“Yes.” Brendon handed me my pool stick as I ignored Fisher’s exit from the utility room.
“Nice meeting you, Brendon. You two have fun.”
I clenched my jaw, trying to hide my slight wince at his words while keeping my back to him.
“Thanks. Nice meeting you too.”
It was really nice that they got along so well. Brendon didn’t want to date me because I was too young for him. And Fisher didn’t want my virginity because he wasn’t in that business anymore. I felt a little rejected.
After Brendon won three games in a row, I drove him back to the church.
“Thanks for lunch. Again, I would have paid for mine.”
He opened his door. “It was my pleasure.” Pausing for a second he narrowed his eyes and lifted his gaze to mine. “What if…” he pressed his lips together, again pausing for a second “…our age difference didn’t really matter? What if we did this again, but we called it a date?”
“A date?” I echoed in a soft tone just before taking a hard swallow. “I … well … maybe we can discuss it next weekend after church.”
“Discuss it?” He laughed a little. “Wow, you really take dating seriously. Since we both have cell phones now, how about we exchange numbers and discuss it this week before church next Sunday?”
I thought about Fisher. Then, I thought about Rory before nodding. With his number and several social media follows, he grinned and closed the door. At any other time in my life, I would have been thrilled to have met Brendon. He was closer to my age. Employed. And he attended church. I also felt certain that he wasn’t a crude talker.
On the way home, I gave myself a pep talk. It involved ignoring Fisher until Monday morning. Eating dinner alone. And going to bed early with a book or my current crossword puzzle.
So much for pep talks …
The second I climbed out of Rory’s car, I marched straight to his front door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, he opened the door, eyeing me from head to toe before stepping back and silently inviting me into his domain.
“So … you won’t take my virginity.” It felt weird having that conversation because he’d said something so eerily similar to me. “What will you take from me?”
With a contemplative expression that seemed to border on the painful side, he whispered, “Let’s start with your clothes.”
I wondered … I wondered so hard when he made the decision to draw a line. He knew as well as I did that Rory wouldn’t be okay with anything we had done together. It wasn’t just me pushing lines and bending rules to serve my own needs and desires; Fisher did it too.
I just didn’t know why. He could have had Angie or Teagan or a million other women meeting his sexual needs.
Why me?
Why seek something you know you won’t conquer … out of choice?
So many thoughts stirred in my head, but they didn’t stop my hands from sliding my shoulders and arms out of my romper, letting it drop to the floor.
That confused and painful expression remained affixed to Fisher’s face until he met my gaze. Then it vanished, leaving the Fisher I knew all too well.
Cocky.
Confident.
Unapologetically crude.
“Shoes.”
I slipped out of my shoes.
“Bra.”
Reaching both hands behind me, I unhooked my bra and let it slide down my chest and arms. He focused on my bare breasts, on my erect nipples.
After the bra landed on the floor at my feet with my romper, I reached for my panties.
“No.” He inched his head side to side. “Leave them on. Turn that way. And walk slowly to my bedroom.”
There I was, following Fisher off the side of the mountain. Did he know I would do anything for him? Did he know what that meant?
Turning, I feigned confidence and made the slow walk down the hallway to his bedroom.
“Stop.”
I stopped because he told me to stop.
“Turn around.”
I turned around, centered at the threshold to his bedroom.
Fisher took his time making his way to me, slowly peeling off his shirt, leaving him in bare feet and exercise shorts. When he reached the doorway, he pressed his hands to the wood frame. “Put your hands below mine.”
Eyeing his hands for a few seconds, I pressed my hands to the frame. “W-why?”
“Because.” He kneeled in front of me. “Your knees will want to give out soon.” Sliding his hands to the back of my legs, he moved my hips toward his face, stopping with his mouth just above the waist of my panties. “Can I kiss you here?”
I couldn’t speak. Swallowing and breathing heavily became a full-time job. Fisher pressed his mouth to my skin and glanced up at me.
I nodded.
He kissed lower. “Here?”
I nodded, gripping the wood with anticipation. My knees were already weak.