Page 26 of Wildest Dreams

A mile-long strip of condoms.

XXL condoms.

“Fuck,” he rasps, his chest heaving as he frantically tries to stuff them back inside his wallet. Like that’s going to happen, there’s about seven million on that strip. “I’m so, so sorry,” he says quickly, eyes flicking to mine with apologetic concern.

“It’s fine,” I breathe out, although my walls instantly go up a little bit. Because Tanner is gorgeous and that is alotof condoms. Which immediately has me thinking,is this guy a total player?

But then again all of the guys that I know are proud of their prowess, whereas Tanner looks kind of mortified, so maybe he’s not–?

He shakes his head, looking anguished. “No, it’s not fine, I’m sorry. I swear I’m not… I’m not like that. I’m not like this.” He swallows hard. “My guys have been pulling this kind of shit on me all week.”

I instantly exhale with relief, my lashes fluttering shut for a small moment.

My guys have been pulling this kind of shit on me all week.

It’s just a prank from his friends. He isn’t that kind of guy.

He’s gorgeous, from a small town, and he doesn’t fuck around.

Let’s be honest – he’s kind of perfect.

I gently still his fumbling hands with the tips of my fingers, and his eyes fly up to mine, his chest stilling on a deep inhale.

“It’s your personal property, I shouldn’t have even seen what was inside there,” I tell him quietly, although he still doesn’t look convinced. I drop my eyes and whisper, “And, just so you know, I’m eighteen. It’s not like I don’t know what a condom is.”

I mean, I assumed it was pretty obvious that I’m eighteen seeing as I’m living alone in this condo. But I want to make it crystal clear because I know that I’ve got kind of a baby face.

And as soon as I say the words, I’m reallyglad that I did.

“You’re eighteen?” Tanner asks, sounding low-key excited.

I nod my head, breathing out a little laugh. “Yeah, I’m about to start at Carter U.”

His eyes widen even more, and he grips a hand at the back of his neck.

“You’re a freshman?” he breathes, and suddenly I think that I just messed up.

Because how old is Tanner? This guy ishuge– is he too old for a freshman?

He shakes his head fervently as if he can sense exactly what I’m thinking. “I’m eighteen, too. I’m also about to–”

“You are?” I squeal, so relieved that I almost hug him. Instead I just throw myself on the floor and moan, which causes Tanner to sit back against the wall opposite me and release a chuckle of his own.

“What, you think I look old or something?” he asks, his tone teasing.

I sink my teeth into my smile and cover my eyes, laughing hard.

“No way!” I lie, and I feel his sneaker nudge gently against mine, immediately releasing a new onslaught of giggles.

When I peek up at him from under my arms he’s smiling back at me.

My laughter gradually dies down, until the only sound in the corridor is our heavy breathing after the sudden whirlwind of emotions.

I slowly push up onto my elbows, his eyes never leaving mine, until my back is against the wall and I’m mirroring his position.

“Aisling,” I say quietly, revealing another tiny part of myself. “That’s my name.”

He exhales calmly. “That’s a beautiful name.”

---