We pull up to my house. “Yeah, ya are. Plan a second date. Make out. Talk to her if things go faster than you’re ready for. What you shouldn’t do is what I know you did back in the locker room.”
I scratch the back of my neck, confirming Pia’s suspicions.
“You got all awkward and ran away, right?”
“Possibly.”
She snorts. “Eden. I know you’re swimming in the deep end of the pool with Sloane. But remember you know how to swim, okay?”
I look at her. She looks at me.
I break first. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“I don’t know, I was trying to come up with something meaningful. Regardless, there is nothing about this you can’t handle. Just stop inviting drama.”
“I’m not!”
She hikes her eyebrows up. “You are the queen of borrowing drama, Eden. Ironic, considering it’s the one thing you want to avoid.”
“Jesus, I’m feeling a little attacked here, buddy.”
She rolls her eyes. Hard. “Any time something happens outside your comfy bubble you get all up in your head and make mountains out of molehills.”
“This is a big deal, P.”
We walk up to my front door. Pia slings her arm over my shoulders, which isn’t as easy as it sounds, considering she’s quite a bit shorter than me.
“I’m not taking away how important losing your V plates is Eden. I’m just saying you shouldn’t build it into something so big it affects your very new relationship with Sloane.”
“I’d just like us to date a little longer. I always pictured my first time with someone I was serious about, ya know?”
“Sure. Makes sense. That’s how I felt too. Todd is my man. I knew quickly he’d be my first. He was the one to slow us down.”
I know Pia was a thirsty fuck. Todd had to practically beat her off with a stick.
“Yeah. I remember. Okay, I need to speak to Sloane.”
“You do that. I’m going to quickly step inside and see if your mom has left any snacks, then I’m going to Todd’s to study. We get distracted when he comes to my place.”
After Pia has pilfered all the snacks and I’ve showered off my well-earned sweat stank, I head downstairs and wait impatiently for Sloane.
The steam helped clear my earlier mind melt. Pia, in her odd way, made sense. I don’t like that she thinks I borrow drama or whatever, but I can’t say she was totally wrong. I’ll admit I tend to fall on the more negative side of life when my world gets rocked. By rocked, I mean slightly changed in any way.
Sloane Bishop liking me, dating me, kissing me, and potentially wanting to touch my private parts, is world-rocking information. Absolute mind-melting material.
But if I act the way I usually do when things freak me out, I could fuck things up with Sloane.
Jenna is sitting at the kitchen island guarding her bowl of cereal like fucking Gollum. No idea why. She’s the only one who eats the sugary crap. As I walk past, I swear she growls. I only wanted a glass of water, for Christ’s sake.
Thankfully, the doorbell goes off before Jenna has the chance to breathe fire. Skirting the beast, I open the door to a nervous looking Sloane. She’s pulling at her sweater sleeves.
“I came on too strong, didn’t I?” she states.
Shit, I’ve made her feel bad. Pulling her through the door, I don’t stop until we’re upstairs in my room. The last thing we need is Jenna interrupting us.
Sloane casts a gaze around my bedroom. I close the door and wait until she looks at me again. “I’m sorry I bolted.”
Sitting on the end of my bed, Sloane starts fiddling with her sleeves again. “No. I’m sorry I made you feel uncomfortable. I can’t help but flirt with you.”
