“Right.”
There’s a stretch of silence after Becca speaks. I press my eyes shut and grit my teeth. Way to stall the conversation.
“That’s the reason I called, actually,” Becca says. “I regret the way I left things with you the night we kissed.”
“It’s okay,” I say.
“It’s not.” She sighs. “Look, you were really sweet, the way you handled everything after I, uh…well, you know.”
My brain flashes back to when Becca rode my boner to orgasm. My skin goes hot.
“Um, thanks?” I say after a second. To my surprise and relief, she chuckles.
“God, I’m making this so awkward. Again.”
“It’s okay, Becca.”
“It’s not though. I practically kicked you out of my shop.”
“If that’s what you needed to do to make yourself comfortable, that’s fine.”
She stammers. “Okay, you’re handling all of this really well.”
“I swear, it’s not a big deal. We kissed, and shit got intense. It happens.”
“Has this happened to you a lot before?” She sounds mystified.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, do women get excited around you like I did?”
I take in her adorably worded question, how she sounds curious and shy all at once. “Yeah.”
She lets out a breath. “Oh my gosh, of course they get excited around you. Duh! It’syou. You’re handsome and hot and confident and sweet.”
I can’t help the flush working its way up my cheeks. Even though Becca sounds like she’s reading off a grocery list, it still feels good to hear her name the qualities she finds attractive about me.
“So it really wasn’t a big deal? What, um, happened between us?” she asks, her tone hesitant. “Because honestly, I was so embarrassed that I just completely let myself go in front of you. That doesn’t happen for me.”
She sounds so flustered as she speaks, which ignites a slew of questions in my brain. Does she normally have a hard time having an orgasm? Is this something she deals with when she’s alone or only when she’s been with a partner? If it’s a partner problem, is it yet another instance of some mediocre man who’s too selfish in bed to care about making her come?
I hold back from asking. That’s none of my business, and I’ve got no right to ask her any of that.
“I didn’t want to give you the wrong impression either,” she says quickly. “I’m not even a month out of my last relationship and definitely not ready to start anything romantic with anyone, and I didn’t want you to think that I wanted to start something up with you, like you’re some rebound or that I was using you to get over my ex or…”
“I promise, it wasn’t a big deal,” I say. “You didn’t make me feel like that at all. The moment got heated, that’s all. It’s happened to me before.”
“Okay,” she says as she exhales. “I was also nervous that I hurt your feelings when I kicked you out.”
“Becca, it’s really okay. I appreciate you being concerned about my feelings, but I promise, I’m good. My feelings aren’t hurt at all.” I speak with a smile and a gentle tone, hoping she believes me.
“Okay.” This time when she says it, I can hear the smile in her voice. “Thanks for being so cool about this.”
“It’s all good. Really.”
“So we can move on? As friends?”
“Of course we can.”
