Page 15 of Stay

More than anything. “Well not if you don’t want it to be mine.” Smooth, Cole. Real smooth. “But aren’t you going off the deep end, Little Miss V-Card?”

“Meh.” She tosses her hands up. “Go big or get off the porch.”

“That is not how that saying goes.” Bless her. It’s go big or go home. And also, if you can’t play with the big dogs, stay on the porch. I’m not about to correct her though. It’s cuter how she said it.

Haley bats her lashes at me. “You want me to be a slut for your cock, Daddy Cole?”

I guide her up to my front door because I’m worried she’ll fall. “You’re drunk, girl.”

“Be that as it may…” She spins around and slams her ass against the door before I can open it. “Do you want it? Me? Do you want me?”

More than my next fucking breath. It’s been hell pretending I’m cool with just being her party friend and study partner. “I want you sober before we have this conversation.”

“Mmmkay. I’ll make pancakes in the morning, and we’ll iron the wrinkles from the details.”

Jesus, she’s a mess.

I get her inside, tuck her in my bed, kiss her forehead, and leave an uncapped bottle of water for her, just in case. And a trash can. “Sweet dreams, Angel.”

I crash on the couch. She’ll likely forget this entire conversation by morning, right? She’s pretty sloshed.

But what if she doesn’t?

Do I tell her I’m a virgin too? Does that make me sound like a loser? Shit, what if she thinks I’m a liar? Maybe I can pretend this conversation never happened. I won’t bring it up unless she does first.

She probably won’t remember any of this.

The next morning, Haley wakes me up by straddling my hips, pressing my morning wood down with her pussy. She’s in my favorite grey hoodie and no pants. Her bedhead’s adorable. Her mascara’s all smeared, and eyes are puffy with sleep. “Good morning.”

I yawn so big, my jaw pops. “How you feeling?”

“You tell me.” She grinds against my length, making me groan. I grip her hips to stop her. Thank fuck she’s got panties on and I’m fully clothed. “I meant what I said last night.” She leans down and presses a soft, minty fresh kiss to my lips. “I want you to be my first, Cole.”

She didn’t say those words last night. And now that she’s sober, the weight of her confession feels even heavier. My heart pounds against my sternum. “You sure about this?”

Haley nods, biting her bottom lip. “You’re the only one I want. I’m tired of pretending otherwise. I can’t stop thinking about you. Fantasizing about you.”

Holy. Fucking. Fuuuuuck.

Same.

Before I second-guess this whole ass thing, I lift Haley up and she wraps her legs around my waist. I carry her to my room, taking the stairs two at a time. “Give me a second,” I say, laying her gently on my bed. Then I go into the bathroom, shut the door, freshen up, and hunt down a condom…

She hadn’t been kidding about all the things she wanted to try, either. My girl made a bucket list that took us our entire senior year to check off. We even went to classes so we could learn Shibari, and I went down a rabbit hole to learn a bunch of other kinky things like how to play safely with hot wax and electroshock toys.

It was the best year of my life.

Until she walked away, just like she warned she would.

Haley always said she never had roots and didn’t know how to make any. I came from a big family and my parents still live in the house they raised me and my four brothers in. Her home life was shit. Mine was fantastic. Neither one of us had been in a serious relationship before. I didn’t have time for one. She said she never had the desire or opportunity because her family moved around too often.

It was never supposed to get real.

I was the dipshit who blurred the line between lust and love. Real and fantasy. Pretend and permanent.

She warned me over and over that she had big plans for her future. I said I did too. I still needed my master’s, and she was offered a killer internship in Boston.

Haley didn’t abandon me. She stayed true to her word. She kept her compass pointed north and never wandered off her path. I can’t be mad about it. I should be grateful. Her making a clean break forced me to double down on my studies and finish my master’s program in record time. I’ve got a damn good job now and have made a name for myself.

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