19. Nineteen
NINETEEN
Iwoke up to warm light filtering through a window. I always pulled the curtains in my bedroom, so I knew right away that I wasn’t home.
Then it hit me, and I had to force myself not to jerk awake. Instead, I carefully shifted enough to look down to where Wylie was curled into a ball, sleeping at my side.
Her hair was a mess. It was going to take an hour to get a brush through it. Weirdly, I wanted to be the one who brushed it.
Images from the previous evening — fervent kisses, shaking hands, soft gasps — filled my head, and I closed my eyes so I could revel in the memories.
Rarely was the first time with anybody perfect.
You had to get to know someone, figure out what made them tick.
That took time. It had been perfect with Wylie right out of the gate, though.
She’d been more nervous than me at the beginning, and she let me set the pace.
I wanted her to be the one who did that, but she was nervous, so the first 20 minutes involved a lot of “is this okay” questions that slowed things down.
That turned out to be a good thing, because eventually I figured out what she liked, where she wanted to be touched, and things fell into place naturally.
She was tall and willowy and felt fragile in my arms. I wasn’t the biggest guy in the world, but I briefly worried I would crush her.
She was so enthusiastic with her responses, however, that I grew comfortable with the way we fit together, which was essentially perfect.
Nothing felt awkward between us. Everything felt exactly right.
Now, resting in her bed with her body pressed against mine, I knew I was in trouble. We were going to have to start figuring this out. It wasn’t just our mothers — although they were a big concern — but our friends would have to be taken into consideration as well.
They wouldn’t be surprised. I knew that already. Most of them had picked up on the vibe between us, and even though I’d been convinced it was animosity flowing between us at the start, I knew better now. They’d known, too. Especially Bree.
I didn’t realize I’d been scowling until a soft voice pulled me out of my reverie.
“Regrets already?” Wylie sounded sad.
I kept my arm around her and tucked her body firmly against mine before she could wiggle away. “No. I was just thinking about Bree.”
That had Wylie frowning, and her unhappiness was like a knife to the heart.
“Not like that.” I tickled her side and smirked when she gasped. “I was just thinking about how she’s going to react when she finds out we’re together.”
“Oh.” Wylie’s eyebrows moved up her forehead.
She hadn’t worn a lot of makeup the previous evening, which was good because her face was perfect without it, but there was a bit of mascara clumped on her eyebrows.
Otherwise, she looked fresh-faced and innocent.
My heart grew two sizes just looking at her.
“Are we going to tell them we’re together?” she asked after a few seconds.
“I would like to hold off on doing that, for at least a week or two,” I admitted. “I’m not sure how feasible it is, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bree is a busybody. She comes by to check on Gertrude once a day. She doesn’t always come to the house, but she will sit in the gazebo with that stupid statue. She’ll know if I’m not there. Worse, she’ll know if you’re at my place.”
“How will she know if I don’t drive? I could take an Uber or something.” She was already frowning despite the suggestion. “Although that seems like a waste of money.”
“I don’t want to make obstacles,” I admitted. “I want a clear path to … you know.”
“Sex?”
I made a face. “I was talking about a relationship.” I paused a beat to consider it. “Although the sex was pretty great?”
“It was?” Her eyes went wide. “I haven’t had a lot of sex, so I wasn’t sure. It seemed pretty great.”
I cast her a sidelong look. “What do you mean that you haven’t had a lot of sex?”
She shrugged and found something interesting to look at on the wall. I kept my gaze on her. “Oh, you know.” She lifted one shoulder and tried to act nonchalant.
“Wylie.”
She didn’t look at me.
I tried again. “Wylie.” Gently, I nudged her chin in my direction and waited until she locked gazes with me.
Finally, she did.
“You weren’t a virgin before last night, were you?” The mere thought filled me with horror. I would have done so many things differently if I’d known. Heck, I wouldn’t have let it get that far. Not on the first date, for crying out loud.
“No.” She looked offended by the question. “Of course not.”
I cocked my head and stared hard. If she was lying, I was never going to get over it. “Are you sure?”
She let loose a heaving sound. “Good grief. I wasn’t a virgin. I just didn’t have a lot of experience.”
“What’s not a lot of experience?”
“I don’t know. I had three boyfriends I … did the deed with.”
“Did the deed?” I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. “Is that what you call it?”
