Page 44 of Worth the Chase

She leaned over the booth, her eyes narrowed with irritation. “We’re not dating. This was the first time we went out.”

“So, you didn’t sleep with him then?” I knew my voice sounded relieved, even though I had no right.

“I’ve never slept with anyone, you asshole.”

Her eyes widened with her admission, and I swore I made an audible sound as I sucked in a surprised breath. I felt like I’d been slapped across the face with the force of her words.

“What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” she whispered, and I knew she was pissed at herself for what she’d just told me.

“I heard you, but there’s no possible way that’s true.”

Bells is a virgin?

“I have to go.” She got away from me and practically sprinted out of the front door.

Unlucky for her, I saw exactly where she was headed.

CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG

BELLA

Icouldn’t believe I’d just told Matthew the one thing that I’d sworn to myself I never would. And now, I couldn’t take my comment back or tell him that I was just joking. He’d know I was lying. I hadn’t been trying to deceive Matthew when it came to my lack of sexual experience. I just didn’t want the topic to matter the way it always seemed to.

I was far more than the status of my virginity, but there were moments, like right now, when I definitely didn’t feel like it. I felt defined by it, like I had a neon sign over my head, declaringBella Sanchez is a Virginwith a capital V.

Had I just ruined everything by blabbing my biggest secret to my lifelong crush?

There was no way Matthew would be able to look at me the same way he had mere minutes before. Once guys found out about this, their perspective tended to shift. I couldn’t stand the thought of Matthew pitying me or viewing me like I was some kind of conquest.

Walking back into work, I saw Anna’s face light up as soon as she caught sight of me.

“Matthew was here,” she said as she carefully cleaned off a glass, holding on to it with both hands.

“I’m aware.” I swallowed hard, my face flushed with frustration.

“Did he find you?” Addi was behind me, her hand on my shoulder. I spun around to face her. She looked apologetic. “I’m sorry. I told him you were on a date. Did he ruin it?”

“Of course he ruined it,” I answered with a laugh because I wasn’t mad.

“I didn’t tell him where you were, but he figured it out,” Addi added.

I gave her a small smile. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault. Plus, it’s not like I was going to seriously date someone who lives over two hours away. No matter how nice and hot he is.”

The bells jangled, and we all looked over to see Matthew saunter inside, his face unreadable as he searched for me. Addi gave me a quick smile before she headed back toward the food, giving us some semblance of privacy. Anna, on the other hand, stayed put behind the bar, but I didn’t miss the way her body leaned in our direction so that she could hear what was about to go down. As if I wouldn’t tell her everything later anyway.

“I need to talk to you,” he said as soon as he reached me, his hands grasping for mine as I glanced around.

There wasn’t much of a crowd at the moment, which I was grateful for, but the few people waiting on their to-go orders were definitely watching us with interest. Matthew created a scene everywhere he went, and the restaurant was no exception.

“No thanks,” I responded, feeling a little embarrassed at the intimate knowledge he now held.

It was going to be this big deal between us—it always turned into a big deal.

“We need to finish our conversation.” His thumb started making small circles on top of my hand.

“We don’t really need to have a conversation about it at all,” I said, shaking my head. “Especially not here.”

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