Chapter Five
Three Weeks Later
“So is there anything you want to tell me about what’s going on?” Christopher asked as Ward finished dealing with his latest client.
Money was paid, tattoo already finished, he’d gone through the necessary care instructions, and he had one very happy customer.
“Not a clue what you’re talking about.”
“Really?”
Ward shrugged and made his way back to his office, where he took a sip of his now-cold coffee. He hated cold coffee, but for some reason, he wasn’t even in a bad mood. Not that anyone would know, but he and Kirsty had been successfully sneaking around for the past three weeks.
Some days, she’d come to his home, and other times he stayed late and snuck out, into her apartment upstairs.
No one had a clue.
They had their usual banter, and rather than causing them issues in their relationship, it actually … aroused them both. Even though they still hadn’t had sex yet.
Ward wanted Kirsty to be ready, and right now, they were enjoying each other too much to take it to the next level.
He didn’t want to hurt her, and from the brief research he’d done in the last few weeks, he knew it was going to hurt for her first time. Unfortunately, other than guaranteeing her multiple orgasms, he didn’t know how he was going to ease the pain.
He’d never been with a virgin before, not even during his first time. When he lost his virginity, he’d been with an experienced woman, one of his college professors. It had been a fun few months, but the relationship had soon fizzled out when he realized she did it with all the students she had an attraction for.
Kirsty was different. Her virginity meant something to him. It was late one night, when he suddenly realized Kirsty hadn’t been with any other man, and even though he’d been with other women, he liked that she hadn’t been with other men. He knew it was completely unfair and that he should hope she’d been with others, but that wasn’t the case, and he was glad of that. No one else had touched … what was his.
This was an insane thought, he knew this, but he felt rather possessive of Kirsty. It was greedy, but he didn’t want anyone else to have his woman. Kirsty was his, all his.
Three weeks ago, he’d have laughed at anyone, and he pretty much did when Christopher made his claims, but now he totally understood it. He’d been wanting Kirsty for a long time.
“You’re just going to stand there watching me drink coffee?” Ward asked.
Christopher folded his arms and kept staring at him. “You know, I’m not the only person who noticed a difference in you. The whole town is talking.”
“The whole town can mind their own business.”
“Ah, you see, here is the little interesting fact.” Christopher clicked his tongue. “There have been rumors that you’ve been spotted sneaking into Kirsty’s apartment.”
Ward took a long drink of his coffee. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Ah, you don’t. Well, apparently, you two can look quite cozy together, and there is also a little pesky rumor that you make eyes at each other.” Christopher puckered his lips and began kissing the air.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t? Well, let me fill in the blanks for you, and it might help to rejig that memory of yours. I have a feeling you and Kirsty have realized your attraction for each other, and have been sneaking around, secretly dating, to see how things work between the two of you. How am I doing so far?”
“At this moment in time, you’re not funny,” Ward said.
He finished his coffee and put the cup down.
Christopher laughed, clapped his hands, and gave a fist pump to the sky. “Dude, why are you both being so secretive?”
“Look, you’re my best friend, but some stuff has to remain private.”
“Why?” he asked.
Ward shrugged. “You know me and Kirsty. You know what we’ve been like with each other. This isn’t easy, not for either of us, and yet … you know what, just forget it.”
“Hey, man, there’s no reason for you to be upset or pissed, or whatever. This is me. You know I’m not a gossip. What is going on?”
Ward pressed his lips together and then ran fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what is going on, okay? I can’t exactly explain it. I like Kirsty a lot.” He wasn’t about to tell his best friend that she was a virgin. “And I know this is crazy, but I want this to work, and with the bet and everything.”
“Fuck the bet. It was something that happened in school. I doubt anyone would actually take ownership of the damn thing. It was an age where people might think you and Kirsty got together.”
“Right,” Ward said, gripping the back of his neck. “Still not fun, though.”
“Doesn’t matter now, I lost. I thought either at prom, or after graduation. Once I lost those two, I stopped trying to guess when the two of you would get it on.”
“We’re both thirty years old. I mean, who would imagine me and Kirsty dating at this age?”
“True.” Christopher shrugged. “And you’re not killing each other.”
“No, we’re not. It’s kind of a miracle.”
He wasn’t about to tell his best friend that he absolutely loved being with Kirsty. From afar, he’d seen her laugh, watched her enjoy life, and just embrace everything that was thrown at her. Now, being in her company, up close, personal, kissing her, exploring her body, was the greatest thing he’d ever experienced.
