Page 11 of Holding Out

That made him laugh.“Who told you that?Nate?”Nate had an exaggerated idea of Griff’s prowess, and Griff had, admittedly, never tried to set him straight.

She crossed her arms, framing her gorgeous tits and forcing him to make a conscious effort to keep his gaze on her face.“My point being, it’s not a big deal to you.Sex isn’t.”

“No,” he admitted.After Marina, he’d gone out of his way to make sure he never did that again—mistook sex for more than it was.

“So ...what if you agreed to, um, take my virginity?”Her cheeks were pink, and her eyes were bright.It was a deadly combination.Maybe looking at her face wasn’t the safest idea, either.

“No.”He stood up.“Becca, no.It’s a terrible idea.”

“Because you’re not attracted to me.”Her full red mouth formed a little pout.

Which shouldn’t have been sexy at all, but was.Damn it.Hewasattracted to her.New Becca was a menace to society.A woman with the courage and confidence to ask a guy a question like that straight to his face—pink cheeks or no—was a turn-on.

“It’s not that.It’s more everything that goes with it.The fact that you’re Alia’s little sister.And that you dated Nate, so guy code—”

“Seriously, Griff, webarelydated.He could not be more like a brother to me.”

“Well, exactly.He’s almost your big brother at this point, and I’m his friend, and he would cut my balls off and stuff them down my throat if I went through with what you’re proposing.That’s if Alia didn’t get to me first.”He realized he’d taken several steps away from her toward the door, and forced himself to stand his ground.

“They don’t need to know.”

Those eyes, so eager, were going to do him in.He shook his head.“They would find out.Secrets like that don’t keep.Anyway, I don’t do complicated.And this situation is complicated.Inherently.”

He should know.

“It wouldn’t have to be complicated.One and done.”

He shook his head again, at a loss for words.One and donewas usually his favorite phrase, but ...“What you have to understand is how low my threshold for complicated is.These days, I don’t even stick around for donuts and coffee.”

“Look,” Becca said.“My virginity is a royal pain in the ass at this point.If I’m seeing a guy, I either have to lie about it by omission—which I won’t do, because that shit always comes back to haunt you—or tell the truth.And if I tell the truth, guys are universally weird about it.Like you’re being.”It was her turn to get up from the couch.She crossed to the wall and flicked the overhead light on.Both of them blinked.

“I’m not being weird about your virginity.I’m being weird about taking the virginity of my closest friend’s almost-sister.Plus, when you’re someone’s first, they get feelings even if they don’t mean to.”

She rolled her eyes.“You’re arrogant, Ambrose.What about the possibility that you would get feelings forme?”

“Impossible.I don’t do relationships.”

She shook her head and gave him a disgusted look.“I wouldn’tget feelings.I’d know up front what the terms were, and so would you.Plus, we don’t cross paths that often, so we could easily avoid each other.I could stay away from Friday Night Dinners to dodge any awkwardness until things cool off.It would be fine.”

He was still shaking his head, at a loss for any other words to describe what a bad idea this was.

“I like you, Becca.I think you’re great.And I am sympathetic about your, um, situation.But I don’t want to die.And Nate wouldkillmeif I went through with what you’re suggesting.”

That got her.She sighed heavily.And bit her lip again.

Fuuuck.She needed to stop doing that.

She paced back and forth a few times, and he was afraid New Becca was steeling herself for another approach.But then she crossed her arms and gave him a dark look.

“Fine,” she said.“If you won’t help me, I’ll find someone else.Let’s just hope whoever it is won’t do anything you wouldn’t do.”

4

Becca woke up as soon as Nate and Robbie came downstairs.She heard coffee being ground and brewed in the kitchen.Robbie babbled, and Nate answered him in earnest grownup sentences, as if he could understand everything Robbie had “said.”It made her grin.

Nate and Robbie wandered into the living room.

“Hey,” she said.

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