Page 31 of Little Did You Know

"I'm sorry, Olivia." His voice roughened around my name, heavy with regret. "I didn't know."

"Nick, I'm sorry about tonight."

"Don't worry about it." He perched on the edge of my bed, the mattress dipping under his weight. "It was an accident."

I was so tired of these kinds of 'accidents' happening. Hannah's words from earlier echoed in my head.

"Nick?" I swallowed hard, unable to meet his eyes.

"Hmm?" His voice was soft, patient.

The question lodged in my throat like a butterfly struggling to escape. I twisted my hands in my lap once, twice, before finally looking up. "If I asked for your help, would you help me?" The words dissolved into whispers, nearly lost in the hum of the air conditioning.

Nick's fingertips found my chin, tilting my face up until I had nowhere to hide. "Of course I would." His thumb brushed away a stray tear. "Tell me what."

"Hannah told me that the cure was to find the one man I'm comfortable with and fuck him unconscious." I noticed his face go pale.

"Okay," he said carefully.

"She said he could help me get over my awkwardness."

"How am I supposed to help you with that?"

"Look, it's obvious that you're comfortable with women, and you know your way around the dating world. I thought you could help me."

"You want dating advice?" Nick's brow furrowed, creating that little crease I always wanted to smooth away with my thumb.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I forced out the words. "No, I want you to have sex with me."

The color drained from his face. He shot to his feet like the bed had burned him, putting three quick steps between us.

"Olivia..." He raked both hands through his hair. "This is insane." His pacing carved a path in the carpet. "Sex—" He stumbled over the word, spinning to face me. "Sex isn't the cause of your problems. How is that going to help?"

Heat crawled up my neck. I focused on a loose thread on my sleeve, twisting it around my finger until the tip turned purple. I opened my mouth, closed it again. Tried once more.

"I'm..." The words stuck in my throat. I couldn't look at him. "I've never..."

His pacing stopped. The silence stretched between us, brittle as thin ice.

"I'm a virgin," I finally whispered, the admission falling between us like a stone.

"No, Olivia, I can't... no." He started pacing the room. "You're a virgin, for fuck sake. There's so much more to sex than a business agreement."

"Is there?" From all the women I'd met today, I assumed a business agreement was all it was to him.

"Yes, there are a lot of factors. There's attraction and..."

I pushed off the bed, standing. "I know I'm not your type, but..."

"What?" His gaze snapped up meeting mine, brows furrowing.

"I know you like tall, thin blondes." My reflection in the window caught my eye—dark hair, curves, barely reaching his shoulder in heels. "I'm not any of that."

A strangled sound escaped him, somewhere between a laugh and a groan. "No, you're not my typical one-night stand." His reflection appeared behind mine, eyes dark and intense. "You're so much more important to me."

"Nick..." My palm pressed against the cool glass, leaving a ghostly print.

"Olivia." He closed his eyes like the sight of me hurt. "You're a virgin; you should lose that to someone special. Not me." His hands clenched at his sides. "I don't do relationships, and I have rules." The space between us crackled with tension. "And you're living with me, breaking the biggest one of them all."

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