Page 72 of Just This Once

I stared him straight in the eye, and he paused to stare right back.

“Well?”

Damn.

“I told you?—”

“Tell me thetruththis time.”

God. I blew out a breath. I guess I’d already revealed enough to him by asking him to have sex with me. It wasn’t as if I had a whole lot of pride left where he was concerned.

Swallowing thickly, I lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know,” I mumbled. “Because I wascurious. Okay?”

There. I’d said it.

Parker kept staring without revealing a single thought or emotion.

Then, he exhaled roughly and turned away so he could run his hands through his hair. When he whirled back, he seemed…unnerved. “And just how determined are you tocompleteeverything on this little bucket list of yours?”

“Well.” Not quite sure how to answer, I made a helpless gesture. “It’s the only thing I have left to live for, so…”

His gaze darkened. “Don’t be a smart-ass. Not right now.”

I scoffed and shook my head. “What’re you really doing here, Grumpy?What, huh?”

He sent me another look that told me how displeased he was with this entire conversation. Then he grabbed the back of the chair he’d been sitting in and gripped it hard as he leaned his weight into it, obviously fighting some internal struggle.

“I’m here because…” He paused to swallow thickly. Then he lifted his gaze, and he said, “I’m curious too.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Holding my breath in fear that this moment would dissolve if I let any oxygen in, I shook my head. “W-what?”

He lifted a single eyebrow, silently telling me that there was no way he was going to repeat that confession.

“Holy jeez,” I blurted, too dazed to honestlythinkfor the longest breath.

Dizziness assailed me. I shuddered out a stuttered exhale and tucked both sides of my hair behind my ears to induce some proper brain function.

“Um—okay,” I finally managed to mumble, keeping my voice low and even. “So what does that mean?’

“The fuck if I know,” he blustered, falling back into his chair heavily to grip the top of his head. His afflicted gaze swiveled to me, and he flopped both hands into his lap. “You’re fully aware of the consequences this might have, right?”

I frowned momentarily, not sure what he meant until?—

“Oh!” I blinked in surprise and waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, don’t worry. I have an IUD implant. I won’t get pregnant. But you can still wear a condom if you want, you know, for…extra protection, even though I haven’t had sex in half a year and don’t have any STDs.”

Parker stared at me with zero expression for about two seconds before saying, “Good to know but not what I was talking about.”

My brow furrowed in confusion. “Then what were you talking about?”

“Alec!” he cried as if he couldn’t believe I would forget my own brother. “I’m assuming you don’t want him to know about…this.”

“Well…” I winced before slowly hedging, “I mean, I don’t see why he wouldneedto. I don’t exactly tell him about my sexual encounters, so no, I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t run and blab about it to him.”

“Then you’re asking me tolieto him,” Parker said leadingly as he lowered his face while keeping his gaze level with mine. “You want me to lie to one of my best friends on the planet. You want me to betray him by fucking his sister behind his back.”

I pulled away with a grimace. “Well, that’s an ugly way to put it.”

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