“Spencer, come on,” I choke, flushing as I catch up to him and we walk past a quilt shop. One of the price tags in the corner catches my eye. Two-thousand dollars for a blanket?! The woman inside waves, and we wave back. “It's just a stupid nickname they decided to tease me with.”
“Well, is it true?” he asks, his voice tentative.
I give him this saucy look, like I've seen Monica pull on dudes a thousand times in the past. It says without words I am smarter and cooler and better than you, so don't expect an answer. Doesn't work on Spencer though, I can tell.
“Obviously not, you were there,” I joke, running my fingers through my short blond hair again.
“But before that,” Spencer continues, and then when I turn to look at him, he pens me in against the pretty lavender wall of a candle and soap shop, the sweet smell of lavender and rose drifting out the door to us. Those turquoise eyes of his lock onto my face, and I squirm. He's most definitely got me where he wants me, doesn't he? “Did you just lose your virginity to me?”
“What does it matter? Why are guys so obsessed with virgins anyway? Don't you want a more experienced partner? Jesus. It's not a commodity to be traded and won like a prize.”
“That's not why I'm asking. I'm not obsessed with virgins; I'm obsessed with you. And I know that the first time can be weird or uncomfortable or even painful. If you'd told me, I would've …”
“Would've what?” I whisper, my voice husky and low. I'm embarrassed, but I'm also enjoying this far more than I expected. My eyes lift to meet Spencer's, and this surge of happiness flows through me. He's alive. I feel like I've won the lottery or something. Just … don't tell him that.
“I would've been more gentle,” he says, smiling slightly. “Or slowed down. What we did was sort of—”
“Bestial?” The word blurts out before I can stop it, and my chest tightens. I'm not normally one to get embarrassed so easily. Usually, I go the snarky route.
“Something like that,” Spencer murmurs, eyes half-lidded as he looks at me with this gentle possessiveness that I suddenly need so much more of.
“I knew it!” A voice calls out, and I jump. Spencer just turns his head slightly to the side and raises one dark brow.
Tobias is coming around the corner with Micah at his side. And they both look pissed.
“You two fucked, didn't you?” Micah says, giving this weird sort of half-smirk. “Virgin Chuck isn't so virgin anymore, huh? That was quick.”
“Shut up,” I snap, ducking out from under Spencer's arm and trying to flip what little hair I have left. Back home in California, I could do a hair flip like nobody's business. Before I left, I was working on being able to hit people in the face with my long, blond locks during said flip. Monica is the queen of that one, but I’m still in training. “We had a thing, what can I say? It was a welcome home present.”
“Oh, please,” Tobias says, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning hard. “Don't play it off like that, like you two sleeping together was some sort of pity fuck. You're into each other.”
“Like I was subtle about it,” Spencer says, lighting up a cigarette. I frown, but he can smoke if he wants. It's a free country, isn't it? “Why are you so surprised?”
The twins exchange a look, and this time, it's Tobias who scowls and turns away, an expression that's more in Micah's wheelhouse. Is he jealous? I wonder, because I felt like the twins and I sort of bonded back in Santa Cruz.
Crap.
I'm the girl that joins the group of boys and drives them apart, aren't I?
No, that's stupid. That's an old-fashioned misogynistic story line, and I won't be a part of it.
“I'm not surprised that you went after Chuck like a dog in heat. We've all seen that before. Many times.” Tobias turns back around and then folds his arms together behind his head. His green eyes slide over to mine, almost apologetically. “You're aware of his reputation, right? He's a man-whore. A serial man-whore.”
“Oh, please.” Spencer waves his cigarette around as Ranger and Church approach from the direction of the diner. Neither of them looks amused to see the others embroiled in an argument. “I've slept with four girls. I'd hardly call myself a man-whore.”
“Four?” Tobias chokes, and I notice Micah grab his twin's arm and give it a squeeze. “At least six that I know of. You told me about that girl from last summer—”
“Five then. Jesus. There are most definitely not six.” Spencer pauses for a moment, like he's thinking, and I feel myself getting more and more uncomfortable.
