Page 77 of I Blame the Rival

“I should probably go.”

His voice draws my attention back to the final credits rolling on the screen.

“Sleepover tonight. You can drive home in the morning.”

“Are you sure?”

I nod, shifting my laptop soI can sit up in bed.

“I have a spare toothbrush you can borrow. Give me five minutes.”

Sliding off the bed, I grab my sleepwear and face cream before slipping into the bathroom. I stare at my reflection in the mirror, barely recognizing the girl with the excited eyes and permanent smile. For the first time in a long time, I look genuinely happy.

And not just on the outside.

Beaming at my own reflection, I quickly perform my ablutions before hunting down the toothbrush I promised Skylar. The entire routine takes less than five minutes, and I find him patiently waiting for me back in my room.

He takes the toothbrush without a word and disappears into the bathroom. The book he gifted me sits unopened on my desk and I walk over to grab it.

Flipping the pages to the symbol table outlined on the first page, I read the cursive handwriting and start to blush.

Yellow: Heavy petting with clothes on.

Blue: Basic finger foreplay.

Green: Oral sex.

Pink: First moment of entry. Missionary.

Red: Repeated intercourse. Mirrors and props.

“Everything okay?”

I snap the book shut and look up to find Skylar studying me. The heat in my face blooms, spreading down my neck and chest as I stare at the boy who outlined fictional orgasms for me.

His eyes flick down, following the blush to the exposed edges of my loose tank top. I squeeze my legs together, trying to ignore the ache building between them.

“Everything is great!” The high pitch of my voice has me cringing. My mind is stuck on the list of sexual acts he wrote out for me.

Was he thinking about me when he read those scenes?

I swallow thickly, wishing I was brave enough to ask the question out loud. Skylar hasn’t moved from his spot in the doorway, his eyes carefully guarded as he looks at me.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“What? No. Not at all.” An awkward laugh slips out, “Just the opposite.”

A faint smile hits Skylar’s face and the ache between my legs increases by tenfold. His hair is messy and a little wild from our movie and it makes me wonder what it would look like if we had watched the movie like a normal couple.

What it would look like if we hadn’t watched the movie at all.

Heat pools between my legs as I think about the list he wrote out for me, the casual description he left for each colour. There’s a quiet confidence about Skylar that makes me think he has a decent amount of sexual experience, but when it comes to knowing what he likes and desires, I am completely clueless.

“What are you thinking about, Flower?”

Caught mid-thought, heat flames my cheeks, “Well, uh, I wasjust wondering…”

I trail off, heart pounding when I make eye contact with the boy studying me from across the room. Skylar doesn’t say anything, he patiently waits for my thought process to finish articulating.

---