Chapter 38
Caroline
The two of us were laying on our backs, staring at the ceiling. Minutes had gone by. Twice, we’d shared a quiet look as we caught our breath. Both of us seemed completely shocked that this had happened.
But there wasn’t a hint of regret. Not from Harrison, and certainly not from me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him grinning.
“So…” I said. “Do we talk about it?”
“We probably should,” Harrison replied casually. Like we were discussing a topic for his biography. “You want to go first?”
“Not really.”
“Shit. That puts a lot of pressure on me.”
“You had to think this might happen,” I said. “Inviting me to Taylor-fucking-Swift’s wedding? I’m not sure there’s a stronger aphrodisiac in the world!”
“It… crossed my mind. But it’s not the first time I’ve thought about it.”
I rolled onto my side to face him. “Please elaborate.”
He smirked at me, then rested an arm behind his head. It made his bicep flex delightfully. “I’ve thought about it every time we’ve watched Saturday Night Live together. Hugging you when we say goodbye… it’s been excruciating. But I didn’t want to cross a line, since you’re working on my biography.”
“That’s the same thing I’ve struggled with!” I admitted. It was easier to tell him how I felt since he’d gone first. “I know I’ve felt something for a while now, but wasn’t sure what to do about it. I was kind of considering…”
Harrison rolled over to face me. “What?”
“I was going to tell you that I want to go back to only meeting at your office,” I said. “That we should reestablish some boundaries, and only have a professional relationship.”
His face went blank. “Oh.”
“But I’m so glad I didn’t!” I said, reaching out to caress his cheek. He leaned into my touch. “My biggest fear was that if we hooked up, it would be a mistake. But right now? I’m certain it’s not.”
He smiled slowly. “I’m really happy to hear that. This doesn’t feel like a mistake to me, either.”
I leaned in and kissed him.
“Careful, or you’ll get me going again,” he said with a sly smile.
“Is that a bad thing?” I teased.
“Not even a little bit.”
He rolled onto his back again, and I slid closer so I could snuggle. His body was hard, and warm, and felt perfect. Especially the way he wrapped an arm around me, fingertips dragging up and down my spine.
“We’re both adults,” he said, like he was trying to convince himself. “I can compartmentalize if you can.”
“I’m a journalist. Compartmentalizing is part of what I do.”
“Then we can keep doing this?” he asked.
“As long as we don’t let it affect our professional relationship. I’m in.”
“And if you get bored of me,” he said, “I can go back to being the subject of the biography.”
I snorted. “I’m more worried about you getting bored of me. You’re the playboy billionaire who could probably have anyone you want.”
“I don’t want anyone,” he said firmly. “I want you, Caroline.”
Warmth flooded my chest at the sentiment. “I want you too.”
But I immediately felt guilty. Harrison wasn’t the only man in my life.
I’d been sleeping with his head of security, as well as his business partner.
Harrison knew about the former… but I was afraid of how he would react to learning that Lucien and I had hooked up on his yacht while everyone partied above us.
I decided that I needed to tell Harrison. But not now. Right now, I wanted to savor this perfect moment.
“This isn’t the first time Taylor Swift has gotten me laid,” Harrison said. The music was still playing from my phone on the other side of the room.
“That’s a story I would love to hear. Did she hook you up with someone?”
“Nothing that exciting.” Harrison’s hand continued caressing my back. “Freshman year at Columbia. Taylor Swift was the soundtrack playing while I lost my virginity.”
I gasped. “You didn’t lose your virginity until college?”
“So judgmental,” he scolded. “I told you, I wasn’t popular in high school. College was my chance to reinvent myself. It was after a Halloween party. One of her songs came on the radio while we were making out. I can’t even remember which song.”
“It must not have been a memorable time, then,” I teased.
His chest vibrated underneath me with silent laughter. “She was memorable. When did you lose your virginity?”
I hesitated. “I don’t want to say.”
“You can ask questions for a living, but don’t like it when the tables are turned? Come on. I told you my story.”
“Well…”
He quickly shook his head. “You don’t have to tell me. If it’s bad, or embarrassing…”
“The story I’ve always told is that I lost my virginity to my boyfriend, Charlie, on prom night. Junior year of high school.”
“But that’s not the truth…?”
I shook my head, then closed my eyes. “I actually lost it freshman year.”
Harrison gasped dramatically.
I playfully shoved him. “Yeah, yeah, I know, I deserve that after the way I reacted to your story. Freshman year. Peter Henley.”
“Peter? That does sound embarrassing.”
“Wait until you hear how it happened,” I muttered. “Peter was one of the guys in my friend group. He didn’t have any guy friends—he was always hanging out with the girls. Well, one night, we were studying in my bedroom. My dad ordered us a pizza and then went to a Mets game.”
“Your dad left you alone with a boy?”
“That’s part of the story. Peter was… very flamboyant. Everyone knew he was gay.”
Harrison looked down at me. “No way.”
“Uh huh,” I confirmed. “Peter confided in me that he was confused about his feelings. He’d kissed girls before, but didn’t think he liked it. So, being the excellent friend that I was, I suggested he try going further with a girl. That way he would know for sure. And Peter…”
“Immediately took you up on the offer?” Harrison finished for me.
“I wasn’t trying to offer!” I insisted. “It was just an idea. But then he asked if I would be his first, and he kissed me, and it felt really good to me, and he was super cute… so, yeah. It just kind of happened.”
“And?”
“And he was totally, completely, one-hundred-percent gay,” I said.
“It was awkward. Both of us realized it halfway through. But we were dumb teenagers, so we closed our eyes and kept going. The really funny part? Afterward, I told him I was thinking about Kyle Parker, the hot guy on the football team. And Peter told me he was thinking about Kyle, too!”
Harrison burst out laughing. “Oh my God. I can see why you tell everyone it happened after prom.”
When we both stopped laughing, I said, “I didn’t regret it. I helped him figure out his own stuff, and it took away all the pressure that comes with losing your virginity. You’re actually the only person I’ve ever told about it.”
“Really?”
“I vowed to keep his secret. And I was too embarrassed to tell my girlfriends.”
Harrison was quiet. I idly caressed his chest, running my fingers over the lines of muscle and the tuft of chest hair between his pecs.
“Did I say something weird?” I asked.
“No,” he replied softly. “I’m just touched that I was the first person you trusted enough to tell.”
As I kissed him, my thigh brushed against his crotch. He was already hard again. I leaned into the feeling in my chest, lust and attraction and something deeper that was building between us. Harrison grabbed my ass, pulling me over until I was straddling him.
He kissed me harder, our mutual attraction pinging between us.
Suddenly, there was a single knock on the door. We barely even had time to glance across the room before the door flew open.
Rafael stepped inside, then skidded to a stop, his eyes locked onto us.