“I found you clothes.” He threw them toward her face. Okay, so maybe kind of like junior high camp after all, since he was still bullying the girls he liked. Where had his game gone? Out the window, that’s where.
“Thanks,” Char muttered, pulling the clothes off her face. “Hey, I remember this shirt.” She laughed and held it up to her chest. “Man of the Year, huh?”
Jake scratched his head and looked away. “Yeah, well, that was a long time ago.” He had been voted Man of the Year in high school, which basically to a hormonal teenage guy meant he was some sort of sexual god sent down to give attention to all girls within his vicinity. They’d loved that shirt. Every time he wore it—well, let’s just say every time he wore it, he was tardy to class.
“I hated this shirt.” Char put it on the bed and sighed.
“You hated it?” Jake took a seat next to her and grabbed the shirt. Had he really been that small? Hell, back in the day he’d thought he was a cut, muscled god. Pathetic, really. The shirt wouldn’t even fit him now.
“Hated it.” Char leaned back on her arms. “I thought it was stupid that people voted on something so silly and that girls took it so seriously. Like, oh my gosh! Did you see Jake Titus today? He’s so hot and he’s wearing the shirt. You know what that means!”
“Shit, how’d you know?”
“Everyone knew.” Char laughed. “If you wore the shirt, it meant you were ready for a little… extracurricular make out session behind the gym. Girls would go to their lockers, add lipstick, hike up their skirts, and just wait for you to pick them. So yeah, I hated that shirt.” She sighed. “Not that much has changed, though. At least now you get your pick without the shirt, right?”
He didn’t really know what to say to that. Was he supposed to agree? Or just lie his ass off? Because technically and sadly, she was right.
“Anyway, I need to change.” She looked at him pointedly.
He didn’t move.
“So…” She nodded toward the door.
Jake shrugged. “I can close my eyes if you’re being that much of a prude, but let me just justify my actions for a brief moment here…”
“Oh please do.” Char turned to him and crossed her arms, again causing her breasts to spill over her dress. Good Lord, she had a nice body. He licked his lips and looked away so he could concentrate.
“One.” He held up a finger. “I’ve seen you naked like four times in my life.”
“Four?”
“Four.” He confirmed. “Once when we were in sixth grade. I was supposed to be in my room when you and Kace changed for the pool. Instead, I snuck over to the guest room and peaked through the door.”
“Pervert.”
“Hey, I’d just discovered I liked girls.”
“Versus what? Mice?”
“Cute.” Jake scowled. “The second time.” He waved two fingers in front of her face, and she pushed his arm away but he kept talking. “Junior high camp. You and Kacey thought I was asleep and you changed into pj’s. I swear ever since then I can’t even look at blue and white stripped underwear without getting a—”
“Stop.” Char moved to stand. “I think it’s safe to say I know where that was going.”
“A huge smile”—Jake winked—“on my face. Gotta love stripes. Anyway, the third time was in high school when you tried out for the basketball team and hit the showers early because you had to go home sick.”
“You do realize that you sound like a Peeping Tom, right?”
Jake shrugged. “And you realize that guys are desperate enough to not give a shit how creepy we sound. We hear ‘naked’ and all bets are off.”
“Which brings us full circle. You want me to trust that you won’t watch when really we both know you will, so let’s get it over with.”
“P-pardon?”
“Stand up.”
He wasn’t really sure he could, or should, for that matter.
“Or sit.” Char moved to straddle his legs. Holy shit, was this really happening? Was she going to—?
“I think you’re under the false impression that I don’t know how guys think.”
“Well I—”
“And because of that little mishap, and you know, for all those times you watched me like the creepy, horny little high schooler you were…”
She grabbed his hands and placed them on either side of her thighs.
“… you don’t get to watch.”
Did that mean he could touch?
She ran his hands from her thighs all the way up her sides, stopping right below her breasts, and then she lifted his hands to her chest and up to her face. “Feel that, Jake Titus?”