Page 50 of Love Lessons
She flops onto her tummy and buries her face in the pillow. “I don’t even know.” The words are muffled. “Somewhere. Anywhere. This is why I don’t date. I forgot how stressful it is, wishing I could be just like any other girl.”
Oh hell. I keep an arm around her so she can’t easily bolt again. My gut says that if this ends badly for her, she won’t put herself in this vulnerable position with a guy again. Maybe ever.
I don’t know why I care. We’re not exactly best friends. She doesn’t even like me.
Still, this deep-seated anxiety she’s carrying around can’t be very much fun. I guess we all have our quirks.
She lets out a big sigh and turns her face away from mine. Her disappointment is a little heartbreaking for someone who enjoys sex as much as I do. And when I try to imagine her ex telling her that she’s no fun… Yeah, what a dick move. No wonder she’s got anxiety.
“Hey, lady,” I say, giving her a little poke in the ribs. “Tell me something.”
“Hmm?” she asks without turning around.
“How extensive is your research, anyway? You mentioned the ex. Maybe you two just weren’t sexually compatible. How long were you with him?”
“Since college,” she mumbles. “Until three years ago.”
“First serious boyfriend?”
She nods at the wall.
“And after the ex? How far did you expand your horizons?”
Vera is silent.
I wait.
She says nothing. At all.
“Ohshit,” I say slowly. “Really? I’m the first guy you’ve… In threeyears?”
She jerks her chin up and down just once. Then she sticks her face in the pillow again, as if from embarrassment.
Mind. Blown.
Okay. Wow. That puts a fresh perspective on things. I guess if somebody’s got to break her losing streak, I’m not a bad choice. I don’t hear a lot of complaints from the women who have the good fortune to enjoy a few hours of my time. Not that I stick around long enough to hear complaints. But that is beside the point.
“Look, I think I get it now. You didn’t give me enough information to go on. But this is still a solvable problem.”
“It’s not a solvable problem,” she argues, turning her face toward mine. “Don’t worry about it, Ian. You’re off the hook.”
“Did Iaskto be let off the hook? I’m still having fun here.”
She sits up, the sheet pulled up over her perky breasts. “You can’t be serious. We just established that I’m the least fun lay ever to stumble into your bed.”
“Technically,yourbed,” I say with a shrug. “But we’re not done here. I have some ideas. We can get you to O-town for sure.”
“Hold up.” She lifts an angry palm, like a cop who’s stopping traffic. “Donottake this as some kind of macho challenge. I asked you to show me what men like. I didn’t ask you to prove your manhood by rocking my world.”
Under the covers, I run a hand up her silky leg. “What you don’t understand is that both problems are the same. Your ability to enjoy sex is stressing you out. And a stressed-out lover isn’t going to rock your ex’s world, contessa.”
Her face falls. “I know. And that’s why this was a stupid idea. I thought if I could just get better at faking it…” She cringes. “It sounds terrible. But if you lived in my head, you’d understand.”
“Uh-huh.” My mind is working overtime now. “That is a doomed strategy.”
“No kidding!” she yelps. “I just proved it.”
I prop myself up on an elbow. “You just need abetterstrategy. I have some thoughts. Good thoughts.”Dirty thoughts.
