"You have no idea what those guys were thinking. I could see it in their eyes."
"What? That I'm ready to flirt? Because it's true." I tilt my head. "Maybe I'm ready for more than that."
"Not with those guys. Those guys are..." His mouth tightens. "You're a good girl, Mollie. You don't want to hook up with anybody in that bar."
I wasn't going to do this tonight. I've been circling it for weeks, picking it up and putting it down. But I do it now, because of the tequila.
I put my hand on his chest and look up into his baby blue eyes. "What about you, Thorne? What if you're the one I wanted to talk to?"
"You're drunk." He shakes his head.
"Maybe I needed a little liquid courage to ask you the question I've had on the tip of my tongue for a month."
"Oh yeah?" His eyes pierce right through me. “And what would that be, troublemaker?"
This is it. I smooth my hands down my jeans and lick my lips.
"I want you to be my first, Thorne. I… I want you to take my virginity."
I just—say it. It comes out wrong, too fast, not at all how I rehearsed it in the shower.
His jaw drops a little and he freezes for several seconds. His brows draw together. "I... what?"
"My first time? I want it to be you." I blush, leaning in and touching his chest again. “I've thought about it a lot.”
He swallows, then slowly shakes his head. "Get in the car, Squeak."
Thorne backs away and walks around the SUV.
I gape at him. Did he just... turn me down?
Oh god. He did.
"Squeak!" I jump at the sound of his voice. "Get in the fucking car.” He sounds angry. “Please."
My whole body flushing hot, I get in the passenger seat and slam the door. Thorne clears his throat, pointedly staring straight ahead. “Put your seatbelt on,” he growls.
When I do, he reverses the SUV and smoothly drives out of the garage toward my apartment.
I want to bury my face in my arms and run away. I never thought that he would just… deny me.
I sink into my seat, hoping that a giant sinkhole opens up and eats us both. That’s the only way to salvage this moment. Alas, the road under us seems sturdy as we keep driving.
I look up. The sky is hazy, with thick smoke rising high into the night.
Thorne scowls. “Something’s on fire. It smells like smoke.”
“No kidding.” Fire trucks wail, sounding very close.
Thorne turns the corner and stops. The building is fully engulfed, flames licking the upper windows, smoke rising black against the night sky. There's a low roar underneath the sirens, the occasional crack of something giving way inside the walls. A crowd is gathered on the far sidewalk, their faces turned up, quiet the way people get when they're watching something they can't stop. A patrol officer stands in the middle of the street.
I gasp. “My building! Oh god, my books!”
Unlocking the door, I burst out of the car, staggering toward my apartment building. My heart feels like it’s frozen in my chest.
“Wait!” Thorne scrambles out of the car, hurrying after me. I only make it a few steps before he grabs me, his big hands shackling me around the upper arms. “Mollie, you can’t go in there. It’s still on fire.”
“But…” I turn to him, my eyes filling with tears. “But my apartment! My whole life! I have to try to save anything I can.”
