Page 30 of Deception
He chuckles at his rhyme and leads them to the back row. Her nerves kick up a notch, and she wishes she wasn’t wearing a skirt. Pants. She needs pants. Not that it did much for her last time.
Kent sits and drapes his arms over her shoulders so effortlessly, and Gracie feels like a giant freak. How is it that she had a baby after having sex with a guy she only met that night, but this type of affection has her feeling like a rubber ball bouncing down a hallway, hitting the walls and breaking pictures?
“Kent?”
“Yeah?”
Taking a deep breath, she turns to watch him shove a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “I think you should know something.”
He turns and looks just as serious as assumes she does. “You’re in love with the boy waiting for you at home?”
His constant jokes should be annoying, but it comforts her. Loosens her up a bit. “Well, yeah, but I don’t think that’s anything new.”
“Oh,” he says and smacks his palm against his forehead. “Stupid me. I did know that.”
“I should’ve maybe said something sooner, but this is kind of… my first date.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve gone on a date, too. Although, you did have one last night,” he says, popping another handful of popcorn into his mouth.
Shaking her head, she swallows. Why is her mouth so dry? “I don’t count last night, but I actually have never been on a date before. It’s… I don’t really know what to do.” The last few words come out as only a whisper.
“The asshat who left you to raise a baby on your own didn’t even take you on a date first?”
“Um, no. Everything happened at a party. We started talking, and then went to a room to get away from all the noise. Then, suddenly, we were naked. Then it was over. Painfully and not like the movies at all, and then he left. I don’t think it counts as a date.”
Kent’s jaw drops, and she worries he’s regretting taking her out. Instead, his fist clenches hard enough to spill popcorn onto the floor. “He left?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure you can’t tell me the name of this motherfucker? Because I would really benefit from getting the chance to kick his ass.”
Gracie snorts and relaxes. It’s the closest she’s ever seen Kent come to angry. Normally, he’s so chill she wonders if he’s just perpetually stoned. “No, I can’t. As much as I’d love you to do that, telling you means it would get out. And then I would hurt someone I care about.”
“For the record,” he says, his voice quiet as the lights dim around them, “a guy should never leave a woman after sleeping with her. Especially if it’s her first time.”
“Is that what you did?” she whispers, even though no one else sits in the theater with them. Benefit of going out on a Wednesday.
His thumb rubs her bicep as he dips his head so his mouth is right by her ear. “When I sleep with someone for the first time?”
“I assume you’ve taken at least one person’s virginity.”
“I’ve taken a few,” he says with a small smile. “But it’s not about how experienced a woman is. The goal is to make her feel good. Cared for. That it’s not just about me.”
The words shoot heat and need straight to her core, and she crosses her legs as she aches in an unfamiliar way. “Really?’
“It’s more about her than me. Let’s be honest. I’m easy.” He chuckles and bites his lower lip, making her quiver. “It doesn’t take much to get me off, but women are like expensive cars. They’re all built differently, and you have to drive them according to their specifications, not yours.”
“Did you really just compare women to cars?”
“Expensive ones.”
The ease of his attitude makes her relax even further. Being around Kent just calms Gracie. “Glad to know we’re seen as expensive, at least.”
“And something you long for. When you finally get it, you appreciate it and enjoy the ride.”
“Oh jeez,” she says and shakes her head.
As much as Gracie comes off as though he’s being ridiculous, she can’t stop the image of riding him from playing in her mind. She hasn’t had a normal sexual experience, but she’s seen enough movies and looked on the internet to know what could happen. And it excites her as much as it scares her to want Kent this way.
