“Jeez, now, I can’t hear. Yes, I’m hoping to seduce him into sleeping with me.” I laugh.
“I don’t think it will take any seducing at all. That guy has probably imagined you in his bed every single day since you met.”
I can hear her smacking her mouth across the phone.
“Will you quit eating right in my ear?”
“Okay. Don’t forget to wrap it before he taps it. Don’t be silly; wrap his willy. No love without the glove. No—”
“Okay, I get it,” I say, cutting her off with a laugh.
“Have you told him?”
“Told him what?” I play dumb.
“That this is your first time?”
“Hasn’t exactly come up in regular conversation, Andi,” I say sarcastically.
“Well, make sure he knows. Your situation is a little different than most girls.”
“What, most twenty-three-year-olds aren’t virgins? Shocker.” I roll my eyes and plop down on my bed with a huff. “I’m not ashamed of it, just worried about my inexperience.”
“I think it’s sweet,” she says, trying to make me feel better.
“I don’t want to be sweet. I want him to think I’m a sex kitten.”
Andi bursts out laughing across the speaker, and I grimace.
“Sex kitten. That’s a good one, Pep.”
Danger noses my door open and jumps up on the bed with me, laying his head in my lap while I absently pat his belly.
“Just be yourself, Pepper. That’s who he fell in love with.”
“Oh my God, he’s not in love with me,” I exclaim.
Is he?
No.
“Whatever you say,” Andi says in a singsong voice. “Just be chill. Don’t overthink things and call me with all the gritty details in the morning.”
“You know I will.” I smile, standing to rifle through my drawers.
I find a pair of jean shorts and a tight-fitting V-neck T-shirt. I pull out the matching pink thong and lacy bra before shaking my head and shoving them back in the drawer. I’m just going to be me tonight, wearing my normal, everyday attire. I jump in the shower to wash and shave every inch of my skin.
Ben has been gone since I woke up this morning. Not sure why. I know he doesn’t work today, but maybe he’s avoiding seeing me until our date. The thought only builds the suspense in my mind.
Tonight’s the night. V-card is getting turned in, and I couldn’t be more excited that it’s going to be with Ben.
I quickly change my sheets, just in case. Then, I swipe some makeup on and throw my hair up in a ponytail before thinking better about it and leaving it down, running my curling wand through it.
I check the time and see that I have thirty minutes until work, so I take Danger out to potty and then promise him lots of treats when I get back.
Work crawls by, and by nine o’clock, I’m running at a sprint to my car. I weave in and out of traffic and narrowly miss running over an old lady walking across the street. I get behind the leaders of the Slow Drivers Committee, and for someone who doesn’t curse, I’m pretty sure I’ve thought every word out there and made up a few of my own by the time I pull into the apartment complex.
I push open the door, and the aroma of spices hits my nose. I inhale, and it smells delicious. I close the door to find Ben standing at the stove, stirring something in a pot, wearing an apron that says, Kiss the Chef.
Don’t mind if I do.
“Hey,” I say softly.
He waves a wooden spoon in the air and smiles at me. “Hey.”
We stare at each other for a moment before something pops, and he flinches and looks down at his arm, where hot liquid landed. I move into the apartment and drop my stuff on the table before walking into the kitchen and standing beside him.
“Everything will be ready in just a moment if you want to have a seat.”
“Want me to pour drinks?”
“Nope. I’m serving you tonight,” he says, motioning to where he already has the wineglasses set out and a red wine chilling next to them.
Taking a deep breath, I decide to be bold and take what I want. I walk up to him, trailing one hand up his chest, and I can see his head turn, eyes watching. I can feel his heart beating underneath his apron and shirt. I lightly touch my fingertips to his collarbone, tracing the outline underneath his skin as I slowly walk behind him. I can see his pulse jumping in his neck, and I ache to press my lips to it.
I reach up to the base of his neck, untie the apron strings, and let them fall forward, doing the same at his waist. Running both hands under the hem of his shirt, I scrape my nails around his stomach, feeling each dip and valley of his abs as he takes shallow breaths.
“Pep,” he says, his hands moving down to press mine to his stomach.
We freeze, my front against his back, our ragged breathing and the bubbling of the pot on the stove the only sounds filling the air. He slowly turns in my arms, and I tilt my neck back, so I can see his face. The tension lining his eyes only spurs me on, and I rise up on my tiptoes to place my hands on his face.
“I want you, Ben. I need you.” I pull his face until he gives in, and our mouths meet in a fury. A long-awaited storm of searing looks and passing touches. A foreplay that will end tonight. “You deserve this. I deserve this. We deserve this,” I whisper against his mouth.
He bends down to place his
