I felt his arm tighten against me and knew he was smiling.
"So...whaddya say?" He prompted, "You want to keep seeing each other?"
I took a deep breath. "Just to be clear...are you wanting me to fill Maria's shoes?" I needed him to spell out precisely what he expected of me, of us, if I was to take this any further.
I liked Simon—a lot. I couldn't see us as a casual lay. There was too much history between us, too many friendships involved. We needed to set the ground rules first.
"You're a big step up from what I had with her."
"You were together for a long time, though?" I sat up and looked down at him. "Since she was 'fucking seventeen,'" I quoted with a questioning brow.
Simon groaned, and he sat up to face me. "I first hooked up with her when she was seventeen, yes. That time when Eden went away for summer and, you know."
I nodded, not wanting to rehash the past.
"After that, I went away to New York for college. If I came home, it was to Helensville to see Mom and Dad. Barron had gone off to college by then, too, and we kind of drifted apart. So, yes, I was eighteen when I first hooked up with Maria. But I didn't reconnect with her again until I had moved back to Helensville, and I started coming back to New Haven for family gatherings. More often than not, Barr, my aunt, and my uncle would come to Helensville. Maria and I would only hook up when I was in town and not on every visit."
I nodded slowly as I processed what he told me. Well, when he put it like that, it didn't sound as bad as the words I heard Maria yell at him through the thin walls.
"What about other girls?" I asked, needing to put all our cards on the table.
"While we're seeing each other, I don't want to see anyone else."
My eyes widened in surprise at that. I was expecting a little hesitancy from him. An excuse that we should "see where things go."
"Have you ever been in a monogamous... dating-ship?"
His lips quirked at my term. "No. But I'm willing to try. For the first time in my life, I want to try that. With you."
"Why me?"
He blew out a breath. "Because I can't stop thinking about you. Because ever since I saw you -reallysaw you - at my Aunt Kelly's barbecue, I've had fantasies of being right here...cuddling you in bed."
He reached out and stroked a finger down one soft cheek before smoothing back a stray curl. Liquid heat pooled in my panties at the touch. His eyes held such sincerity, with just a hint of vulnerability. He was scared of what I would say to him. Of rejecting him.
I took a deep breath and leaped off. "Okay, we'll date," I slowly agreed.
He sucked in a sharp breath as if surprised that I had agreed. He gave me a bright, excited smile. "Thank you for giving me a chance, baby."
He placed one heavy hand on my thigh before slowly caressing it towards my panties. I shifted against the sheets in anticipation of what was to come.
He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss behind my ear. I shivered in need.
"And no Ben," he whispered.
"Brian!"
Chapter 21
Sofia
Simon: *attached image*
Simon: Can't wait to lay you out on this
Thepictureshowedaking-sized bed adorned with a standard white hotel comforter and a generic bedside table. My stomach dipped in nerves and then soared again as my mind went away from me, imagining all the ways we could dirty up that white bedding.
I grinned as my fingers flew across my keys.
