I smack her ass one more time before allowing her to turn over and she curls in my arms like a baby.
"Did you like the way that felt, Duke-not knowing and imagining the worst?"
I get it now. "No. I didn't like it at all."
"That's how I feel not knowing. I imagine notch after notch on your bedpost."
I don't want Claud to have the sick feeling in her gut I just experienced. "I don't keep a running tally."
"I don't need an exact number."
That's good because I don't have one. A few faces, but mostly circumstances, scenarios, and places flash in my mind. "At least a dozen. Probably closer to fifteen or sixteen."
"Did you love any of them?"
Hell, I doubt I could even come up with names for three of them. "No. It was just sex. Mostly one-night stands after a night of partying."
"Okay. That's all I wanted-to know the truth."
"And you're okay with it?"
"Well, I wish you hadn't been with all those girls but it's in the past. Nothing to be done about it now."
I wish I hadn't been with them either. "Know this, Claudia: you're the only one I've ever waited to have. The only one who's ever had a place inside my heart. The only one … I've ever loved."
"And you're the only one I've ever loved."
Confessing my love for Claudia is terrifying. I'm putting so many things in jeopardy. My lifelong friendship with my two best friends. My relationship with Staci and Shane Bliss. The opinion my family has of me. The respect of my co-workers.
I could lose everything by admitting my love for this girl.
And yet I'm willing to risk it all for her.
7
Claudia Bliss
Two Weeks Later
My mom uses a toothpick to apply pressure across the eyelash band she just glued to my lid. "Do not poke me in the eye with that."
"Shut up. I know what I'm doing." My mom knows exactly what she's doing. She has a true talent when it comes to cosmetics. I'm lucky I have her to help me get ready for prom.
"Open." I lift my lids and she judges her work. "Looks good, thank God. I think I'd cry if I had to take it off and do it again."
Me too. It never looks right when you take it off and do it again. Ends up looking like a caked mess.
Mom moves so she's no longer blocking my view of myself in the mirror. "Take a look and tell me what you think."
I lean over the vanity for a closer inspection. Smoky eye in shimmery peach and brown. Black liquid liner with an exaggerated wing. Highlights and contours. Lips in matte peachy nude. "It's perfect, Mom. Looks just like the picture I showed you."
"What time is Oscar coming?"
"He'll be here in about thirty minutes."
"You better get dressed. I want to get plenty of pictures of you by yourself before he arrives."
I'm scorching after sitting under the bathroom lights for so long. "I need to cool down so I'm not sweaty when I put on my dress. Let me grab a cold drink first."
I'm standing in the kitchen sipping on a bottle of water-and wearing only my panties and a button-down-when Owen and Bram come in from outside.
"Damn, Claud. Can you put on some clothes and stop running around the house naked?"
My shirt isn't incredibly long but the hem hits below my panties. Barely. "Sorry. Didn't know anyone was here."
"Well, we are here, and Bram doesn't want to see you running around without clothes." It's nearly impossible not to burst into laughter, but I manage to hold it together.
Owen pats his back pocket. "Let me grab my wallet, and then we'll take off."
The way Bram's eyes inspect me from head to toe makes me tingle between my legs. "You look incredible."
"Thank you."
He chuckles. "I had hoped to see you in your dress, but this is even better."
We've done some very light making out, but none of it has involved the removal of clothing. This is the closest Bram has come to seeing me naked. "Do you like the way I look in just a shirt and panties?"
He smiles and nods. "Oh yes. I like it very much."
I wonder if he'd like to see more.
I know I shouldn't do it. But I can't resist.
"Claud … "
I don't stop pulling my shirt up until Bram is able to see my panties and bare stomach. My fingertips glide down the pink lace triangle that disappears between my legs. "This is going to be yours soon."
He reaches into his hair and fists the top. "Not soon enough."
I pull the lace to the side so he can see what's beneath. "You know you want this. You want to touch it. Be inside it."
"Oh. Fuck. Me."
"I'm dying to." I grin as I lower my shirt. "I would tonight if you would."