Ay,cabrón.
Parker was a virgin when we slept together? No way. The very idea is laughable. He’s gorgeous. Confident. Charming—when he’s not being an ass. Then again, it explainssomuch. Like the fact that he struggled with the condom and lasted all of three seconds before he shot off like a bottle rocket.
Dios mío. I took Parker’s virginity. To a pornalicious Ginuwine song.
The realization steals my breath, and it’s hard to meet his eyes.
Maybe it’s for the best that he can’t remember.
Like your first time was so great?
Nope. Like a cliché, I shed my virginity on prom night, my eighteen-year-old brain rationalizing that it was the most practical way to avoid arriving at Waverly completely inexperienced and carrying great expectations about a magical first time. My prom date was just as clueless and awkward as I was, but my training schedule left little time for dating in high school and I’d felt like I was behind the curve socially.
Plus, I was curious.
Two awkward hookups and zero orgasms later, my curiosity is DOA. I bought myself a battery-operated boyfriend and haven’t looked back since.
Parker clears his throat, probably waiting for a response, but what the hell am I supposed to say?
Mierda. If only I’d known…
Oh, who am I kidding? We were both drinking, and I’d been crushing on him for weeks. Bad decisions were made all around.
“Being wasted doesn’t excuse my actions,” he says, interrupting my shame spiral. “And I know my apology won’t erase the hurt I caused you.”
“No, it won’t.” Even if I wish it would.
“Fuck.” He rakes his fingers through his hair, making it stand up at odd angles. “I hate myself for doing that to you. For making you feel you did something wrong, or that you weren’t enough when I was the problem. I was the one who fucked up. I was the one who wasn’t enough,” he admits, deflating before my eyes. “If I could take it all back, if I could spare you the hurt I caused, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
There’s genuine regret in his voice and I can see the devastation in his eyes, at the way tonight’s revelation has wrecked him.
It’s been an eyeopener for both of us.
I hadn’t realized just how intoxicated Parker was that night, and I couldn’t have known that, like me, he was battling inner demons.
His apology won’t change the past, but it’s a soothing balm to my bruised spirit.
My anger melts away as I search for something—anything—to dispel the awkward silence that’s settled over us like a weighted blanket.
“You can relax, Parker. I have no plans to tell people you’re a sloppy lay.” My words lack their usual punch, feeling more like habit than hostility. “But that doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.”
“Good, because I’m going to enjoy working for it.” He takes a step forward, his large body invading my space, the intoxicating scent of sandalwood and citrus enveloping me in a warm embrace. “I’ve learned a thing or two since our last hookup, Shorty.”
No kidding. His reputation is proof enough, but I’m not about to stroke his ego.
“That’s what all the boys on campus say.” I flash him a sultry smile. “Fact is, twenty-something guys are shit lovers. They’re excitable, selfish, and think Netflix is foreplay.”
“The key word there isboys.” He smirks, a silent challenge burning in his eyes. “Is that why you got the vibrator?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” I can’t believe we’re having this conversation, but there’s no way I’m going to back down. Not now. “Unlike some people, BOB has never failed to deliver the big O. Plus, he lets me pick the music and doesn’t hog the covers.”
A quiet chuckle spills from his lips, the sound scraping over my body like shards of glass and raising goosebumps on my flesh.
“I’ll give you the last two, but if a silicone toy gives you the best orgasms of your life, you clearly haven’t been with the right guy.”
My breath hitches and I silently curse my traitorous body as I stammer, “I believe we’ve already established that fact.”
Desire flares in his eyes and he takes another step toward me, swallowing up the space between us. And like a coward, I retreat, stopping only when my back is against the cool stone wall of the church.
