Page 22 of Taylor

Taylor was still sitting there, patiently waiting for her to explain.

And she couldn’t have picked anyone better to lose her virginity to. He was sweet and cared about her—and had even remembered their conversation from the gala. He’d been kind and respectful every time they’d ever interacted. And most importantly, he seemed to be attracted to her...

And they were snowed in.

Fuck.

It was now or never.

“I’ve never done this,” she blurted.

His brow scrunched in confusion. “Never done what? Like, hooked up?”

“No... I mean, no, I’ve never hooked up...” After a long pause and a deep breath, she said, “I mean that I’ve never had sex before.”

His mouth dropped, and he sat there, gaping at her.

Self-consciousness took over her, and she moved away from him and faced the TV.

“You’re a virgin?”

The shock in his voice made her cringe.

She nodded, unable to meet his eye.

10

Taylor

She was a virgin. That did not compute in his brain. Virgins didn’t have rainbow dildos. Virgins didn’t try to give blow jobs. Virgins weren’t sexy little chaos rainbows... But he guessed they were. It took him a few minutes to recalibrate his thoughts.

It was a few minutes too long because he was still frozen on the couch when Alice got up and wrapped her sweatshirt around her, quickly walking into the kitchen.

Fuck.

“Alice, wait a minute,” he said, following her.

She unloaded this dishwasher, ignoring him. He’d made a mess of this. He hadn’t meant to make her feel bad, as sometimes, his brain just needed extra computing time when he was surprised.

He ached to pull her to him and hug her until she felt secure again, but he got the feeling she might not want to be touched.

He propped a hip against the counter and waited for her to look at him. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she replied cheerfully, but he could see through her fake smile.

“For upsetting you. I was just surprised. It changed nothing for me.”

Her movements slowed, but she continued to put the dishes away. He took that as a good sign and continued. “Sometimes, when things surprise me, I just need a moment to process it, but that isn’t a good or a bad thing. It’s just how my brain works. There is clearly no pressure, but I’m still up for a good time if you are.”

She finally stopped and turned to him.

He prayed he was saying the right thing, but saying the right thing wasn’t one of his strengths.

“It doesn’t freak you out?”

“No, it doesn’t freak me out. I was a virgin once, too.”

When she chuckled and batted his chest, he let out a breath, relieved.

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