Page 16 of Good Girl
‘Sì. I want to feel it in my hands.’
‘Uh, okay.’ She sits on the seat nearest to her, turning her back to me, and I sit down behind her and take the long swathe of her hair in my hand. It’s beautifully lustrous and feels soft and smooth against my skin. I forcibly have to stop myself from letting out a groan of pleasure as the strands slip through my fingers.
I begin to smooth the brush down her hair, from her scalp to the very ends, and I smile when I hear her let out a small sigh of pleasure.
‘You like having your hair brushed?’
‘I love it. Though you’re the first person, other than my hairdresser, that’s ever done it for me.’
‘It’s such a beautiful colour. Like autumn bonfires.’
She lets out anmmm-hmmsort of noise, but doesn’t say anything else.
‘Why do you keep it tamed all the time?’
She leaves a small pause hanging in the air before answering, as if she’s deciding whether or not to tell me the truth. ‘Honestly, it draws too much attention to me when it’s down, and I find that hard to handle.’
I shake my head. ‘Well, I think that’s a travesty.’
Her breathing quickens as I continue to stroke the brush through her hair and after a few moments I see her visibly begin to relax, her shoulders dropping and her back arching as if it’s giving her real pleasure now.
‘I’m sorry about tonight,’ I mumble quietly into her ear.
She tenses a little and I move the brush back up to her scalp and run it from the crown of her head to the base of her neck until she relaxes again.
‘You know, I think I freaked out so badly because I was afraid you might expect me to do sexual things with you in front of all those people,’ she says in a small voice.
I stop what I’m doing and get up from the sofa, moving to sit in front of her instead so I can look into her eyes.
‘That’s not why I took you in there, I swear. I genuinely thought you might find it “fun and...er...sexy”.’ I flash her a humbled smile, hoping she’ll realise I’m referencing the first awkward conversation we’d ever had about sex. That I’m suggesting we’re both as bad as each other.
I’m relieved to see her smile back, even if it is a little restrained.
I rub my hand over my face, wishing I could take tonight back and start again. So much for my reputation as a world-class seducer of women.
‘It’s not that I didn’t find it sexy, exactly,’ she murmurs. ‘I was just surprised by how full-on it was.’
I nod. ‘I guess I’m a bit desensitised to how extreme that place would seem to the uninitiated. But we don’t have to go anywhere like that again,’ I promise her. ‘And from now on I want you to tell me immediately if something makes you feel uncomfortable. Communication is really important. I want you to feel safe and in control, okay?’
‘You still want to help me?’ she asks, sounding surprised.
I stare at her, dumbfounded. ‘Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?’
Her shrug is awkward. ‘I don’t know. I guess I thought you’d be disappointed with me for being such a wimp and not want me here any more if I’m not going to be any fun.’
‘I don’t think you’re a wimp, Juno.’ I lift my hand to her face and smooth my thumb over the soft skin of her cheek. ‘I just think we need to take some time to get to know each other. To figure each other out. What I really need is for you to be open and truthful with me when we’re in bed.’
‘I’ll try, but I don’t think I’m going to be good at sexy talk.’ She glances down and frowns at her hands which are so tightly linked in her lap the tendons are standing out.
‘It doesn’t have to be sexy. It has to be honest. If you don’t want to do something, or don’t like something, you have to say so. Don’t do it just to try and make me happy or to spare my feelings.’
I feel her begin to tremble under my touch and I can see from the fast tick of the vein in her throat that she’s nervous.
‘We’ll only go as far as you’re comfortable with. And we’ll take it slow.’
‘In the interest of being honest, I have to tell you... I’m nervous about how inexperienced and...ordinary...you’re going to find me,’ she blurts, colour rising to her cheeks. ‘I know the kind of women you usually date and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to compare favourably to them.’
I shake my head, mystified that she’d be concerned about that. ‘Juno, you’re a very attractive woman with an incredible body.’
