Page 22 of The Virgin Playboy

“I can do that.”

“Good, because my cousin’s fast, and he's been playing music as long as me. He'll be the one to beat,” he confirmed, as we rejoined the party, confirming that we all understood the directions, and were ready to commence.

Starting the timer, Yenory did the honor of flipping over the first card, revealing the word ‘hard’, as everyone rushed to grab the mic, but only Carly was fast enough to grab it. In a tone-deaf performance, she recited the lyrics from "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," as Graham leaned close to whisper in my ear, and dare I say, it made me clench up.

“It's okay, we'll get the next one.” The next card revealed the word ‘filthy’ and with a quick pluck of his guitar, I beat Yenory to the mic. Holding it to Graham's lips, his fingers glided across the strings, the familiar opening of Beyonce's “Drunk in Love” passed through his sexy as sin lips, his smooth tenor crooning sounding just as good as the original. So, the man could sing too? Literally the only thing wrong with him was that he was a fucking virgin!

“That's one for us,” I exclaimed, meeting his hand in a high five, his gaze feeling targeted not being lost on me this time. His cousin volunteered to flip the next card over, the next word being ‘gotta’, leaving the lot of us stumped. But when Graham hit that chord, I rushed to grab it, again the melodic harmonies from his guitar enchanting us.

The familiar sound of Musiq SoulChild’s “Just Friends” sent me on a hypnotic daze. I felt like he was purposely serenading me, and I was ashamed to admit after that, I wasn't as fast enough to grab the mic with the easier words. And then it was the songs he chose to sing, as if we hadn’t been facing a three-way tie, I would have totally been texting the group chat, questioning if I was overthinking this.

Avi took his time flipping over the next and final card, unveiling the word ‘better’, and I swear I have never rushed so fast to grab something. In my worst karaoke voice the room filled with “I Can Love You” by Mary J Blige, along with my besties chiming in, despite being the declared losers. For a simple game, I'll admit it was hella fun, but what was more rewarding was getting first dibs on what we were promised.

Roughly, it took us fifteen minutes to link back up at the spa room, looking rather twinish in our matching white robes.

“Well, this should be fun. After you,” he said, gesturing for me to enter first, as we were greeted by two friendly female masseuses.

“Have you ever gotten a massage before?” I questioned, eyeing the zen set up.

“No, never. How about you?” he grinned, his thick curls brushed back as he secured his hair in a messy bun.

“I mean, a woman has her luxuries, so yeah. I can promise it’s going to be great. It's kind of like therapy for the body, because you go in feeling bad, and you walk out feeling this huge weight lifted. If anything, it just makes all the words in your head seem less important.”

The masseuses approached, instructing us to de-robe and strip down to the what we were the least comfortable to. This wasn't my first rodeo, so for me that was a bra and panties, but for him, taking off his clothes was like pulling teeth. I questioned his discomfort, considering how fast he nearly got naked with me, and didn't seem to show any nervousness. Then the man was built like an athlete, I'm talking no ounce of fat in his body whatsoever.

The Tā moko I remembered on his upper body sat proudly on display, but the one that started at the top of his boxer briefs and ended at just above his knee was just glorious. I know that bad boy had to hurt if he had gotten it done that traditional way. My God, did this man have a beautiful body. I was definitely feeling regretful sending him packing on his way.

Soon after we were seated and worked on, we were lucky enough to be finishing up our night in the hot tub, where we sipped on mixed drinks and enjoyed a clear night sky.

“You're right, that was relaxing. I can't believe I've never gotten a massage before. I think I may have to start investing in more,” he smiled, wiping his palm along the length of his damp face.

“Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. You were making me a little nervous when you refused to take your pants off.” His eyes widened.

“I didn't refuse, okay? I'm just not exactly used to taking my clothes off in a room with three women just staring at me. It's hard enough doing it with one woman,” he blushed.

“Okay, that's fair, but I'd literally only accept that from a guy like you, given your sitch,” I replied as he reached for his drink to the side of me, causing the goosebumps that appeared on my arm to stand at full attention.

“I didn't realize how arousing it'd be. I had to keep apologizing…because, well, I kept getting hard. I know massages aren't supposed to be sexual, but it felt so intimate to be touched that way. Your moans and whimpering weren't exactly helping.” He ended in a playful smile.

“Wait, are you making fun of me right now?” I teased, his brows furrowing as he sipped his drink.

“No, I was actually paying you a compliment. You have the most beautiful sounds. It was like, the only thing I could focus on,” he admitted, as I grit my teeth and rolled my eyes.

“You know what I dislike about you?”

“No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me,” he laughed, pulling his straw to the side as he finished the rest of his drink sans the straw.

“I just hate the fact that you're so humbly confident. I could see if you were like arrogant or self-absorbed. Or you were just a creep or something, but you say shit like that, looking absolutely adorable, and I don't know… I think I might have, like, the smallest, tiny little crush on you. I get all giddy when you’re around, and I don’t get giddy. Around anyone! And I don't know what to do that with that information.” He tilted his head, meeting my gaze in a squint.

“Okay, but is that a bad thing?” Putting my drink down, I put a few inches of distance between us.”

“In theory, no. But then I remember you're thirteen years younger, and are likely in a different place in your life than me. I know you said you didn’t have time for a girlfriend, and I’m probably worse cause I'm just over the whole dating scene. If I weren’t in an era of my life where I only wanted sex, you're the kind of guy I’d just experiment on and just see where it goes. But I know you’re all about time and connection, I probably wouldn’t live up to the hype,” I admitted, as what he said to follow up threw me for a surprise.

“Well, what if I didn’t mind being experimented on? To learn. To experience things. To not be a total fuck up when I actually do meet a woman and have the time to be serious with,” he started, and I could tell my face probably looked crazy because he added more to soften the blow.

“I know that it's like a weird ask coming from a man. But I wouldn't see sex lessons as a waste of time. I think you know that I enjoy you as a person, and I'd rather lose my virginity to someone who makes me feel comfortable, than to find myself in another situation where I have chemistry with a woman, but my limited bedroom skills are deal breaker.

It'll take more than a good wank for me to fall in love with someone, and if we went into something knowing that it’s only going to be about teaching me, I won't get sidetracked and catch feelings. I just want to be ready when the right time comes along,” he proposed, and shamefully, I was actually considering it.