Page 34 of Only With You

“What?” I lift a brow, staring at her amused.

“It’s nothing.”

“Don’t feel obligated to tell me, but you can trust me. I swear nothing will ever leave these lips.” I pretend to zip them up and toss the imaginary key to the side.

Her eyes nervously bounce everywhere before they’re on me again. “Sometimes…I wonder…”

I stifle a chuckle. “You wonder what?”

“Whatit’dbeliketohavesex.” She says it all quickly and quietly, and I don’t catch any of it.

Leaning closer, I push my purse up my shoulder, but I falter for a second. Remembering how I hadn’t realized it had slipped from my grasp and the way Landon had caught it.

“I’m sorry, what? I didn’t hear you. The music is a little too loud.”

She stands on her tiptoes, and in my ear, says, “Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to have sex.”

As I look back at her, the bright technicolor flashes on her face. Before the light shifts, I see her freckled cheeks burn red. She doesn’t hold my gaze as if she’s embarrassed to have admitted that.

“Hey, don’t worry. I haven’t had sex in a while. I miss it, too.”

She sheepishly smiles and twirls a lock of her thick, black wavy hair around her finger. “No, I’ve—I’ve never had sex. I’m still a virgin.”

I think I’m more buzzed than I realized. I didn’t fully register her words, but now that I think about them, it makes sense.

“I know it sounds lame, but I?—”

She must have mistaken my silence for something else, but I quickly cut her off.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry. I think I’m a little drunker than I thought I was, but no, it’s not lame.” I smile at her, squeezing her wrist for reassurance, and let it go when the bartender sets our drinks in front of us. “It’s okay that you haven’t had sex. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

Her eyes glimmer again and the nervous edge surrounding them disappears. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it recently, and I’ve just—I don’t know.” She takes a sip of her drink. “I think I’m ready.”

Taking a sip of my own, I consider what I want to say to her. “Don’t feel pressured to do something just because everyone is, but if you’re ready, find someone you trust. Someone who understandsconsent…”

My mind drifts to Landon and our conversation in the alleyway, and what he did after I gave him my consent.

I can still feel his rough hand around my throat, lightly squeezing, his calluses softly scratching my skin.

I clear my throat and take a long drink, the cold liquid cooling my blistering body.

“Consent is really important. They need to understand what’s okay with you and what isn’t.”

She nods, listening avidly. “Right, of course, consent is everything.”

“Do you have someone in mind?” The smile on my face grows until my cheeks ache.

“Ah…no.” Her lips thin in a straight line. “That’s the thing. I don’t know who it would be.”

“That’s okay. You have all the time in the world. We’ll find someone for you.” We skim the crowd, considering all the prospects. There are so many guys, but from my own personal experience, I don’t want Gabby to end up with someone like Cole.

My hands become wet with sweat and my body tenses, but before I can allow myself to go there, I chug the rest of my drink.

“Whoa, if I did that, I’d pass out on the spot. I’m unfortunately an extreme lightweight, so I gotta take it easy.”

“Trust me, I’m going to regret this in the morning, but fuck it.” I shrug, setting my cup on the bar top just as the bartender stands in front of me. “Another one,” I tell her.

Gabby shakes her head, giggling at me. “I’m so happy you came! Oh my gosh, I’m going to go get the girls and Darius, and we’re going to have shots! I’ll be back!”

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