I grin at her outrage. “You know I’m right.”
“I don’t care that you are! Jesus. H. Christ. YOU SUCK. Oh, wait, you don’t even do that, do you?”
“No. Not since I was sixteen.” I rub my nose against hers. “I swear to you I’m clean.” I blindly reach for my cell and pull back once I have it.
“You could give me mono.”
“Well, yes. Man, this is romantic, isn’t it?”
“You started it.”
She wiggles beneath me, her calves coming to rest on the backs of my thighs.
Everything about this feels right in a way that tells me everything else has always been wrong.
“So, why do I need to trust you? Because you don’t want to wear a condom?”
“That and this.” Having found the email, I show her the screen.
“You got tested?!”
My throat bobs. “Wishful thinking.”
Her lips work in surprise. “You did this… for me?”
“I did.Wishful thinkingand a desire to… I don’t know. Be clean. It was dumb. But I know what I am and I know what I don’t want to be anymore.
“I haven’t slept with anyone since invite-only night, Denny. I haven’t wanted anyone else. But I don’t want to pressure you. I’ll make this good for you if you still want to do it, and I’ll make it great for you if you don’t—I just might come first. Again.”
“I’m a virgin.” I notice her pupils have dilated at my words. “I don’t expect the first time to be all that pleasant. Though I have used a… well, you know.”
“That’s bullshit. I promise you we’ll make it painless. Doesn’t have to be tonight?—”
“I trust you.” And that is her answer.
Thank fuck.
“Wait.” The crotch of my jeans tightens. “You have sex toys?”
She rolls her eyes. “Is this the twenty-first century or what?”
I lick my lips. “I may need proof.”
“You’re not getting any.”
“Denny!” I’m fully aware I’m whining.
Her smug grin’s worth it. Some of that hesitance has faded to be replaced with the cockiness I’m used to.
“Maybe if you’re a good boy, one day you’ll get to see it.”
I press my forehead into hers. “Killing me, D.”
She squirms beneath me. “Feeling’s mutual.” As I struggle to get myself under control, her tone shifts, turning more serious. “I-I want to understand, Zach.”
“Understand, what, kitten?”
“I’m tired of being in the dark. I want to understand why men go to war for women and why women will put up with numbnuts like you.”
