Cherry Popper (Cherry 1)

“Sure. But I have one condition.”

“Alright.”

“You have to be naked.”

“I’m not going to cook naked,” I said with a laugh. “Oil will splash all over me, and that will hurt.”

“Fine. Lingerie.”

“That’s not any better.”

“One or the other—it doesn’t matter to me.”

“You’re such a perv.” I picked up both plates and carried them to the sink in the kitchen. I rinsed them off so his maid wouldn’t have so much work to do in the morning. When I came back to the table, Slate had finished his wine, but the nearly full bottle remained on the table.

He watched me sit across from him. “I am a perv—and I won’t bother denying it.”

“At least you admit your faults.”

“I wouldn’t describe it as a fault, but a quality. I enjoy sex more than most men. I’ve always been that way, even before I was the Cherry Popper.”

“By the way, I told Wyatt I sold my virginity for money. This was before I knew who he was. When you showed up at my office during lunchtime and he saw you…he put the pieces together. I know I signed that NDA and I didn’t give him your name, but I didn’t mean to betray your trust. It just happened.”

Slate didn’t seem angry. “Why did you tell him that in the first place?”

“Because I went straight to a bar after I left your place. I’d been drinking, and he joined me…and I told him why I was hitting the liquor so hard.” I had no idea he was Wyatt Newton, and I had no idea he would run into Slate.

He shrugged. “All powerful men have dirty secrets. Wyatt is no different.”

“He seemed nice to me.”

“Trust me, he’s not. All men are pigs, but the rich can afford their fantasies.”

“I don’t know if I believe all men are pigs…but I think most are.”

“More than most.” He finished the last of his wine then leaned farther over the table so he could get a better look at me. “You know what my life has been like the last couple of weeks?”

I waited for his answer.

“All I did was work, workout, and then jerk off. My life was the same routine every single day. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I weren’t so depressed. I’d be in the middle of a meeting, and an image of you two would pop up in my head… It haunted me. I kept wanting to get you back, but I didn’t have anything to offer you. I told myself I was doing the right thing, that I wouldn’t change for you. But every time Max found me a woman, I turned him down. Instead of popping cherries like before, I was just alone. That’s what my life has been like…”

“Sounds lonely.”

“It was. I used to love being alone, but then it felt empty.”

If he felt that way, how could he let me go in the first place? “You were such an asshole to me. It was like you were a different person.”

“I know…” He bowed his head in shame.

“Why were you like that?”

“I needed to convince you that I was serious.”

“You could have done that in a much nicer way.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But I don’t know how to be nice.”

“You’re being nice right now.”

“I can’t control when it happens.”

“I think you can.” I grabbed the bottle and refilled both of our glasses. Now that dinner was finished and we were alone together, staring into each other’s eyes with longing, it seemed like sex was on both of our minds. Ever since the first time I’d had it, I’d been thinking about it, wanting to come like that again. I wondered if it would hurt like last time. I wondered if he would have to stretch me out a couple of times before the pain stopped altogether.

Slate stared at me like he was thinking the same thing, but he refused to act on it. I told him I didn’t want to sleep with him right away, and he seemed to take that request seriously. “If you took my check and paid off the loan, would you consider moving closer into the center of Manhattan?”

“No,” I said with a laugh. “All the money I spent on loans would just go to rent. I’ll never be able to afford anything by Central Park. I can barely afford the subway.”

“Do you intend to live in the city forever?”

“I always assumed I would get married, so we would be able to afford a townhouse much closer. Assuming he has a decent job and we can split the mortgage.” I wouldn’t be able to manage anything on my own, unless I was promoted to a much higher position.

“Or you could marry a rich guy.” Slate said the words as he looked me in the eye. “Then you could afford to live anywhere you want.”