Three Little Words

“Hmm. I was afraid you’d say that. I’ll have to get Wren to work on you too.”

“Nuh-uh. She said I should spread my legs for you.”

“So that’s what made you blush?”

“You know me so well.”

“I do. But not as well as I’d like.”

“You said you were patient.”

“I am, but…”

“Besides, I take care of you other ways.”

“You do, but…” I tried another tack. “How long did you wait before you had sex with Simon?”

She gave me a coy look. “Till we were engaged.”

“Don’t do that,” I said flatly. “One of the religious girlfriends pulled that crap. Said she was ‘saving herself for marriage,’ but that was girl-code for

‘give me something I want, and I’ll give you what you want.’ I stopped seeing her.”

Christy gulped.

“I’m not going to break up with you over something like that, but still… I don’t like it.”

She nodded.

“I don’t mind waiting till you’re ready, but I’ll tell you flat out that we aren’t getting engaged until I know you’re The One. Yeah, we joke about

‘not till we’re married,’ but I’m pretty serious about this. We’re going to have sex before then. If you aren’t comfortable with that, maybe we aren’t right for each other after all.”

Her eyes went wide with alarm.

“Sorry,” I said in a softer tone, “I didn’t mean to get all serious and everything, but you touched a nerve.”

“Note to self,” she said in a shaky imitation of my usual lighthearted tone,

“don’t mention marriage until we’ve gone all the way.”

“No, it isn’t that. It’s just… I don’t like bargaining for sex.”

“I’m sorry. I was trying to be funny, but it came out wrong.”

“Yeah, I know. And I’m sorry too. Like I said, you touched a nerve.”

She nodded, satisfied but still a little rattled.

I let the tension dissipate a bit more before I said, “You didn’t answer my question, though. How long did you wait with Simon?”

She took another sip of wine to cover her nervousness. “A long time.”

She cringed but then rushed ahead, “I’m ready to do it with you, though. I swear. Right now, if you want.”

She set her wineglass on the nightstand and lay back against the pillows. I watched with a detached sort of curiosity as she opened the shirt and bared her body. She spread her legs, and her smooth labia parted to expose her inner lips, pink and completely dry.

Some twisted part of me decided to play along. I rolled to my knees and scooted between her legs. My dick was still soft, so I swung it like a hose and slapped her bare pussy. She flinched but forced herself not to move, even when I rubbed my soft glans against her clit.

I sat back on my heels. “Relax. We aren’t going to have sex.”

“But—? I thought—? I mean, you want to, don’t you?”

“Yes, but not till you’re ready.”

“But… I am.”

“No, you’re scared. And you’re saying what you want to be true.”

“But…?”

“You’re dry, and I’m soft. Trust me, we aren’t having sex.”

“But I really want to.” She reached down and began massaging my limp manhood.

“It won’t work,” I said after a moment. “Sex is mental as much as physical.”

“But… he’s always ready.”

“That’s because you’re always ready. This time you’re faking it, and he knows better. I know better. So we still won’t have sex even if you fool him into getting hard.”

She released me and pushed herself upright. Then she pulled her legs in.

She wrapped her arms around them and set her chin on her knees.

“I hate that you can read me so easily,” she complained. “No one else can.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m using more than just my eyes and ears.”

“Marianne warned me about you.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“She said you aren’t playing games.”

“No, I’m serious. And I’m willing to wait, if that’s what it takes.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“I still want to know how long you waited with Simon, though.”

She buried her face. “I hoped you’d forgotten that.”

“Nope. Sorry.” Except I wasn’t.

“Promise you won’t be upset?”

“I promise. How long, in months?”

“Um… maybe six?” She peeked at me with one eye and then slowly raised her head. “You aren’t angry?”

“Angry? No. Frustrated? Yeah, a little.” I crossed my legs and got comfortable. “I want to have sex with you. I want to make love to you. And I want to fuck you. Several times a day, as a matter of fact.”

“Oh my gosh.”

“Mmm hmm. I love you, so I’m willing to wait—”

“Thank you.”

“—but I’ll be honest, six months is a long time. Too long.”

“I know. I want to do it with you, but… I’m scared.”

“Physically or emotionally?”

“Maybe… both?”

“Okay,” I said slowly.

“I didn’t really enjoy it with Simon. It… hurt. And you… um… have

more to offer a girl. In the penis department.”

“That doesn’t really matter, though.”

“It matters to me,” she bleated.

“Did it ever feel good with him?”

She nodded quickly. “After the first couple of times, but…”

“But what?”

“We didn’t really know what we were doing, so…”

“Sex is a skill. The physical part, at least. You have to practice to be good at it, like anything else.”

“No you don’t. You just… do it.”

I laughed and shook my head. “No, it’s a skill. You can be bad at it.”

“How? You just put one thing into another.”