Page 71 of The Significance of Moving On

“W-why did you stop?” She’s not only shocked, but I can see the arousal mixed with hurt reflecting in her eyes. “You’re my boyfriend. You’re allowed to touch me.”

“I don’t—I don’t want to ruin this. You’re too important to me, sweetheart.”

“You’re important to me, too.”

My gaze drops to her sleep shorts. “You’re still a virgin, right?” Christ, I’m an asshole. Who’s to say she wouldn’t have put the brakes on before we got there?

She folds her arms under her chest. “So you’re going to use that against me now? Because I can think of a foolproof way to make that a nonissue for us. You have sex with me.”

She’s angry—of course she’s angry with me. I step closer to take hold of her hand and I drop my voice. “That’s not what I meant. Sweetheart, just because we live together doesn’t mean your first time should happen on an ugly old sofa. It should be special, something you’ll never forget.”

“It’s with you, I’ll never forget.”

“Is that where tonight was leading?” I ask.

She shoots me a ‘duh’ as if I’m the densest man she’s ever met.

“We weren’t prepared. Are you on the pill and I don’t know it?”

Tally shakes her head no.

“Right. I haven’t needed condoms since you moved in. Where does that leave us? Let me make it special for you. Clearly, I want you, Tal. But please let me give it to you how I need to give it to you.”

She turns her head away from me and I don’t have it in me to fight tonight. But when she turns back, there are tears in her eyes. “Okay,” she whispers.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The fact that Tally turns nineteen tomorrow blows my mind. All she’s gone through, all we’ve gone through together, it felt like the day would never get here, yet at the same time where has the time gone?

She’s strong. She’s brave. Any man would consider himself lucky to have Tally by his side, which means I’ve had to be extra careful not to lose control again after the way I lost it when we got home from Steve’s party. But she felt too good and her scent just drove me crazy—and still riding high off of that reception—Jesus it took everything I had in me to pull it back.

Given that I’m not sure how Tom or even Kelsey celebrated her birthday in the past because being in May she’d still been away at school when it fell, has left a gaping hole of birthday etiquette for me to consider and consequently attempt to fill. But this is nineteen—nineteen.Her last official year as a teenager.

In lieu of past traditions, I’ve made the executive decision to hopefully start a new one. Tal suffered through a lot of lasts this past year, too many lasts in my opinion. But we’ve managed to snag a couple of firsts as well. I’m counting on the fact that this first doesn’t blow up in my face seeing as it sort of involves a last with her brother.

Some reassurance is necessary.Stat. Usually I’m not the type of guy to second guess myself, but for my girl everything has to be perfect.

“Hey Case, what’s up?” Kelsey asks after she answers the phone. She sounds in good spirits.

“I just need some advice and thought you’d be the go-to girl to help.”

“Must be Tally related.”

I shake my head answering yes even though she clearly can’t see me.

“Is it about her birthday?”

“Well, I wanted to do something special because it’s the first one she and I have spent together. So I booked a cabin for the weekend—”

“Up at Indian River?” she cuts me off. “That was her and Tom’s favorite place.”

“Yeah, actually. What I need to know is, was that a good move or monumentally stupid?”

As time ticks by and Kelsey says nothing in return, I begin to feel the weight of what a bad decision I’ve made. This is why I called her. Rather have Kelsey thinking of me as an idiot than destroying Tally’s birthday.

“Okay, well monumentally stupid, it is. I’ll call and cancel that reservation. Any other ideas?”

Kelsey still says nothing.

---