Harrison gives me a funny look, then snorts. “In the parking lot? On your way in? She was supposed to come get me like thirty minutes ago, and she’s not answering her phone. Wondered if you saw her.”
Relief floods me, and I turn back around, heading to the kitchen. “Nope. Didn’t see her.”
Harrison follows me, crossing the living area and peeking through the blinds.
“What’s she coming over for?” I ask as nonchalantly as I can manage. My face is buried in the fridge, looking for something to eat.
“She’s gonna drive me to the mechanic. My truck’s done.”
I hum in acknowledgement.
“I could take you—” I start just as there’s a knock at the front door.
“Finally,” Harrison mutters, stalking across the room. He opens the door. “Kind of you to show up,” he teases.
From my vantage point, I can just barely make out an eye roll from Delilah as she stands at the threshold. “Sorry. Had a call that ran late.”
Harrison grunts, taking a seat on the couch to pull his shoes on. “How’s the new project coming along?” he asks absentmindedly.
Delilah’s gaze meets mine for one, two, three seconds, before she looks away, down at her shoes. She brushes a piece of hair behind her ear. “Fine,” she mumbles.
“Okay.” Harrison slaps his knees and stands. “Let’s go. See you, Graham!” he calls over his shoulder as he follows Delilah out the door and shuts it behind him.
I watch Delilah through the window until she gets into her car and they drive off.
I am not a man who is easily rattled. Especially by women. But seeing Delilah for the first time this afternoon since everything went down wasrattling. I’m chalking it up to the special circumstances. Harrison’s little sister, the arrangement, her virginity.
Which, by the way, I’m still coming to terms with.
Delilah Slater never being touched by a man? In what fucking world? AndI’mthe one she wants to lose it to?
The better part of me knows I should have fought harder. Not agreed to this whole thing. Delilah deserves someone better than me—even though this arrangement will be short-lived.
But the idea of someone else being with her—especially knowing it would be herfirstexperience—made me practically see red. There’s no guarantee some random man off the street would treat her well, make sure she feels safe, make sure she enjoys herself. And while I’m definitely not the perfect fit, I can make certain of two things: her safety and her pleasure. The two things I’m best at.
Yeah, if I have anything to do with it, Delilah Slater’s loss of virginity is going to be agoodexperience. A really, really good one. I’ll be pulling out all the stops.
I sigh, finishing my dinner of frozen pizza. It’s around 8 p.m., and Harrison had texted that he wouldn’t be home tonight. Code for:I’m sleeping at the mechanic receptionist’s.
So here I am in the living room, stewing about Delilah.
She hasn’t texted in three days. We haven’t touched base at all. And while I’d been trying to give her space to sort through any feelings she might have, I wonder if we should at least talk. Who knows? Maybe she wants to cancel this whole thing.
I pull out my phone, bringing up her contact and only hesitating for a few seconds before shooting off a message.
Graham: Hey. Are you free?
The three bubbles immediately pop up, and my heart spikes. I frown. The fuck is my heartrate spiking for?
The bubbles disappear, and I swear my heart beats even faster.
Okay, this is insane. I set the phone down on the table. She’ll respond when she responds. Three seconds later, the phone vibrates, and I snatch it up.
Madeline: You down to hang out tonight?
Disappointment rushes through me at Madeline’s name on my screen. I check my message thread with Delilah; she still hasn’t responded. I go back to Madeline’s text. I write out a message, blowing her off, then stop.
Wait. Am I seriously turning down sex to potentially hang out withDelilah? The idea startles me, but what startles me more is the answer.
