professional escort—because there’s no doubt in my mind that if Garrin is paying for his company, he’s employing the best of the best. There’s no street corner junkie hooker for Garrin Stone.
“Can I ask you something?” He finally breaks the silence.
“Sure.” I’m almost afraid to hear what it is he wants to know after what he just so easily admitted.
“Why did you sleep with Asher?”
My fork and knife go still in my hands, and I look across the table at him.
He wipes his mouth with his napkin. “I just never understood it. I get now how you thought I’d asked someone else to prom, and I know we were both kind of into each other, but you didn’t seem like the type to sleep with someone like him.”
“As opposed to someone like you?” I arch an eyebrow.
“Quite frankly, yes.”
I’m taken aback by his bluntness. Though I don’t know why. At this point in the dinner, I should be used to it.
“It’s stupid.” I spear the asparagus with my fork and bring it to my lips while Garrin watches with rapt attention.
“I’d still like to know.”
I chuckle. “I don’t exactly owe you an explanation, Garrin.” I set my fork down in exchange for my wineglass.
“Maybe not, but I’d like one anyway.” His voice is firm and unyielding, his features hard. I suspect this is the Garrin his business colleagues see, or maybe this is the Garrin all those expensive prostitutes see in the bedroom. Either way, the way he speaks makes me want to do what he says, and I don’t understand the impulse.
I huff. “It’s going to sound stupid. Keep in mind, I was good friends with Everly, and I was a teenager myself.”
“Go on.” His gaze hasn’t wavered at all, and it’s all I can do not to look away from his intense stare. I force myself to hold his gaze while I speak.
“I didn’t want to go to college as a virgin.”
“Explain.”
I roll my eyes at him before continuing. “Everly had had quite a lot of… experience by senior year, and you know what I was like. I was more into studies than my social life, and I had no experience with boys at all. My virginity started to feel like an albatross around my neck, and the closer we got to senior year, the more I wanted to lose the weight of that. I felt like a silly little girl next to Everly, and it started to really bother me.”
“I would have been happy to help you with your problem.” He grins.
“I’m sure you would have. And to be honest, the thought crossed my mind many times. I thought you were going to ask me out, but then when I heard you’d asked Tara to prom, it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen. I was upset and felt rejected, so when Asher asked me out on a date, I accepted.” I shrug, a little embarrassed at how destroyed I felt when I realized Garrin wasn’t into me. “I felt like a fool for even thinking for a second that you had feelings for me.”
“What does that mean?”
I give him my best give-me-a-break look. “You and the Classholes were like royalty at Forest View Academy. I was a bookworm who just happened to be your lab partner.”
“I liked you. Hell, I arranged to be your partner and ended up falling hard for you.” He points to himself.
“What?” I ask quietly.
He runs his hand through his hair. “Fuck.”
“Why would you try to be my lab partner?”
He looks at me. “I needed an A and thought you could get me one, but after the first day, I realized my mistake. You were so smart and didn’t try to act stupid like so many other girls did. You owned yourself, but the joke was on me because you ended up owning me.”
He’s kidding. Is this his way of making me feel guilty? I was right to think he had feelings for me back then.
“Well, I didn’t know that back then. So, when Asher asked, I accepted, knowing from his reputation that he was going to try and get me into bed. With Everly’s encouragement, I decided to just get it over with.”
“Remind me to thank her,” he grits out.
I chuckle. “I’d given up on the idea that losing my virginity would be special, but I couldn’t have anticipated what would happen as a result. Obviously, I wouldn’t have gone through with it if I’d known someone was taping it and