“You two go home,” Brandon said. “You both look exhausted.”
The drive home was quiet, and Nora didn’t speak. I glanced over at her and noticed she was tapping her foot on the ground. She was chewing on her thumb and sighing every few moments. I knew something was bothering her, but she wouldn’t say what.
I pulled into the house, and she jumped out before I could even speak. I watched her head inside. I took a deep breath andhurried out of the car and into the house. As I got inside, she was heading up the stairs.
“Nora. Stop.”
She paused, her fingers tight on the hand railing. She turned to me, and I could see the anger in her eyes. I shut the door and frowned. We needed to talk about everything that happened.
“Would you please talk to me? I know you’re angry, but we have to talk about this.”
“What would you like me to say?” she asked with a calm voice.
I paused a few steps in front of her. I knew how this probably looked. I knew she was probably thinking about what happened in the booth. “I’m sorry about what happened in the bar.”
“Great.” She turned, starting back up the stairs.
“Nora,” I called after her and started up the stairs. “Talk to me. Please, just for a moment. Let me explain.”
“You’re sorry. Okay. Great.” She yelled over her shoulder, making it up the last step. “Congratulations.”
“Nora, stop,” I yelled now, starting to lose my cool. “You’re behaving like a fucking brat.”
She turned and crossed her arms. I paused just a few steps below her. Her lips formed a tight line as she glared at me. “You’re sorry. Okay. Fine. Let’s move on.”
I watched her nostrils flare, knowing she didn’t mean what she said. “Nora, I know you are upset, so just say whatever it is you want to say. Just yell at me if it will make you feel better. Anything is better than you acting like this.”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “I saw the look in your eyes, Kaleb. I’m not an idiot.”
I frowned. “Saw what look?”
“The disgusted look!” she snapped. “The moment you realized I was a virgin, you suddenly looked grossed out. Yet, you were the one who slid your hand up my dress.”
I felt my shoulders drop. I should have known it would have been written over my face. “Nora, that’s…”
She turned, marching down the hallway before I could finish. I hurried up the steps after her. “Nora! Please just give me a moment to explain.” I watched her reach for her door handle, and I stopped her, grabbing it first. “It wasn’t disgust, Nora.”
“Don’t lie to me!” she yelled, shoving at me. “I’m not stupid. I know what went over your face.”
“Okay, it was disgusting, but it wasn’t about you.”
“Oh, that makes me feel so much better,” she said sarcastically. “It fixes everything.”
“It was about me.”
She paused. “What?”
“I was disgusted with myself, Nora. Jesus. You told me you’ve never done it, and I’m sitting there in this nasty ass booth, in this dark ass corner, trying to slide my fingers into you, and you tell me you’ve never done it.”
“So?”
“So, I was disgusted with myself. You don’t deserve to have your first time like that. Do you have any idea what was going through my mind? You have no idea the things I wanted to do to you. I wanted to shove my cock deep into you and listen to you scream my name. I wanted to pound into you and make sureyou wouldn’t be walking the next day. I wanted it to be painful, just so you remembered. That is not what you deserve.”
I watched her shoulders relax just slightly as she stared at me. “Why didn’t you just say that? You don’t know what I can and can’t take.”
“Nora, you winced. I’m not blind. I saw the way you tensed up. When I tried to slide a second finger, you were in pain. You can’t lie about that. Don’t tell me, I don’t know when you’ve never done it. Your first time is meant to be slow and careful.”
Her face went red with embarrassment. “Sorry, I’m not used to it.”
