Page 49 of His Virgin Romance Series

I laughed at that. “I’m open to being converted,” I told her.

“Excellent. I know this great little pastry shop we can visit…maybe tomorrow?”

“Sounds perfect,” I replied.

I realized I used that word a lot around her.

“Hey, Jared?” Ryan called to me.

“Yeah?” I said, without even looking up at him.

“You’ve been texting all morning.”

“Yeah?” I said, slightly distracted.

“Anyone special?”

“No one you know,” I said.

“Wait!” Kendrick said, joining us. “Is this the girl you’ve been interested in?”

“Uh…”

“It is!” he said, clapping his hands together. “It is, isn’t it?”

I smiled as the guys crowded around me. “Well…tell us about her?” Mel insisted.

“Her name is Rachel,” I said with a smile. “And, we just started dating.”

“But Romeo’s had the hots for her for a while, am I right?” Kendrick said, as though he had all the inside details. “She’s his friend’s sister.”

The boys let out a stream of whistles and catcalls, and I rolled my eyes. “Grow up, guys,” I told them.

“This is the first girlfriend we’ve known you to have since you started working with us,” Mel pointed out. “It’s a big deal.”

I thought about that for a second and realized he was right. Rachel was the first girlfriend I’d had since becoming a firefighter. There had been girls before, but they were mostly casual flings that lasted only a few weeks or one-night stands that I never saw again. Half the time, I didn’t even know their names.

“How serious is this thing with Rachel?” Mel asked.

“We only just started dating,” I admitted. “But we’ve been talking for months now… I mean, we can go hours and hours.”

“That’s a good sign,” Mel nodded. “You need a partner you can talk to.”

“Fuck conversation,” Kendrick said. “The really important question is how is the sex?”

I gave him a smile but refused to answer.

“Come on, dude,” Kendrick insisted. “I tell you every time I sleep with a new girl.”

“I never ask,” I pointed out.

“You never have to. I’m generous with my information.”

I laughed. “You are.” I nodded. “A little too generous, if you ask me.”

“When do we get to meet her?” Ryan asked.

“Whoa…we’re not there yet,” I said quickly. “Let’s take this slow, okay?”

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