Page 63 of Selfish Desires

“Why?” I snorted, and her confession only made me want to question him more.

“Because I tried to have sex with him the night you came to Newport from New York, and he rejected me.”

I threw my head back, laughing. “Yeah, well, his loss.” I managed to say between fits of laughter. “What scared him away? Did you try that weird half-reverse cowgirl move?”

“Ugh, forget I said anything.” Wendy rolled her eyes, about to walk away, but I wrapped my fingers around the soft skin of her wrist.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget this.”

“Good,” Wendy retorted teasingly, her cheeks flushing pink. She tried to pull her wrist out of my grasp, but I held firm.

“Let go, Vincent.” A playful glint in her hazel eyes dared me to challenge her.

Instead, I leaned in, closing the gap until our noses almost touched. “Make me,” I whispered, echoing the same playful challenge.

Wendy let out a small gasp before regaining her composure. Her eyes narrowed, and a mischievous grin tugged at the corners of her lips. Her other hand slid up my chest and around my neck, pulling me closer, our lips inches apart. Suddenly, she nipped my bottom lip, not hard enough to really hurt but enough to startle me. Taking advantage of my surprise, she quickly wriggled her wrist free from my grip.

“There,” Wendy said, triumphant. Her orbs sparkled with mischief and laughter as she stepped back, creating a distance between us.

“Oh, that’s not fair. You broke the rules.” I swiped my lip, checking for blood.

“You’re fine.” Wendy rolled her eyes.

“Why did you try to fuck Stephen?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, her eyes avoiding mine.

“You were trying to forget me,” I filled in the blanks, my heart clenching at the thought.

She didn’t deny it. Instead, she nodded, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. “I guess so. But it didn’t work. It just made things worse.” Wendy's gaze met mine again as she sighed. “It was stupid. I was hurting, and I just... I wanted something to take away the pain.”

I cupped her cheek gently, my thumb moving in small circles along her skin. “Wendy...”

“No, it's okay,” she said quickly, her hand covering mine. The warmth seeped into my skin, and a familiar ache echoed inside my chest. “I just wanted you to understand why it would be awkward for me if you spoke with Stephen.”

“How could Stephen reject you?” I squinted, scanning every detail of Wendy’s face, wanting to memorize her. “You’re gorgeous.”

Wendy's cheeks turned a shade of pink. “Stephen saw through me. He knew I was using him to forget about you,” she admitted, her voice taking on a guilty tone. “He didn’t know about you and what happened between us. But he just knew.”

I closed my eyes as another moment of how I failed Wendy hit hard. How would I ever make it up to her, I sometimes wondered. Would she ever truly heal from the scars I caused? Did she trust me fully and let go of all the hurt I brought onto her?

“Wendy, I...” I paused and swallowed hard, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. “I need you to know that you have me. More than you’ll ever know.”

“I know,” she said simply, her gaze never wavering from mine.

But did she?

“Hey, maybe we should take a trip soon.” I captured her hands, pressing her soft skin against my lips.

“Where?” Wendy bit her bottom lip.

“Let’s talk about it tonight? Deal?”

Wendy hesitated momentarily, her eyes scanning my face before she nodded slowly. “Deal.”

I kissed her chilly knuckles before stealing a quick peck on her lips. “Great. Now, I’m off to question the dumbest guy on Earth.”

Wendy half-laughed. “Very funny.”

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