Shrugging, he opens his laptop. “When I look at you, I see how far I’ve come.”
“Uh, thanks. I guess. I’m not sure it’s a compliment.”
“It’s not.” He smirks, tapping the keys. “But I wish my dad would have joked around with me.”
“I don’t need a dad,” I say.
“Maybe I’m not doing this for you.”
I sigh. What do I say to that? “Mrs. Rawlings told me to ask you if you want me to do anything else today. I think I’ve depressed her enough that she’s done with me.”
“Bring the girl back over. That’ll cheer her up.”
“Now? Her parents are in town. She’s bikini shopping with her mom.”
Rupert eyes me over his keyboard. “Lucky you.”
I roll my eyes.
“Whenever she’s free is fine.”
I nod and turn, but then I make the stupid decision to face him again to ask for his advice when deep down I know he will not offer me anything helpful. “How long did you wait to have sex with Mrs. Rawlings when you met her? If, uh … ya don’t mind me asking.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Jesus, we just went over this.”
He chuckles, closing his laptop again. “I waited until our third date.”
“So like … a couple weeks or so?”
“No. When we met, she flat-out told me she wouldn’t even consider having sex with a guy until at least the third date. So I asked her to breakfast before she had class. Then I waitedoutside of her apartment with a bag of fried chicken for lunch—date number two. And that night, I took her for pizza and roller skating—date three.”
“Three dates in one day?”
His grin oozes pride as he nods.
“So you had sex with her that night?”
“Bingo.” He winks and makes a clicking noise with his tongue. “When you know, you know.”
“What happened to taking it slow so a girl knows you’re interested in more than just her body?” I ask.
“Nothinghappenedto it. Some of us don’t have to work as hard as others. Does your friend have you waiting longer than you want? All in the name oftaking it slow? If so, you should respect that about her. But also … that’s probably not a good sign for you. Some other guy’s going to shove you aside and do all the things right that you’re doing wrong.”
Again, I roll my eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I turn and leave his office. But just in case he does know, I head straight to June’s apartment to stick my dick in her, like a flag on a new frontier.
When I get to her place, I press the buzzer.
“Hello?” she answers.
“It’s me, Juju.”
She giggles. “Don’t call me that. It sounds weird coming from you. Come on up.”
By the time I reach the top of the stairs, she’s waiting for me with the door open. “Hey?—”
I cut her off with a kiss, sealing my mouth firmly to hers. Tongue sliding past her lips. She grips my arms to steady herself as I back her into the apartment and kick the door shut behind us.
