Page 137 of New Growth
“Yours. Mine is packed with hair. I’m honestly getting sick of it.”
“A salon owner who’s sick of hair. Ironic.”
“You would be too, if you’d gone through what I did in the last twenty-four hours.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I need a shower and a nap. Then a massage from head to toe.”
“Head to ankle,” he corrected smoothly.
I gave him a side-eye. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“No prob.”
We ate in comfortable silence for a while, watching people walk past.
Then El leaned forward slightly, voice softer. “I wanna ask you something, Ellie. And I don’t want you to freak out or overthink it. I’m just… curious.”
“Hm. Okay? What is it?”
He didn’t hesitate. “When’s the last time someone touched you?”
My eyes widened, and my face heated like an oven.
“Huh?”
El leaned back with that unreadable look of his. “When’s the last time you had someone touch you?”
“You mean like… sex?”
“Sure.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you even want to know that?”
He shrugged. “When we kissed that night, you were so stiff. Makes me curious.”
Stiff?!
My voice pitched up in embarrassment. “Well, if you didn’t like it, you shouldn’t have asked for more.”
“No,” he said calmy. “The first time was perfect. The second time was amazing too, but you weren’t as into it.”
I looked down, cheeks burning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Stop playing dumb and answer the question.”
I hesitated. “I haven’t done anything since my ex and I broke up.”
His brows shot up. “Which was?”
“Almost three years ago.”
“Three years?!” he nearly yelled. A few people turned to look.
“Can you keep your voice down?” I hissed.
He lowered his voice—but not his curiosity. “Surely you’ve been, you know, taking care of yourself?”
“Oh my God.” I covered my face.
I’m going to scream.
