Page 87 of What I Should Have Known

But here we were, with my absolutely naked body that was only covered waist down by the sheets on my bed exposed.

“Are you…Are you pleasuring yourself? Not judging, just…” she gasped, her expression twisting between shock and a smile.

My fingers beneath the sheets tightened in Bernie’s hair, but no words were able to leave my mouth as he too, remained completely still.

I should’ve quickly covered the rest of myself with my blankets, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t move.

Like cement, I was frozen in place.

She remained rooted to the spot, unblinking.

Her eyes stayed locked onto mine. “I’ll go let Wyatt know you’ll be down in a bit,” she calmly said. “Next time you’re…taking care of yourself, all I ask is that you please lock the door. You have two younger brothers.”

“I—” My voice cracked as Bernie’s tongue flicked out between my legs. Twisting his hair between my fingers as a warning, I cleared my throat, hiding the rush he caused. “I swear I did,”I sheepishly replied.

Finally, my mom glanced away from me, and a gush of oxygen released from my lungs. Her brows knitted together as she studied the doorknob. Giving it a quick rattle, she scratched at her head for a moment. “Huh. Looks like you did. I think something is broken. I’ll have Dad take a look at it later.”

“Okay, thank you.” I swallowed as her eyes darted around the room, scanning everything but me.

“Anyway, hurry and…you know. Just come downstairs quickly,” she said and scurried out of the room with a slam of the door.

Closing my eyes, I whacked the side of Bernie’s head as he slowly pushed himself off of the mattress. The sheets slid away from my waist and down his back, exposing the very man, the very naked man, who’d been the cause of all of that.

“Have you never masturbated before?” he bluntly asked with a smirk, and my jaw fell open.

“First off, be quiet. Second, what the hell?”

He shrugged. “Just saying, seemed like she was rather shocked that you might be enjoying some alone time.”

“I’m not going to dignify your question with an answer. Now, up. You’ve gotta sneak out before someone sees you, and apparently Wyatt is asking for me.”

“He can wait.” Bernie frowned.

My gaze slid down his bare torso, darting between his legs as he sat back on his heels. Yeah, Wyatt could wait since I wanted to indulge on Bernie again. Besides, my blissful morning was interrupted and now I felt all…

What was it that I felt?

“And that, Kit Kat, is a woman’s version of blue balls,” Bernie said.

I snapped my gaze up to his. “What?”

“That expression on your face, you’re feeling this strange frustration because you didn’t get to finish. Blue balls. But for a woman,” he explained, and I narrowed my eyes to slits.

“Get out of my room.” I sat up as he grinned wider.

“No.”

“Bernie, get out. I have to go see what Wyatt wants.” Shoving at his arm, he chuckled and then, without a sound, slipped off my mattress. I watched as he quickly dipped and gathered his clothes.

We were lucky he’d tossed them to the side of my bed that wasn’t visible from my bedroom door. Had my mother seen them… Shaking my head, I slumped forward, both ashamed and relieved. “My mother has never walked in on me naked. In any way before. She clearly didn’t care that I may have been taking care of myself, it was more her walking in…” I muttered, glancing toward Bernie.

He zipped up his jeans with a little jig. “Not even while you were changing?”

I shook my head. “With two older brothers, and then eventually two younger ones, I made a careful habit of always locking my door, being discreet when changing or doing anything like that. So, no. Not even then.”

A sly grin spread across his face as he tugged the black T-shirt over his head. “And now she thinks you were touching yourself.”

Groaning, I bumped my head against my knees as I scrunched myself up tighter. “Shut the fuck up and get out. Through my—”

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