Page 17 of Awakened By the Guardian

Well, hell. “Did you tell⁠—?”

“Yes!” she interrupted, temper making her words sharp. “And it ended out relationship.”

Gary rumbled deep in his throat. “Asshole.”

Margaret shook her head as she stared into her coffee. “It’s not his fault. He had every right to expect a normal girl, and I’m…abnormal.”

Every part of him rebelled at that statement, but he kept his emotions contained. He didn’t want to spook her, especially since she looked like she was seconds away from running. “So, um, did you try talking about what you like? What feels good?”

The look she shot him was equal parts embarrassed and exasperated. “Of course I did. Don’t you think I want to feel the things other people do?” She shook her head then stabbed her fork into what was left of her omelet like she was trying to kill it. “It’s always awful. The sweating and grunting, then all the sticky stuff. Much better to watch a Grey’s Anatomy rerun.”

Gary still didn’t buy it. Not really. “So, because of one bad boyfriend you think you’re asexual?”

Margaret looked annoyed. “It’s not about the guy, Gary. It’s about me.”

“But you’ve experienced sex. You’ve had orgasms.”

“Yes, because you guys want them. You want me to have them. So I do it to please you, not because I want one.”

Gary didn’t know what to say. Of all the reasons to avoid a relationship with him, he’d never guessed that… And then it clicked, the real reason they were best friends, the explanation of why a sexy woman with quick wit and a great sense of humor spent so much time with him. “You like me because I’m paralyzed. Because I can’t expect things to go farther than they have. Or you thought that was the case.”

She stiffened. “That has nothing to do with why I like you! We have a thousand things in common. We love science fiction and you indulge my silly birthday ritual. I love hearing about your day, and you are interested in what I do, where I go… I love talking to you, Gary. I love being with you.”

“But we’re friends because you thought I was harmless.”

She blew out a breath, her expression tight. “I like you for you. It has nothing to do with sex. But, yeah, it helped that you can’t jump me. I hate that. And, for most guys, that’s a deal-breaker.”

His head was spinning. She’d liked that he was paralyzed.

She pushed to her feet and grabbed her phone off the table. Her shoulders were halfway to her ears and she looked at the door. He could feel the shame surrounding her, and he just couldn’t bear it.

“Don’t go,” he said. “You shouldn’t be ashamed⁠—”

“Just let it go, Gary.” She stared up at the ceiling and he knew she was fighting tears. “I’m sorry it’s hard for guys to understand this, but it’s the truth: I wasn’t traumatized as a kid. There’s no deep dark abuse in my past. I just don’t like sex. I never have. I’m sorry you don’t get that⁠—”

“I’m trying to,” he exclaimed. “Just give me a moment to⁠—”

Bang, bang. Heavy thumps on his door. Then his father’s voice.

“Gary, it’s me. Can you open the door?”

Hell. This was so not the time for an interruption. If he left it like this, he feared Margaret would run. Not just from the room, but from his life. He could see the shame of her situation burning her cheeks and she wouldn’t even look at him as she snatched the front door remote and pressed OPEN.

The lock released, and the door rolled to the side to reveal his father, large and rumpled. In a tux or sweats, his dad always looked rumpled. His mother was all about dressing right and she’d taught Gary to always look his best. But at the moment, rumpled was…reassuring. No matter what else was going on, Dad was still Dad.

But there wasn’t time for that. He had about two seconds to keep Margaret from disappearing. So he had to pull out the big guns. He had to use the only excuse left to keep her by his side until they could talk more.

He wouldn’t feel a shred of guilt about using it.

CHAPTER 6

Margaret felt Gary’s hand tighten on hers, and she knew he wasn’t going to let her leave without a fight. So it was no surprise when he turned his big brown eyes upon her and whispered, “Don’t leave me alone with him. Please.”

He had the look of a child afraid of the monster under his bed. And yeah, she knew that his mother had fed him all sorts of stuff about how his dad was a dangerous loser, but she also knew that Gary wasn’t afraid of him. In fact, after his parents divorced Gary and his father had built a solid foundation through baseball games and guy nights. Which meant she could ignore this big-eyed, don’t-leave-me-with-him ruse.

“Nice try, Gary,” she said twisting her hand out of his. “But this is a father-son thing.” After her humiliating confession of a few minutes ago, she really needed to regroup alone.

Except, Mr. Baldner still stood in the doorway, his hands shoved in his baggy jeans as he took in the dented lamp, the overturned couch, and the generally disheveled way she and Gary both looked. But then he smiled, his expression genuinely warm.