****
Kirsty poured the marinade into the bags of chicken while Bethany supervised the meatballs in the sauce.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Ward. For the past three weeks, it had been a dream, and a lot of fun. Sneaking around, making out, exploring one another. Kirsty had thought the excitement would fizzle out, or they’d both see that they were not compatible. That hadn’t happened. If anything, being with each other had become even more exciting than she originally thought.
“Hey, Bethany, can I ask you something?”
“Of course. I don’t know why you even have to ask me that?”
She finished sealing the last bag of chicken and turned toward her friend. “What was … your first time like?”
“My first time what?” Bethany tapped the side of the pan and turned toward her.
“Sex.”
Bethany’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my first time. It was awful. It was with Randall, in the back of the car, and it hurt, and it wasn’t a lot of fun. I think I even remember crying.” She winced.
“You cried?”
“Yeah, Randall took that quite hard. We’d been fooling around for a long time, we were kids. It’s what kids did.” She wrinkled her nose. “I hope my kids don’t.”
Kirsty couldn’t help but laugh.
Bethany rubbed at her temple. “Yeah, I’m going to have to talk with Randall about letting any of our children go out with anyone who is more than just a friend.”
“It was awful?”
“Yeah, of course it was awful. Randall and I, we were both … you know, virgins. He’d not been with anyone else, neither had I. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing, and funnily enough, I do believe that’s how little David was conceived, that first night.”
“So it sucks?”
“Not now,” Bethany said. “The first time did as we were young and fumbling around, not knowing what to do, but then Randall read books, and he learned, and we explored each other. When we don’t have kids banging at our door, we completely enjoy it, as you can tell. We have four kids.”
“All it took was practice?”
“Yes, and it helped that I love Randall. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are a lot of guys and girls out there that don’t need to have that, but it helped us.” Bethany smiled at her and walked over, putting her hands on her shoulders. “Does this have anything to do with a certain guy called Ward, who has been caught sneaking over here?”
“What the … how did you know that?”
“Oh, honey, the fact that you and Ward think you can sneak around in a small town is completely hilarious. Trust me, you can’t. It is already known that you two are secretly dating, but don’t worry. We’re all pretending we secretly don’t know about it.”
Kirsty opened and closed her mouth. “I had … wow.”
Bethany laughed and hugged her tight. “I have to admit, though, I am curious as to why you’re asking about a first-time kind of thing.”
This time, her face went bright red.
“Kirsty Helen Blake, are you about to tell me that in all the years we’ve known each other, you’ve never had sex?”
She shrugged.
Bethany pressed her hands to her mouth in a gasp. “Now that I think about it, you’ve never actually talked about the whole sex thing, and I’ve not seen you dating a whole lot of men. Oh, honey, that sucks. I am so sorry.”
This time, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Why are you sorry?”
“You’re a thirty-year-old virgin. You and Ward haven’t, you know, done the deed?”
“I’m not going to say anything.”
Bethany rolled her eyes. “Look, I am only trying to help here. Yes, my and Randall’s first time was awful, but it might not be that way for you and Ward. You’re both adults, and you know what you’re doing. If not, then there’s a lot of porn available to get you started.”
Kirsty couldn’t help it and she burst out laughing. “Porn, seriously?”
Her best friend shrugged. “It’s helped me and Randall from time to time. We like to keep things spicy.”
“You know what, I really don’t need to hear any more about your sex life. Thank you very much.” She had already talked too much.
Now was the time to reel in the conversation before it gave her a heart attack.
Bethany moved to stand beside her. They had nearly finished their monthly cook-off and bake-off. The cookies were in the freezer for a couple of hours, then they could bag them up, divide them, and that helped with quick snacks throughout the month.
“How is it with you and Ward?”
“I’m not going to give details.”
Bethany growled. “I’m not after details, not in the slightest. I want to know how my best friend is finding her secret relationship?”
Kirsty thought about Ward, and she couldn’t help but smile. “It’s … pretty great, actually.” She loved it when he kissed her. He had nice, large hands, sexy, confident hands. The moment they were on her body, she lost all thought and was completely at his mercy.
Several times over the past three weeks, she had nearly begged him to take her. Each time, Ward would push her to that edge, but neither of them had fallen over it. She knew, deep in her heart, he was waiting for her to be ready.
He was acting like the perfect gentleman. Completely the opposite of what she’d known him to be.
She couldn’t help but smile as she thought about him and everything. He was amazing.
“I know that look,” Bethany said.
“What look?”
“It’s the kind of look a woman gets when she realizes she has fallen in love.”
“I’m not in love with Ward.”
“No?” Bethany asked. “Maybe you’re still in denial.”