“Is this how you talk to women? Because I was led to believe that you were nice to your hookups. That you were clear about boundaries.”
“I’m joking, I promise.” He put his hands up in surrender, smiling smugly. “State your request and rationale more specifically, Sophia, and I might be able to help you.”
I sighed. “God, this is embarrassing.”
“You’ve already started this conversation, you might as well finish it,” he said, looking far too delighted at my distress.
“I’ve only had sex with one guy who I dated for a while in high school, and it sucked. I’ve dated a few guys here, but things never feel passionate and I’m not sure if the problem is them or me. But it’s probably me, right?”
Leo’s eyes traveled from the top of my head to my toes and back, lingering everywhere in between and raising my body temperature significantly. “Doubtful,” he said.
My mouth went dry. I was in skinny jeans, black, pointed flats, and a long sweater, but he’d just made me feel completely naked with the way his eyes roamed over me.
“I know I’m straight, so don’t even ask if that’s the problem,” I said.
“I wasn’t going to,” he said. “What brings you tomydoorstep to resolve this situation?”
He leaned back on his hands, but I stayed rooted in place. I might need to bolt any second. My cheeks flushed again as I said, “You have a reputation for being very satisfying.”
He grinned and lifted his chin proudly. “Thank you.”
“Don’t look at me, it’s not my compliment to give,” I said, glancing at his desk chair in the corner.
He followed my eyes. “You can sit,” he said.
I sat down and huffed. “The point is, I want to know if I’m doing something wrong. Maybe I’m with the wrong guys or maybe I don’t know what I’m doing. Given your speech about honesty, I think you’d tell me the truth. And you certainly have enough practice to know what you’re talking about and provide a positive experience for me.”
Leo raised his eyebrows. Apparently, that stupid smirk that made him look so sexy was stuck on his face now. This awkward encounter was probably highly amusing to someone like him. “You want to hook up with me once and you want me to give you feedback?”
“Yes, please.”
He laughed heartily, nearly doubling over as he pushed off his hands and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Well, there it is,” I said. “If you’re laughing at me before we even start, then I suppose we can just forget this whole ridiculous encounter.”
He attempted to catch his breath and pulled himself together. “I’m sorry, okay. I’m not laughing atyou. This is an entirely new experience for me. I’m just surprised, that’s all. You’re so matter of fact about what you want.”
“You’ve never been propositioned before?” I folded my arms across my chest. “I find that hard to believe.”
“No, I’ve never been asked to grade the sexual performance of someone I barely know,” he said, still smirking and making me wonder what exactly I could do to get him to stop. “I knew you were different than most girls, but this is not what I expected.”
“You barely know half the girls you sleep with—or so I assume.”
“You assume correct. It’s the feedback part that’s unique to you.” His smirk faded into an endearing smile and my cheeks warmed again.
“Okay, forget it. When you say it back to me, I feel even more ridiculous than when I said it out loud the first time,” I said, standing up. “I got the impression we were attracted to each other, and this seemed like a viable solution.”
“Wait,” he said, shooting to his feet and looking sincere. He stepped toward me, our chests nearly touching. “You’re attracted to me, Hawaii?”
“God, you are insufferable.”
“Look, Sophia, I like you. I’ll pretty much settle for any excuse to get you to keep talking to me, and sleeping with you sounds fantastic. This is just unexpected.”
“You’re interested in this?” I asked skeptically.
He leaned in closer, speaking directly into my ear. “I’m interested inyou. If giving you minute-by-minute feedback on our encounter will give me a chance to please you, I’ll take it.”
A shiver ran down my spine. I might not need the sex to prove something deeper than what I’d experienced before was possible. Nobody had ever activated the nerve endings in my body the way I felt now with Leo’s breath on my neck.
