She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Can we talk about something else now? We shouldn’t be talking about you being naked. I’ve already told you I have a boyfriend.”
Was it wrong that I enjoyed seeing her all ruffled? She was this sweet and innocent girl who I sensed had a fiery spirit and untapped desire hiding underneath. There was something about getting that side of her to come out that I couldn’t resist.
“Okay, fine.” I decided to let her off the hook. “Let’s talk about your boyfriend, then.”
Her brows creased. “Uh, no. I am not talking to you about him.”
“Why not?”
She looked at me in disbelief. “Because I barely know you and shouldn’t be talking about my relationship with you.”
“You sure say the wordshouldn’ta lot,” I mused.
She looked away from me and shrugged one shoulder. “There are a lot of things one shouldn’t do,” she reasoned.
I nodded, pretending to contemplate what she was saying. “Like how oneshouldn’tnot be there for his girlfriend when she needs him.”
Her face turned serious. “I’m sure he has a good reason.”
I crossed my arms. “I’d love to hear one.”
“He could be studying,” she threw out. “Or maybe he was studying and then fell asleep." Her eyes lit up. “Yes, that’s it. I’m sure of it. What else could he have been doing to not respond to me?”
My left brow rose. “Do you really want me to answer that question?”
“If you’re insinuating that he is with another girl, you’re wrong.” Her tone had turned cold. “He’s not like that. We’ve been together for four years. We’ve done the long-distance thing. If he didn’t want to be with me, and only me, we would have broken up a long time ago.”
I put my hands up in defense. “Whatever you say.”
“Not everyone likes the idea of sleeping around. Some people like to enjoy what can come from being in a loving, monogamous relationship.”
