Page 38 of Imperfect Match (Imperfect Match 1)
“Then before I knew it, he was sweeping me off my feet and rushing into my bedroom, where we proceeded to throw all rational thought out the window and bang each other senseless.”
“How was it?” Aspen’s grin is sly.
Sighing, I set my elbows on my desk and tip my forehead onto my fingers. “Amazing. Magical. Perfection.”
“So he knows what he’s doing?”
I nod miserably. “And then some.”
“Was it awkward afterward?”
“It was, and it wasn’t.” I sit back in my chair. “Right afterward, we fell asleep pretty quickly. But at some point, I woke up and started to panic.”
“Why?”
“Because I realized what a mistake we made!” Hopping to my feet, I grab my empty coffee cup and stalk over to the Keurig I keep on top of my credenza. “I was lying there, naked, next to Reid, and we’d done all the things!” Flustered, I shove a pod in the machine and snap it shut.
“Good grief, Willow, you had sex with him, that’s all. It’s a totally natural, human thing to do. The world didn’t explode, no one was hurt, and orgasms are good for you. What is there to panic about?”
While my coffee cup fills, I think about all the answers I could give, all the frightening things running through my head all night, keeping me awake. There are almost too many to name, but will Aspen understand any of them? She believes in free love and no rules and following your heart’s desire. But I don’t trust my heart to lead me in the right direction right now.
“It comes down to this,” I say, carefully carrying my coffee back to my desk. “Reid’s friendship is more important to me than anything, even good sex. I’m willing to sacrifice good sex in order to preserve the dynamic we have right now. I need him in my life, Aspen. And if we let our sexual attraction take over our decision-making, we’re just asking for trouble. I know it.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it felt too good,” I blurt, coffee sloshing over the side of my cup as I set it down. “It was too intense and too much fun and too hot. That kind of fire dies out fast. It doesn’t last. And I’d rather be celibate than lose Reid.”
My sister exhales as if I’m a hopeless case. “Okay, fine. But remember.” She draws herself up and lays the back of her hands on her legs, palms up. “Fear does not stop death. It stops life.”
I cock my head. “Where did you hear that? Your last fortune cookie?”
“No. I found it on Pinterest. There’s some really good stuff there.”
Dropping into my chair, I roll my eyes. “Thanks for the tip. Now I have work to do, so please find someone else’s soul to unburden.”
“Fine.” She unfolds her legs, stands up, and heads for the door. When she gets there, she looks over her shoulder at me. “So are you still planning to match him up with someone?”
The thought turns my stomach. “Yes. That’s my job.”
“And he agrees with you about last night being a mistake?”
“Yes,” I lie.
Aspen gives me a look that clearly expresses her disapproval and disappears down the hall.
It doesn’t matter what she thinks, I tell myself. It only matters what Reid and I think, and I’m certain that once he takes a moment to consider the potential fallout, he’ll agree. After all, he was the one who said he didn’t want anything to change.
We shouldn’t have done it, and we can’t do it again.
There’s too much at stake.
Eleven
Reid
I should have known she was going to freak out.
Actually, I did know. It’s totally Willow. And even knowing that, I would have gone there last night. I was too fed up with wondering what it would be like.
