Flood

I woke up before Spencer did. He was lying on his back, but his head was turned toward me. I smiled and brushed his hair off his forehead gently. He stirred but didn’t wake up. I looked down at his chest and sighed. The bruises were mostly healed but I still felt awful for how he got them in the first place.

I thought back to last night and smiled. The truth was, for the last week or so, I knew my feelings were stronger than I was willing to admit. It wasn’t until he kissed me that I realized how desperately I wanted him. I remember my mother once saying that you could learn a lot about a man’s character if he used you. Spencer had a lot of opportunities to do that but, whether he had realized it or not, there were a lot of times last night that he hesitated.

It was as if he wanted to make sure I was making the right choice. I knew I was, though. I knew it from the minute I saw him sketching his aunt’s coffin. That’s when I knew his love meant more to him than anything else in his life.

As I lay there musing, it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know if he had been a virgin. Why else wouldn’t he have a condom with him all the time? I started to panic and waited anxiously for him to wake up.

About fifteen minutes later, his eyes opened and he smiled down at me.

“Morning,” he muttered.

I kissed his chin. “Morning,” I whispered. I got up on my elbow, holding my sheet to my breasts. “I have a question for you and I need you to be 100% honest with me, no matter what.”

He frowned. “Of course I’ll be honest.”

“Were you a virgin before last night?” I asked in a rush.

He stared at me for a long time. I waited, biting my lower lip. Finally, he sighed and he had me lay back down with him.

“My first instinct is to say no,” he whispered. “As a man, I’m supposed to have had sex with at least two girls by now.”

I sighed. “You were a virgin, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” he breathed.

“I’m sorry. If I had known-”

He stopped me with a kiss. He ran his thumb on my cheekbone in the way I absolutely loved.

“I’m very glad you were my first,” he assured me. “What about you? Was Turner the only guy?” I nodded, putting my head on his chest. “I’m glad or I’d have to go find other guys to beat the shit out of.”

I laughed. “Nah, you wouldn’t do that.”

He rubbed my arm. “Oh, yes I would. I would go beat the shit out of Turner if I could.”

I chuckled. “You already tried that once.”

He wrapped his other arm around me. “Charlotte, can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“And you’ll be 100% honest with me, too?”

“Of course I will.”

I could feel his heart rate increase. “Why did you have sex with me?”

I looked up at him. That was the last question I expected him to ask. He was staring at the ceiling, his face impassive. I could tell he was worried about what my answer would be.

“How long have we known each other, Spencer?”

He thought for a minute. “Two months.”

“I’ve liked you for about a month and a half,” I admitted and his arms tightened. “When I saw how you defended me at the club, my feelings for you got stronger. After Turner, I told myself I wouldn’t have sex again until I….” I took a deep breath and hid my face in his neck. “Until I knew that I loved the man.”

My voice was muffled but I knew he had heard me because his body had gone rigid. I didn’t dare look at him, afraid that I had just fucked everything up.

“You mean that?” he muttered and I nodded. “You’re not just saying that because of last night?”

“No, I’m not. Even if we had just fallen asleep and you asked me, I would have told you the same thing.”

Silence for several minutes and he shifted to look at me but I kept my face hidden.

“Why won’t you look at me?”

“Because I just screwed everything up,” I groaned.

He took my chin and lifted my face. He kissed me on the lips.

“You didn’t screw anything up,” he promised. “I’m pretty certain I love you.”

I bit my lip. “Pretty certain?”

He chuckled. “Well, considering the guy is supposed to say it first but you beat me to it, I have to turn the tables again.”

I laughed and kissed him, grinning.

“One more question,” he said and I looked at him. “Why in the world do you have condoms in your room?”

I giggled, turning red. “That would be Jennifer’s doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I told them that you knew which club we were going to, she gave me hell about. Man, when that girl starts teasing you, she does not stop! Anyway, a few days later once I calmed down, she mentioned she had left a gift in case you came home with me.”

He laughed loudly. “Are you going to tell your friends?”

I thought about it. “Probably not,” I said finally. “Not because I’m ashamed or anything; I just know that Jennifer has the biggest mouth on the planet.”

“I do not!” we heard from the door and I sat up, my eyes wide.

“Shh!” someone else said.

I groaned and covered my face with my hands. Spencer was laughing, though, and he got dressed. I hurried and did the same. Before I could stop him, he opened the door.

“Good morning ladies,” he said cheerfully.

Jennifer, Harley, and Izzy were all standing there with their eyes wide. They were blushing at having been caught.

“Would you like to join us?” he asked. “We’re about to get breakfast.”

I laughed into my hands as Jennifer struggled to answer.

“Sure,” she said finally in a high pitched voice. “I don’t have a big mouth!”

Finally I let my laughter out. “Yeah, you do. If you want to prove you don’t, though, at least make sure Patty Colt doesn’t find out.”

Spencer closed my dorm room door behind him. He put his arm around my waist.

“You’re not worried about little old Patty, are you?” he asked as my friends led the way downstairs.

“Is that okay?” I whispered. “That my friends found out?”

He chuckled. “I don’t mind. I’m going to have to tell my mom before she hears about it from someone else.” He laughed. “Why are you blushing?”

“She’s going to know I’m the one who broke you in,” I groaned and he doubled over in laughter.

“Broke me in?” he repeated, getting into his car while the girls drove my Cadillac.

“Shut up,” I snapped.

He laughed and held my hand. “I’ll talk to her while you ladies are ordering.”

“What do you want?”

“Lisa will know.”

I kissed his cheek as we walked into the restaurant. He made sure we got a good table then disappeared into his mother’s office. I refused to look up until he came back. When he did, his mother was with him with the biggest smirk on her face.

“Shut up!” I groaned as everyone laughed.

Juniper just kissed the top of my head and whispered in my ear, “He loves you very much. And the phrase ‘breaking him in’ is a little weird.”

I slid down further in my seat, groaning as my face turned a deep red.