Page 69 of Off Limits
Serenity’s raised her brow. She blinks.
‘So, you see, I didn’t exactly sow any wild oats in college,’ I add. ‘I mean, that’s my body count, right there.’
‘But you were a loyal boyfriend,’ she says, and I sense she’s trying to make me feel better. ‘Which is a hundred per cent better than most guys I know.’
I can feel myself blushing again.Calm it down, Walsh. I know I shouldn’t say what I’m about to say, but I guess I’m gonna do it anyway. ‘I’m just not exactly Mr Experience.’
She watches me, a cute little smile on her face. ‘Didn’t anybody ever tell you it’s quality over quantity?’
All this sex talk is putting me at half-mast. I shift position on the couch. Damn if I don’t wanna be her number nine and blow all those other guys out the water. I know I can’t ask for a breakdown, but the athlete in me needs to find out the competition.
‘So… Mr Turpentine. Was he your only boyfriend other than high school jackass?’
She smiles shyly at my question and plays with her shirt sleeve. ‘My last boyfriend had his own bar. Turned out that wasn’t all he had. There was a wife and two kids at home I didn’t know about the whole time I was dating him.’
‘Jesus. How long were you dating him?’
‘A few months. She tracked me down and confronted me at The Bounty one afternoon. It was humiliating. The worst thing was, she didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t know about her existence. About the kids’ existence. She was ten years older than me. I felt like such a cliché. Put me off meeting a guy online ever again.’
She inhales. ‘Anyway. That was more than two years ago, and I’ve not been on a date since. Until you. So, I might be a little more experienced, but I’m very out of practice in that department.’
We both stare at one another for a moment, then look away. When I look back at her, she’s blushing as hard as I am. We both descend into laughter.
‘So, we’re Mr Inexperienced versus Miss Out-of-Practice,’ I say.
It feels like we’re on a level. Or maybe something changed in the atmosphere, I don’t know. But I feel like I can be wholly honest with her right at this moment.
‘Gracie Olavsen. The brainiac? She might have been my girlfriend, but we only had full sex once.’
Serenity frowns. ‘Only once? How come?’
‘She said… she said I was too big for her, and it was uncomfortable.’
Serenity snickers again. ‘Is that you trying to show off?’
‘I’m serious. She didn’t like… you know… she liked other stuff. She liked me to go down on her, that was it.’
‘But what about you?’
I blow out my cheeks, but I feel comfortable telling her this, and I never told anyone else. ‘Usually, I’d just jack off in the bathroom once she’d fallen asleep. Man, have I just crossed a line?’
She’s laughing and it seems like we’re okay.
‘You’re a Mutineers running back. You should have women lining up to sleep with you, you know that, right?’
I can tell I’m blushing again. ‘Yeah, they all DM me to tell me that, but… I don’t know.’
We’re quiet for a moment. Serenity runs her tongue along her bottom lip, then bites it with her teeth. Something crackles in the atmosphere.
‘What kinds of things doyoulike?’ Serenity asks.
I feel a surging sensation in my balls. Oh fuck. The sex talk just tipped over into something else.Fuck, Walsh, quit blushing. ‘I like you,’ I say.
Before I know it, she’s gotten to her feet. She rids herself of shoes. She then takes two steps, lowers herself back down, straddling my thighs. I go from half to full mast inside of a second.
‘I like you too,’ she whispers.
I shift a little under her and look up. Those eyes. Sparkling with a special brand of sweetness. Innocent almost, like those eight other guys were really a myth. Like they didn’t even really touch her. Leaning my head forward, we pause for a moment, just watching each other.
