Page 15 of 518 Hope Ave
"I think the lady here would like a rainbow cloud," I reply, and the guy nods in understanding. Quinn looks like a girl at a candy shop, delighted by all the different sights and smells.
I didn't think one's eyes could go so wide at the sight of cotton candy, but I do have to admit that the guy knows his stuff. The way he spins the aerated sugar in various shades and tones was almost magical.
He finishes with a flourish, adding a sprinkle of glitter on the top and Quinn claps. "Here you go!"
I hand him some change and nod in thanks. Quinn stares at the work of art of a cotton candy cloud and doesn't seem to dare to eat it. "I thought you were going to murder that," I say.
"It lookswaytoo pretty to eat," she says, frowning slightly. "How could I even think of ruining such a beautiful thing?"
"Well, if you're not going to…" I start, before suddenly snapping at the cloud, the sweet sugar dissolving against my tongue.
Quinn shrieks and then bursts into a fit of giggles. "You're right, I was being silly," she says, finally taking a bite out of her cotton candy. Her eyes close, savoring the sugary goodness of it, and we make quick work of destroying the cloud one bite at a time, I notice a speck of edible glitter stuck to the side of Quinn's mouth.
"Hey, uh, you've got something stuck there." I lift my hand and gesture.
"Hmm? Oh? Where?" she asks, wiping entirely the wrong side.
I lean into her and bring a hand up to cup her cheek. "Right…there," I say before kissing the speck away. She gasps and turns into me, her sweet mouth seeking mine as our sugar-coated tongues tangle wildly. My arms automatically wrap around her waist, and hers around my neck, pulling and pressing closer, needing less and less space between us. I realize that there’s nothing about Quinn that I don’t like. Everything about her speaks to me in a delectable, carnal way, and I could very happily take her where we stand…if not for one thing.
"S-should we go back to mine?" Quinn whispers, her fingers gliding down the seam of my shirt, touching on each button tantalizingly, which is when this moment getsveryreal, and I realize that I may be out of my depth.
"I-uh," I start, struggling with my words as I step back, rubbing my hand back and forth through my hair with nervous energy. “Yourplace?” I gulp. It’s what I wanted. But shit. Now I’m freaking out a little. I’m gonna have to tell her…
"Oh, gosh." She places her hands on her flushed cheeks and shakes her head. "There I go again, pressuring you into doing things that you obviously don't want to do. And I have no right doing that, because maybe you're not as into me as I am into you, and I'm just reading all these signs wrong, which is just—"
"I'm a virgin," I blurt, cutting her off, my chest heaving as it seems like my words ring around the entire fairgrounds. A handful of people turn our way and I even hear a few sniggers.Fuck.
Quinn stares back at me, somewhat shell-shocked as my eyes search hers for any sort of response.
“Say something,” I whisper, wishing for the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
"Oh…" is all she says and my stomach bottoms out. I’ve never felt so embarrassed in my life.
Did I just ruin this?
13
Quinn
"Fuck.” Ezra’s hands drag through his hair. “Shit. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Especially here. And so loud,” he says, glancing around at the curious bystanders who are very obviously listening in.
"N-no," I quickly stammer. "Don’t you dare feel embarrassed. All these people should just mind their own business.” I raise the volume of my voice and glare at those around us, thankfully causing them to grumble then move on. “It’s OK, Ezra.” I take Ezra’s hand and lower my voice. “I understand. You’ve had so much on your plate these past few years. How would you even have the chance for… We can take things as slow or as fast asyouwant."
His brow draws tight, and I can see in his expression how hard this is for him. "It's not that I don't want to orhaven'twanted to," he explains quickly. "It's just that between having to take full-responsibility over my siblings and working two jobs, it meant that my opportunity wasn't there. I haven't even had a girlfriend, much less looked at a woman the same way I look at you—" He quickly cuts himself off, and his face turns a deep red that matches his lips. "I-I do want to. With you. And if the offer still stands”—he sucks in a shaky breath—"I’d really like to go to yours."
I break into a slow grin, my heart filling with a secret pride knowing that I’m the only one Ezra has even been in this situation with. "Then I’m going to make sure you don’t regret a second of that decision," I whisper, lifting on my toes to kiss him again, long, slow, and deep this time, like I’m trying to give him a preview of what’s to come. He groans, and I’m glad I took a cab here so I can sit beside him as he drives, admiring his strong arms as he white-knuckles the steering wheel. It’s adorable how anxious he is.
Before we know it, we arrive at my dimly-lit apartment, and as I shut the door behind me, I turn around to an incredibly nervous-looking Ezra in the middle of my living room, fiddling with his thumbs. “I just want to apologize in advance for—”
I stride over to him and plant a big fat one on his lips, cutting him off so he knows that I couldn’t care less. This is a special journey, and we get to take it together.
Our kiss quickly deepens and increases in intensity. My heart races and a moan escapes my mouth. There’s a hunger, a want, aneedbuilding between us. Lips still intertwined, he brings me over to my couch and pulls me on top of his lap. I can feel his stiffness pressing against my thigh and my insides explode in excitement.
He's avirgin? He kisses like he knows what he's doing though. Ohhhh, that feels like a big one…
“I need you to tell me what to do,” he whispers, his hands sliding down over my thighs.
"Touch me. Just use your hands to familiarize yourself with my body…how it feels…how I respond…" I murmur as my mind is in a million different places at once, yet all centered around this moment of passion. I let my hands wander over his chest as I kiss him again, showing him what I mean while feeling each muscular curve, each crevice that hides beneath his clothes. He might look like a skinny boy on the outside, but he certainly doesn'tfeellike a skinny boy.
