Conrad’s house is open concept, bright, and airy. He’s got the windows above the sink and in the dining room open. I stroll through the house, and as my hand reaches for the knob on the front door, I hear my name coming from the front porch—through the windows that are also open.
I know I shouldn’t, but I listen on bated breath.
“…love my brother, but he’s not exactly the best person to fool around with.”
She is such a bitch.
“Daisy, it’s not a big deal,” Sterling tells her in a placating tone. “I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.”
I hear her let out a heavy sigh, and in my mind’s eye, I can see the displeased look on her face. “Okay, but is Shooter really the type of guy you want to do all that with? Does he even know?”
Know what?
“No, and I don’t see why he needs to know. It’s not like I’m some teenager who’s saving it for marriage. It’s not a big deal to me, so why would I tell Shooter?”
“All I’m saying is, if you’re planning on having sex with him, I think you should tell him you’re a virgin so he can, you know, go a little easy on you.”
Virgin?!My throat tightens as my heart thumps painfully behind my ribs, Daisy’s words from earlier coming back to me.“Inexperienced.”Sterling wasn’t a virgin… was he? I mean, yeah, I figured he was inexperienced with how shy and unsure he was… but a virgin? Why the fuck wouldn’t he tell me that?
His first time was in a shower stall at some rest stop in the middle of fucking nowhere. How fucking classy of me.
My hand’s twisting the knob and I’m stepping outside before I even know what I’m doing, both of them looking up at me with wide, surprised eyes. The color from Sterling’s face drains until he’s sheet white.
“Oh, hey, Shooter,” Daisy mutters. God, she’s fucking annoying me.
“Daisy, go the fuck away,” I explode. “What are you still doing out here? This”—I indicate between Sterling and I—“is none of your fucking business!”
Sterling shoots her what I can only describe as an apologetic look before she narrows her eyes at me, raising off the rocking chair, heading toward the door. “Fuck you, Shooter.”
“You’re a real asshole sometimes, you know that?” Sterling grumbles as I return my attention to him.
“Nu-uh. We’re not changing the subject. A virgin, Addams?” I ask, resting my ass on the railing, folding my arms over my chest.
“H-how much of that did you hear?”
Ignoring him, I continue. “You didn’t think to tell me you were a virginbeforeyou let me fuck you?”
“Why don’t you say it a little louder, Shooter. I don’t think the whole freaking house heard you!”
I scrub a hand down my face, trying to get my thoughts together. My pulse is racing, and I have this weird urge to pull him into me, but also smack him upside the head. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
Sterling juts his chin out in a clear act of defiance. “It’s nobody’s business but my own.”
“Uh, and your partner,” I throw back. “It would’ve been nice to know.”
Angry eyes glower at me. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would it have been nice to know? Would you have lit a dozen candles andmade loveto me had you known?”
The snarky way he said those two words makes me want to smack him upside the head even more.
“No, jackass,” I grit out. “But I would’ve at least made it a little better for you than a fucking shower stall!”
Standing off the rocking chair, he mirrors my stance with his arms crossed over his chest, shoulders pulled back. “So, you’re honestly saying had you known, you still would’ve gone through with it?”
“I—” Clenching my jaw, I work my back molars trying to truly think how I would’ve handled it. “I don’t know, okay? I’m not exactly the greatest person to lose your virginity to. Daisy’s right.”
