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“I don’t know if you know this, but your brother is kind of a slut. He’s been that way since forever. Sure, we’re good friends but strictly platonic. I puked in his lap in fifth grade, and he showed me a weird rash on his balls that he thought was an STD in high school.”
Mike didn’t know whether he should be appalled, disappointed, or all of the above.
“It’s never been that way between us.”
A beat passed, and she turned to him, stopping both of them in their tracks. She lifted her sunglasses and seemed to mull something over before finally saying, “He’s never been the brother I was interested in.”
It took a while for her words to sink in, and when they finally did, Mike’s heart rate spiked. But he needed to make sure he understood correctly. “What are you trying to say?”
“I figured since we’re both home now, maybe…” She bit into her lip, shook her head, then started again. “I’ve got a lot going on, I’m sure you do too, but, you know, I’m open to something.”
He didn’t need a map to see what direction she was going in when she saidsomething. And he was very interested in packing his bags to camp out there.
“I’m leaving for Texas at the end of August, but—”
He stepped back, setting his mental bags back down. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah. My internship’s in Austin.”
He wanted to say yes to her. He wanted more of her laughter and mischievous eyes and flirting, but Mike had never been impulsive. He was well planned and meticulous. His career in the military required it, and that carried over into his everyday life. He didn’t go on random dates with women; there were no casual hookups or flings. When he cared for a woman, he knew immediately, and he didn’t think he could agree to merely a summer.
“I, um…” He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. He had only ever been in committed, long-term relationships. He didn’t know how to give her what she was asking for. “I don’t know, I—”
“Oh, it’s cool.” She waved her hand at him and shoved her sunglasses on. “Forget it.”
“It’s not that I don’t wa—”
“Really,” she said, lightly pressing her hand against his forearm to silence him. “Please don’t think I’m all heartbroken or whatever. It’s fine. Completely.” Then she took off at a quick clip, and Mike had to jog to catch up.
“Hey, Samantha, hey. Hold on. I’m not as great at running as I used to be.” He meant it as a joke, but her mouth turned down in a frown. They had taken his leg off below the knee, and he needed to put on a different prosthetic for a lot of physical activity. “Let me explain,” he said, “I’ve never…”
“You’ve never what?” She took her sunglasses back off, surprise coloring her face. “Are you a virgin?”
He rolled his head to the side, tamping down a laugh. “No, Samantha, I am not a virgin.”
She tossed her hands out. “There would be nothing wrong with that.”
He dragged his hands down his cheeks, scratching at his beard. “I’ve only ever had serious girlfriends. I was with Kaylie Magee in high school.”
“I remember,” she said, crossing her arms, and was that a bit of jealousy he heard?
“We were together for three years.”
“I know. Why are you telling me this?”
“So you can understand.” He wrapped his hands around her upper arms until she loosened them to her sides. Then he reached for her hand not holding the leash. “We broke up because she was tired of waiting for me to come home, and she said she wanted the normal college experience.” Now that he’d started, the words were tumbling out. He didn’t know why he felt like he needed to tell her, yet he couldn’t stop. “Then I met Madison when I was stationed in Arizona. We were together for a while but broke up before I went overseas for the first time. And you know about Bianca.”
“Okay,” she said, her voice lilting in a question.
“There has never been anyone else. No one-night stands or anything.”
“Oh,” she said, staring down at where their hands had somehow become interlocked together. “So, you’ve only slept with three women?”
“Yeah,” he said after a few moments. He wasn’t embarrassed, but he’d lost some of his confidence since Bianca had left him.
“I…” She blinked up at him. “I figured girls would have been throwing themselves at you.”
“Well,” he said, slanting a brow. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I don’t do casual. I don’t know how.”