“I don’t really talk about it that often, so I don’t really call it anything.” She gave me a stern look. “I wasn’t a virgin. I just wasn’t that into sex because I didn’t think it could be as good as it was last night.”
That made me want to puff myself out … and track down every guy she’d ever been with and kill them. “Um … does that mean you … what does that mean?”
She let loose another eye roll. “It doesn’t mean anything. Can we talk about something else?”
“No.” I shook my head. “We really can’t.” I was going to have to ask the question. “Have you ever orgasmed before?”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Yes!”
I remained suspicious. “With somebody else?”
“That’s not what you originally asked.”
Briefly, I pressed my eyes shut. She’d been with three guys, and none of them had fulfilled her. That meant I was on the hook for mankind everywhere. I kind of liked the idea of it. Did I want that pressure? Apparently, I did because my hands moved to her bare hips, and I started rubbing.
“You should have told me last night,” I admonished in a soft voice. “I know that you were probably embarrassed —”
“Um, yeah.” She bobbed her head.
“We need to be able to talk about this stuff, though,” I pressed.
She sighed, and it reminded me of her mother for a moment, which had me grinning. “I figured you just had so much practice that you were really good at it.”
“Do you think I’m a gigolo or something?”
“Gigolo?” She made a face. “I’m fairly positive I’ve never used that word before.”
I didn’t want to smile — it would only encourage her to keep being adorable — but I couldn’t help myself. “We need to be able to talk about this stuff without you turning the color of a tomato.”
She sighed. “Fine. How many women have you been with?”
I didn’t like that question, especially because I wasn’t certain of the answer. “Let’s just say that I’ve been with a decent amount of women, but none of them compare to you.”
“Oh, so sweet.” She poked my side. “I don’t believe that, though. I felt as if I was flailing about last night. I had no idea what I was doing.”
“You were great.” It wasn’t a lie. I’d had no idea that she wasn’t all that experienced.
“You were great, too.” Her smile was what sunshine and rainbows were made of.
“Thank you.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “You still should have told me.”
“Why?” She was matter-of-fact. “What would you have done differently?”
That was a weird question. “I don’t know. Something, though.”
“Not that thing with your tongue, right?”
“No, not the thing with my tongue.”
“What about that thing with your finger?” She made a swirling motion to demonstrate what she was talking about.
“Not that thing either,” I assured her.
“So, you wouldn’t have done anything differently. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
I touched my tongue to my top lip. Suddenly, she was free with her words, and I was the one on the spot. “I don’t know. I just would have been more gentle or something.”
“I liked the force you used.” Her smile was beautiful, and it lit up her entire face.
“Is that so?” All I could think about was doing it again, now with the knowledge I had to serve as a guide.
“Yup. I liked it.”
“How much did you like it?” I brushed my nose against her cheek, my voice husky.
“Enough to do it again. I think I need something to judge your first performance by.”
“Oh, yeah? Okay, then.” I rolled her over to her back. Rarely did I feel this much confidence with a woman. She brought it out in me, though. “Prepare to be amazed.”
She grinned. “Be still, my beating heart.”
AN HOUR LATER, SHE WAS CUDDLED into my side again. This time, she was practically purring. Or maybe that was me.
“Yup. That was definitely better than all the other times combined.”
I made a face. “I’m not sure I want to talk about the other times,” I admitted.
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I blew out a sigh and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was still early. “I’m starving. Do you have anything to eat here?”
“I usually don’t eat breakfast,” she admitted. “We could go out.”
“We could.” The idea of leaving this bed held no appeal. “We could order food delivered, too.”
“Ooh.” Her eyes sparkled. “Can you get breakfast delivered?”
“Do you ever DoorDash a meal?”
“I never have. I’ve always wanted to, though.”
She looked so earnest, I could do nothing but pull out my phone. “Let’s see what our options are, huh?”
“I want pancakes. Pick a place with pancakes.”
“I’m pretty sure that can be arranged.”
I MET THE DELIVERY PERSON AT the door. I’d thrown on my shirt from the previous night and my boxer shorts. That was it.
The man at the door looked me up and down, focused on the shirt, then smirked. “Breakfast.” He handed it over.
I’d already tipped on the app, so there was no reason for him to linger. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave, though.
“This is a nice place,” he noted. “Yours?”
Was he hitting on me? Was it the shirt? If it was, I was never wearing it again. Apparently, it sent a signal that I wasn’t prepared to send. I’d purchased it to make Wylie laugh. I didn’t want to attract other people.