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“That was Ennis’s idea.”
Ennis? Why the hell did she have to mention Ennis? Was she attracted to that Brit? I remained calm. “It was?”
“Yeah. I love meat. I don’t want to give it up. He told me to do something about it, and Patty had the idea of her family sending us humanely raised pork from the farm.”
“But the idea came about because of your love of animals.”
“Yeah, but I never did anything before.”
“You’re eighteen. No one does anything when they’re a kid.”
“It…is a good idea.”
I smiled. “It is. And I’ll do you one better. You’re welcome to all the beef Murph and I have. We couldn’t possibly eat it all, and I promise you we treat our animals well.”
“I don’t want anything from you.”
“I’m offering.”
“Offer it to your other women.”
“Daphne, I’m not interested in any other women. The girl at our place last night is from my past. She’s having a hard time letting go.”
Of course, I’d almost fucked her, but Daphne didn’t need to know that.
She bit her lip. “Like I said, I’d be a disappointment.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“I’m… I’m a virgin, Brad. I can’t give you sex.”
Her confession didn’t surprise me. I’d known instinctively that I had to go slow with Daphne. Something about the way she carried herself. Wendy and I had taken each other’s virginity long ago in high school when she was sixteen and I was seventeen. That had come with its own problems—none of which I wanted to think about at the moment.
“Who says I want sex?”
“You’re a guy, and you’re a senior in college. Of course you want sex.”
She wasn’t wrong, but for her, I was willing to forgo sex. For a while, anyway. Why? I couldn’t say. I just knew Daphne was something special, and the desire to protect her coiled through me in a way I didn’t fully understand.
“I’m not after sex with you.”
“What do you want, then?”
“Right now? I want you to postpone your drink with Prince Charles and spend the evening with me.”
She smiled at the Prince Charles remark. Her friend Ennis did sort of resemble the future monarch, with his wavy brown hair and blue eyes. He was better looking than the prince, though, which didn’t sit well with me.
“I wouldn’t feel right about that.”
I sighed. “All right. I tried. Keep tomorrow night open for me, okay?”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“I’ve never been surer about anything.”
Chapter Thirteen
Daphne
I didn’t actually have plans with Ennis and Dirk. I certainly didn’t care if I ever saw Dirk again, but I did like Ennis a lot. I truly felt we could be friends. He’d been nothing but a gentleman. Hadn’t tried a thing with me, and so far, I wasn’t interested in him in that way.
Brad Steel, though? He was perfection. Male beauty like I’d never seen. Why he was interested in me mystified me. I was attractive, I knew, but I’d just told him I was a virgin and wasn’t interested in sex. From what I understood, that would send most college guys running.
I’d lied about having plans because of the woman Patty mentioned. If Brad Steel was already involved with someone, I didn’t want any part of him.
Except that I did.
I wanted him badly in a way I didn’t fully comprehend, which scared the daylights out of me.
Brad dropped me off back at the dorm, and Patty went home with them for the nightcap. I sighed. Had I made the right choice? Patty most likely wouldn’t be home again tonight, so I was alone. Another party was already starting in the lounge, but no way was I drinking again tonight. Or possibly ever. I wasn’t in any hurry to relive that nightmare.
I could call home, but then my mother would worry. I’d only been gone two days. She was such a mother hen, especially after the events of junior year.
I tried not to think about those days. I didn’t remember a lot of what went on during my hospitalization anyway, so thinking about it racked my nerves something awful. Losing a block of life was freaky, to say the least.
I remembered everything now. I forced myself to, from the important to the mundane. I didn’t ever want to lose a part of me again. For example, I remembered that Brad Steel was wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, and leather sandals when I met him. I remembered his feet were as perfect as the rest of him. I remembered the warmth of his hand, the feel of his firm lips on my own.
Yeah, and what I had for breakfast each day, and so forth. Never again would I lose a part of my mind. I was determined.
What would Brad Steel think if he knew I’d spent the majority of my junior year of high school in a mental hospital? Would he still be interested? That was a lot more to deal with than my virginity.
