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“What other guy?”
“Nobody, just a guy.”
“Krystina…” he warned.
“Geez, you’re pushy! It was a one-night stand, all right? Wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am. Not something I like to brag about. Are you happy?”
“That’s it then? Two guys?” he asked in astonishment.
“Is there something wrong with that?” I shrunk under his confounded look. He was making me feel like some sort of prude.
“Well, it’s just that…I knew you were probably inexperienced, but I didn’t realize I misjudged you by so much. That day in the grocery store…the cinnamon gum…” He raked his hands through his hair in evident frustration.
Hmm…the gum thing did throw him for a loop after all.
I felt a little smug, but not enough to cover the embarrassment over my lack of sexual expertise. I automatically jumped on the defense.
“Well, excuse me, Mr. Let’s-fuck-and-get-it-over-with! I’m sorry I don’t have enough notches in my bedpost for you, but that’s me. Take it or leave it.”
“Damn it, Krystina! What am I supposed to think? Of all the flavors of gum on the shelf—peppermint, spearmint! You chose cinnamon.”
“So, what?” I asked, confused by his outburst.
“Cinnamon is an aphrodisiac! I thought you were trying to imply something when you tossed it in my cart,” he said as justification for his apparent bafflement.
“It is?” I asked.
That’s an interesting little fact.
I almost laughed at the irony of our situation.
“Why else would you have done it?”
“I, um…”
Because the way you chew a piece of gum is hotter than hell.
“Forget it. I guess that’s what I get for assuming and thinking with my dick. Fuck,” he swore, shaking his head.
He stood up and began pacing the room.
I sat there completely mystified by his behavior. He was usually so composed, only giving me the occasional glimmer as to what he might be thinking. Never had I seen him so conflicted.
And all because of a gum flavor?
“It’s no big deal—just a misunderstanding, Alex,” I reassured. He stopped pacing to look at me.
“You really have no idea what I am asking of you, do you?”
“Of course, I do. I’m not that naïve.”
At least I didn’t think I was.
“What do you know about BDSM?”
His question took me by surprise. I raised one eyebrow at him, racking my brain to try and recall any knowledge on the subject.
BDSM was that kinky shit, right? When a guy liked to dress a girl in a costume and give her a spanking? But what does that have to do with chewing gum?
