girlfriend, Rafe?”
“Of course, plenty of them.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“What about you?”
“No.”
“Never?”
“No.”
“But you’ve had sex.”
“Twice with the same guy when I was twenty-one. It was anticlimactic the first time, and I was equally disappointed the second.”
“What happened?”
“We had sex.”
Rafe looked up at me with a frown. “No boyfriend, not even in high school?”
I grimaced at my revelation. “It’s not like I didn’t want one. It was just...impossible. You have to be seen to be visible, right? My mother was too much to deal with to try. I was asked out a couple of times, but could never date.” I didn’t mention the fact that I was holding out for Jake Ryan. He would never understand.
A few minutes of silence passed.
“Rafe?”
“Yeah?”
“Why me?”
“It could only be you,” he whispered as he lay back down and we both drifted off.
The next morning, I woke up to a very playful Rafe.
“Wake up and let me see them.” His deep voice pulled me into the room.
“See what?” I said, slightly agitated, sleep still beckoning me to cooperate. Suddenly aware I was in bed with a man, a beautiful man, with Rafe, my eyes flew open.
“There they are.”
“Rafe,” I said on a smile-filled whisper.
“You were hoping for someone else?”
“God no.”
His smile turned more endearing, and I realized he was fully dressed in gym clothes and covered in sweat. “It’s almost eleven. We knocked you out good.”
I stretched and then realized I was bare breasted. I pulled covers over me and clamped my mouth closed in fear of morning breath.
“We knocked me out?”
“Yeah,” he said as he lifted a brow and gestured to his crotch. “It was a team effort.”
I giggled like a four-year-old as he leaned in. “You. In. My. Bed,” he said on a deep groan. “I should lock you in here.” He stood and opened a dresser drawer and threw a Swampgators t-shirt at me. I pulled the shirt over my head. “Don’t move. I’m going to take a shower and then undress you again.”
“Okay.”
“Wow, we made you agreeable, too.”
“Stop referring to your junk as another entity, Rafe. It’s creepy.”
“We’ll shut you up again soon.”
He pulled off his shirt, revealing his perfectly cut chest, and then dropped his shorts and boxers to reveal himself fully hard. My mouth watered as a blush crept through my chest and my cheeks flamed. I was staring. God, that thing was inside me. Rafe smiled but said nothing else as he left the door open behind him. I did get out of bed as he showered and grabbed a shot of toothpaste from his tube and cleaned my mouth. I ogled him behind the bubble glass. I couldn’t make out much but a perfect butt and concentrated on that as I rinsed. I splashed cold water on my face and was just about to resume my place in the bed when I saw the open drawer full of t-shirts.
Andy’s words hit me like lead to the stomach.
“Every available woman in Charleston has the t-shirt.”
I knew I would eventually be jerked from the dream state I was in but had no idea how soon after I’d be pulled back into reality.
I’d just gotten my answer.
Pain seared my every limb as I choked back a sob.
Feeling sick, I pulled off the disgusting souvenir and shuffled to the living room to find my dress.
I found my cell and ordered an Uber. Four minutes.
Anger boiled through me as I made my way back into his bedroom and paced, the shower water still running. I channeled my inner Ouiser and quickly gathered the shirts from the drawer and called out to Rafe.
“I’m making you breakfast.”
I didn’t hear his response as I ran into the kitchen and set the t-shirts on the counter. There was at least a dozen. Putting my plan into motion, I heard my Uber arrive by the honk of its horn. I took a look around the living room to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything and briefly admired Rafe’s taste. It didn’t seem like the home of a playboy. Suddenly, I was saddened it was the last time I would see it. When I was sure I had everything that belonged to me, I closed the door but knew a huge amount of my pride remained behind.
I rinsed off quickly, the only thing on my mind was Alice and her lips. I wanted to drive every moan possible from her body and watch her eyes as she came. Those beautiful brown eyes did things to me I couldn’t explain and didn’t want