Page 39 of Cinderella Is Faking It

“Yes. I told you: consent and communication.”

“But that was about sex.”

“This is about sex.”

“What if someone comes in?”

“Who would come in?”

“Tabitha or Defne, or what if Victor comes home early?”

“Your friends sent you in here, right?”

“Yeah, and Tabitha did imply that I should hook up with you, so they would probably not come looking. And if Victor came home, the intercom system would beep when he unlocked the door, so it’s unlikely he’d be able to surprise us.”

“There you go, you’re getting the hang of it.” His hand slid up, past my ribs, the tips of his fingers grazing the underside of my breasts. I sucked in a sharp breath. “Thoughts?”

“I have a boyfriend, and thisissexual, and I’m not a cheater. We should stop. I know we should stop. But God, you are so pretty, and your hand is really big actually, and I don’t know why that is in any way relevant, but that’s what I’m thinking. And does the fact that I don’t actually want you to stop mean that I want to break up with my boyfriend? Because I like him. He’s nice and he’s so good to his parents, and I don’t want to hurt him. And your hand is so close to my breasts. Like so close. And if I’d known you’d show up, I’d have worn a bra and I bet my free-floating boobs encouraged you to touch me like this.”

“Alright, let’s break this down,” he said, shuffling closer until one of his knees was between mine, my thighs clenching in response. “I’ve been wanting to touch you like this since I first laid eyes on you. I noticed you weren’t wearing a bra, but it didn’tencouragemy actions. Your state of undress was not for my benefit, and I’m capable of distinguishing between a woman who shakes her tits because she wants me to touch her and a woman whose tits shake because she’s in comfort clothes.”

I swallowed. My tongue felt like sandpaper in my throat.

“Whether you have a boyfriend or not is irrelevant to me, and it’s irrelevant to how you want to be touched. A social contract does not define your physical needs.”

“That sounds like a fancy way of saying you don’t believe in monogamy.”

“I don’t.”

“See, that makes us very incompatible because I’m a picket fence kind of woman. And Parker is a picket fence kind of man. So that would work much better for everyone.”

“Do you want to stay in a relationship with Parker and buy a picket fence house with him?”

“No,” I said. The truth of that one word sank through me like a stone tossed into a lake. I had somehow expected to skip over the water, but when it did sink, I wasn’t even surprised. All stones sank; some just skipped a little further.

“Do you want me to keep touching you?” Beck asked, only his thumb traveling along the curve of my breast.

“Yes, but-” The second thebutwas over my lips, his hand stilled. He was really good at this whole consent thing. “But I need to break up with Parker first. Idothink it’s relevant.”

He pulled his hand back, my skin immediately too cold without his touch. “Go get your phone.”

“He deserves to be broken up with in person.”

“He deserves to be broken up with once his girlfriend realizes he’s not the right man for her, instead of being strung along.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you actually believe that or are you just saying that for personal gain?”

“Both.”

“Well, at least you’re honest.” I sighed and walked back to the living room, where I’d left my phone on the coffee table. What was I even doing? Should I be clearing this with Cordelia? If I was hooking up with someone who thought, I was her?

“Hey, did you- oh, I think we’re going to go,” Tabitha said, pushing to her feet.

“What? The episode isn’t over yet?!” Defne protested.

“Yeah. Stay. Watch the show.” I waved for her to sit back down.

“Thanks,” Defne chirped. Tabitha kicked Defne’s foot, causing her to look up, eyes widening when she spotted me. “Oh. Never mind.”

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