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Justin waited for a moment. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me?”
“What is it you want to know?”
“Were you... serious?”
Carly looked at him blankly. “What do you mean? I mean, we talked about getting married, but it was just talk. He never proposed, and I didn’t have a ring or anything.”
“Did he live with you?” Justin’s voice was casual. He reached down to the frame of his bike and plucked his water bottle out of its carrier.
“With my dad two floors down? He would have gone after Noah with a shotgun.”
“Oh.” Justin squirted some water into his mouth and offered the bottle to her, but Carly didn’t think she could manage to control the bike with only one hand. She shook her head. She could tell he was looking for a way to phrase something, and she sighed.
“Do you want to know if we slept together?”
“I... er... I...”
Carly thought she detected a hint of a blush on his cheekbones, and she was enchanted. “Yes, we did. Does that reduce the number of cans of ravioli you’ll be able to sell me for?”
Justin laughed, but it was a little strained. “Sorry. I was just curious.”
“Why didn’t you just ask?”
Justin opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again.
“What about you?”
He seemed taken aback. “Me?”
“Well, if we’re going to talk about my sexual experiences, shouldn’t yours be open for discussion, too?”
Justin rubbed the back of his neck. “What do you want to know?”
“How old were you when you first did it?”
“Fifteen.”
“I’ll bet you’ve had scads of experience,” Carly said. “Traveling around the world, a woman in every port.”
“You’re thinking of sailors.”
Carly shrugged. “Same difference. Well?”
“Not as much as you might think.”
“Really? Why?”
Justin grinned. “I’m picky.”
“You see how picky I am about my shoes, and they only go on my feet,” Carly quoted, and Justin laughed.
“Speaking of shoes, we need to stop and get you another pair,” Justin said. “You really shouldn’t be wearing sandals to ride a bike.”
“I like these shoes,” Carly said in protest. They were her favorite pair, strappy white leather with pink flowers stitched across the instep. “They’re very comfortable.”
“But not very safe. What if your toe got caught in the chain?”
“That can happen?” Carly looked down in alarm at the gears of her bike and nearly ran off the road into the ditch. She overcorrected and ended up sprawled gracelessly in a bush. Sam let out a sharp yip and bounded over. He sniffed Carly and bumped her with his head as though urging her to get up.
