pull him down, to have him stay with me after, but Rhys rolls off right away. “Condom,” he tells me by way of explanation, throwing it out. But then he returns, stretching out nude on the bed next to me.
We’re both breathing hard.
“That was faster than I’d intended,” he says.
“Was it?”
He runs a hand over his face. “There are still a ton of things you haven’t explored. Things I was looking forward to showing you. Turns out I couldn’t wait.”
“Neither could I,” I say. “And we still have time to explore, don’t we?”
He glances over at me, an eyebrow raised. “You might regret saying that.”
“Will I?”
“Yes. Because there’s no role I enjoy more than that of tutor.”
I roll over on my stomach and slide my arms beneath a fluffy pillow. “It lets you be suitably pretentious and snide.”
“Finally someone who understands me.”
I laugh, reaching over to trace the length of his arm with my finger. “Is this something you do often?”
“Define ‘this,’” Rhys asks, reaching up to tuck an arm behind his head. In profile, with his straight nose, full lips, strong chin… he should be the model.
“Tutoring impressionable young virgins.”
He barks a laugh, and I join. My finger doesn’t stop tracing the length of his bicep. He has a few freckles here, from sun and saltwater.
“No. It’s been a long time since I’ve slept with a virgin.”
“Two days ago,” I correct.
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Smart-ass.”
“I’ve learned from you.” I turn my finger up, trace the other direction. Across the width of his shoulder. “But what about sex in general?”
He closes his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. “Men are usually the ones to ask about that.”
“They are?”
“Demanding lists of former sexual partners, plotting a strategy to best every single one of them in performance.”
“Would you have done that to me? If I had a list?”
He snorts. “I don’t know. As it is, I’m just glad you didn’t have one.”
Questions swirl around in my head, questions that don’t have an answer. Things had changed these last few days, but had they changed more than the two of us becoming friends who’ve slept together?
Do I want them to?
“I’m allowed to ask any sex-related questions I want.”
“Did I ever agree to that? I can’t remember.”
“Oh, you did.”
Rhys turns his head to mine. “What was the question exactly? Do I have sex often?”
“Yes. I can specify, if I must.” I duck my head down, looking at him. “When was the last time you had sex before me?”
“Two weeks ago, I think? Well, three and a half now, I guess.”
“The person you kissed?”
“The very one.”
The response isn’t the one I wanted, and perhaps he notices that, because Rhys’s smile is crooked. He runs a hand down my bare back and my eyes flutter in pleasure at the simple touch. “Not a relationship, just a casual friend.”
“You have a lot of casual friends?”
“I only have casual friends,” he says, smoothing up my spine.
“How come?” I ask. “You know why I haven’t had serious relationships, but what’s your excuse?”
“Lack of interest in one,” Rhys says, his hand continuing its movement over my back. His fingers are lightly callused, reminding me in yet another way how different he is than the man I’d thought he was.
“I can’t believe that.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You can’t?”
“No. I think everyone wants deeper human connection. It’s a need, like thirst or hunger.”
He reaches over to rest his forehead against mine, and my eyes flutter closed. “You,” he says, “are starting to overthink this.”
I release a breath. “Is it that obvious?”
“A little, which is fine. Only natural.” His hand settles around my hip. “I did let you ask any questions you want, and these are no different.”
“I guess I’m just curious about what happens when we get back to New York.”
“If we’ll keep exploring, you mean?”
“I suppose, yes. Or if we’ll even continue being friends.” A thought strikes me. “Because we truly are friends now, aren’t we?”
Rhys’s lips curve into a smile. “We’re friends. And to answer your question, I don’t know, Ives. Let’s live in the moment and see where the days take us.”
Live in the moment. The one thing an inveterate planner is not good at. But I relax into his touch and close my eyes, determined to try. After all, we have a lot of exploring left to do, and I don’t want to waste a minute of it.
20
Ivy
Rhys has his eyes closed in the first-class seat next to mine, but he’s breathing through clenched teeth.