Page 10 of Slow Burn

Her virginity.

It wasn’t like she was a prude, but her life was always going a million miles a minute with all things academic, and she never veered off track. She was on scholarship, so school and residency were top priorities and didn’t leave much time to meet someone. But now, she was ready to find someone and just lose the damn thing already. It wasn’t like she was waiting for marriage. She groaned at the last time she met a man where the possibility of giving up her v-card was on the table.

Elijah Barnett.

She should have been embarrassed by how much she thought of him when she was alone in her bed. He would never find out, especially since she had firsthand knowledge of what a prick he was. But those intense navy-blue eyes did something for her.

An alert on her phone blared, the signal she needed to get ready to go out and stop daydreaming about the devil himself. Touching herself to the vision of Elijah was no reason to blow off her bestie when it was her turn to celebrate. This was the official start of spring break, so Sophie was off from work for ten days.

In pure Sophie fashion, she planned to start her time off from teaching with a bang.

Both figuratively and literally.

And that had to start in a bar.

Within an hour, Georgia showered, did her hair and makeup, and was ready to meet her friend at Lighthouse. She grabbed her phone from the charger and was about to order an Uber when her phone rang. It was her brother.

“Hey Nashy,” she answered. “Can I call you back in five? I was about to order a ride.”

“Lucky for you, I’m off shift for two more days, so I can be your ride. Where are you going?”

This was not ideal. Yes, she loved spending time with him, but another night of Nash and Sophie fighting was not ideal. It was the new definition of a buzzkill.

“Lighthouse with Sophie.”

There was the pause she expected.

She leaned to smell the flowers sitting on the counter. “You don’t have to drive or anything.”

“No way am I letting you and that wild animal out for the night without a goddamn chaperone.” He sounded disgusted, but he seriously needed to let his animosity toward Sophie go. It was getting old. “Whenever she is around, you get into trouble. I swear, she needs a fucking leash when she goes out. If you don’t want a ride, fine. But you’ll see me at Lighthouse.”

Putting the essentials like her wallet and ChapStick into her clutch, she ignored his threats. “Nash, obnoxious older brother of mine, I’d love to see you but not under the pretense Sophie or I need a handler. We’re both adults.”

He grunted, real mature of him. “The last time it was just the two of you out, I had to pick you both up at a concert because she couldn’t remember where she parked. When I got there, the two of you were being serenaded by a group of assholes. And then, as if me showing up was magic, Sophie remembered you two had a hotel and didn’t need me.”

Fair point, but in her defense, it was Sophie who called him, not her.

“Then she refused⁠—”

“Love you, bye!” She cut off his argument and ordered an Uber.

She was even more determined now to have fun, just to spite her brother.

LIGHTHOUSE WASN’T CROWDED, which was how Elijah preferred the bar. He was with Benny, having a drink, after forty-eight hours on shift. Sometimes after working two days straight, he got home and immediately fell asleep. Other times, he got a second wind and was up all night. Benny always had a rough time trying to sleep after shift, so that was how they ended up at the bar.

“Fuck, I need to meet the blonde with Sophie.” Benny almost broke his neck trying to catch sight of someone.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Blonde. With Sophie. Fuck, he cursed to himself, praying that when he turned around, it wasn’t Georgia who Benny was drooling over.

“I have my back facing whoever you are checking out,” he mumbled. Maybe if he didn’t acknowledge her, she’d go away.

“She is a damn smoke show.”

He sipped his whiskey, ignoring the desire to see her, and refused to turn around. “I’m sure she is.”

Benny smacked Elijah’s arm. “Fuck, they’re coming over here. Act cool.”

Unbothered, Elijah responded. “Perhaps you should take your own advice. You look like you’re about to jizz in your pants.”