I sit there with my mouth hanging open, my brain slowly processing what she just asked me.
“You want me to teach you how to have sex?”
She nods, her eyes big and bright. She looks…eager. And hopeful that I’ll say yes.
What is happening?
I let out a laugh of sheer disbelief. “Briar, you’re not serious.”
“I am. I’m dead serious.”
I huff out a breath and tug a hand through my hair, my head still spinning.
This is the last thing I ever thought Briar would ask me. I’d be less surprised if she asked for one of my kidneys.
“Why do you want me to teach you how to have sex?”
“You have experience. A lot of experience,” she says, her cheeks flushing. “I don’t. My only experience is with Logan, and that was horrible. When I finally feel ready to date and be in a relationship again, I don’t want things to be awkward. I want to feel comfortable. I want to feel relaxed. I want to be prepared and feel confident in what I’m doing.”
I think about Briar hooking up with some guy, and my stomach lurches. I hate that thought.
But it’s going to happen. Someday, she’s going to start dating again. She’s going to have a boyfriend. And she’s going to want to have sex with him.
I try to ignore that sick feeling that rises up in my gut. I try to ignore how territorial I feel over her.
We’re just friends. I don’t get to call the shots on who she dates or is intimate with.
But as much as I hate thinking of her with some other guy, I hate thinking of her disliking sex even more. Sex is supposed to feel good. It’s supposed to be fun. But it sounds like she’s so anxious and freaked out about it that it won’t be good for her at all.
She bites her bottom lip. “You could teach me all the things I’m curious about. I feel comfortable with you. I know you’d be gentle with me.”
I swallow hard. My brain suddenly pulls up the image of Briar in my bed. I’m lying next to her. She’s naked. I’m naked too, and I’m running my hands all over her…
“You wouldn’t hurt me or go past my boundaries,” she says. “You’d check in with me. You’d talk me through it if I asked you to.”
That protectiveness I always feel whenever I’m around her intensifies, sharpens. I would never, ever hurt Briar. I’d rather hurt myself.
She bites her bottom lip, like she’s nervous. “And it wouldn’t be weird because we’re friends. Best friends.”
“I mean, it would be a little weird.”
Her shoulders hunch the slightest bit. “Right. Yeah. I guess I’m not the typical girl you go for, am I?”
I frown at her. “What?”
“I’ve seen some of the girls you’ve dated, Blake. They’re all tall with brown hair.” She lets out an embarrassed chuckle. “Not exactly me.”
I shake my head. “No, that’s not…That’s not what I meant. I just meant that it’s a little weird because it’s not a normal situation. Most friends don’t teach each other to have sex, you know?”
I keep my tone light. I don’t want her to think I’m hesitant to do this because of the way she looks. I’m not. At all. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I just have never told her that because I didn’t want her to be creeped out and think that her best guy friend was drooling over her constantly.
“Sorry, I know this is a lot to unload on you. I know this is a big ask,” she says. “Will you at least think about it?”
“Yeah, of course I will.”
She gives me a small smile, then slides out of the booth.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
