“Jesus Christ, Allie,” I mutter.
She giggles maniacally. “So? You gonna tell me about it?”
“We didn’t fuck,” I say, and she shoots me a daggered stare. “He didn’t have any condoms.”
“Damn. I could have sworn you looked less tense when I pulled up.”
“Well, we... I mean he... on our way home, he sort of....”
Allie’s brows shoot to her hairline. “He what?”
“He got me off,” I whisper, like there’s someone else in this car that might hear my admission.
“While he was driving?” Allie is smiling like this is the best news she’s heard all month.
I nod again and stare out the window to avoid her searching gaze. She punches me lightly on the arm. “Girl, that is top tier boyfriend material right there.”
“Did you forget he’s leaving in a month, Al? We’re just having some fun.”
“Okay. But you’re planning to keephaving funwith him, aren’t you?” she asks with a hopeful look.
“Yeah. He’s coming over at six.”
Allie glances at the clock on the dash and then looks me up and down. “Is that what you’re wearing for your date?”
“I’ll change if I have time when I get home.”
She presses her foot down on the gas. “Oh, I’ll make sure you have time to shower and change when you get home. No offense, but you smell like horses.”
I snort. “I always smell like horses. It’s never deterred Wes before.”
She shakes her head back and forth. “Last night you didnotsmell like horses.”
I roll my eyes at her because I know she’s going to want to dress me up like a doll as soon as we get back to my place, but that's not going to happen if I can help it.
We pull up to the only pharmacy in town, and despite my protests, Allie jumps out of the car and comes in with me. I drag her into the personal care section with feminine hygiene items, pregnancy tests and, on a single shelf, a collection of condoms in various sizes, flavors, and materials. I stare blankly at the choices, unsure which to pick.
It’s been a while since I’ve had to worry about this and if I’m being honest, the men I’ve been with have usually come prepared. I’m not sure if I should count it against Wes that he wasn’t equipped last night, or if everything with me just caught him off guard.
Allie taps a finger to her lips. “Alright, what’s he working with? Snug-fit? The average Joe? Magnum? XXL?” She gestures at the array of boxes like she's Vanna White.
“I don’t know,” I hiss. I rack my brain, trying to think of how it felt when I'd briefly wrapped my hand around him last night. “I didn’t see it. It was dark, but it felt like a good dick.” And because I know she will ask me to elaborate because that’s just Allie, I tag on, “He felt... substantial.”
She purses her lips, grabbing a couple of boxes off the shelf, weighing them in each hand. A throat clears behind us and Allie yelps, eyes going wide as she tosses the boxes of condoms at me and sprints off in another direction.
I spin around to find Wes standing behind me, arms crossed and a smirk playing on his lips like he’s incredibly pleased by the conversation he’s just overheard.
Heat creeps up my neck and into my cheeks as I hold the two boxes of condoms Allie had grabbed off the shelf. “I, uh, thought, maybe, but then I wasn’t sure which and um... well?” I end lamely, raising the boxes to his eye level for inspection.
“I’m flattered,” he says, placing the XXL box back on the shelf and taking the other one from my hand. “But I can handle getting these from now on.” He winks.
“Right. Okay. Thanks.” I feel like I’m about to burst into flames and it’s so stupid because I’m thirty-one years old, not some virgin who’s never done this before, but that doesn’t keep me from being mortified by what he just heard me say.
“Substantial.” He nods in agreement. “I like it.” And then his shoulders are shaking with laughter, and I can’t help but join in because this whole thing is ridiculous.
I run my fingers through my tangled hair and cringe. I probably look like a mess. Sweaty and—as Allie already informed me—smelly. “I should probably get back home so I can shower.”
He grabs my elbow before I can run off. “Hang on, I had something I wanted to run by you.” He drops his hand, lacing his fingers with mine. My stomach somersaults like I’m twelve years old, and a boy is holding my hand for the first time.
