Georgie nodded thoughtfully. “And then what did he do?”
“He, um…” She fought a blush. “He really got into it. We did it in the shower and it was hot. And hard,” she added in an even softer voice. “But good. Great.” She shivered as sense memories swept over her skin.
“Oh, steamy shower sex is the best!” Georgie grinned. “So how do you feel?”
“I’m a little sore. And I don’t know. It’s like we vacillate between getting along perfectly and being mad at each other for some unspoken reason. Sometimes I just want to…” She mimed choking someone. “Ugh! Smack him upside the head. And I don’t even know why. We barely talked before we left for work because I think we were both afraid of saying something we’d regret. Is that normal?”
“Stop right there.” Georgie held a manicured finger up. “So you’re thinking about him so much that you’re seeing penises in perfume bottles, and yet all you want to do is rip his gorgeous head off? I’m sorry, darling, but that sets my warning bells to going off. Big time.”
Eva frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I hate to break it to you, but it sounds like you’re suffering from push-him-away-before-he-pushes-me-away-itis,” she said, shrugging. “Next stop, an ugly case of Love with a capital L.”
Eva stared at her, horrified. “No. No way!”
“Yes way,” Georgie said, nodding sagely. “And if he’s doing the same thing, then maybe he’s feeling it, too.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “Maybe Big Bad Jack is falling in loooove.”
Eva burst out laughing; she couldn’t help it. “No. That’s definitely wrong. You know who we’re talking about, right? Jack Bennett. You forget, I’ve known him since he was seventeen. Even when he was in high school, he would have a few new notches on his belt every time I visited campus.”
She shrugged. “Well, maybe ol’ lick ’em and leave ’em Jack has matured?”
“Doubtful.” Eva pondered it another moment only to come to the same conclusion. “Totally doubtful. The saying about leopards and spots is coming to mind.”
“Oh, well,” Georgie trilled, stretching her arms overhead and twiddling her fingertips. “When he shows up with flowers and a marriage proposal, I promise not to say I told you so.”
Eva snorted. Jack Bennett and marriage proposals. Could any two things be more diametrically opposed to each other?
Georgie pointed at the computer screen again. “So, other than it looking like a giant penis staircase, is there any other feedback I should present to the design team?”
Eva sighed. “No. Don’t tell them that. Just tell them good work.” She stood. “Is this a normal thing for the newly deflowered? To see penises everywhere they go?”
“Absolutely.” Georgie nodded. “Post-first-coitus-itis. Penis hallucinations are a classic symptom.”
Evan sighed again. “Tell me it goes away.”
“Ordinarily I would say yes, but who knows the power of the wondercock?”
Perfect. Eva smiled dryly. “Great. Very encouraging. I’m going to take a little walk, okay? I need to clear my head.”
Georgie fluttered her fingers. “You’re the boss, lovely. Take all the time you need.”
Out on the street, Eva casually strolled down 5th Avenue, drawing deep breaths of air. She’d taken mid-morning office-break walks before, but never had one felt so desperately needed.
Georgie was nuts. She had to be. Jack wasn’t falling in love. That wasn’t possible. His heart was covered in an impenetrable titanium coating.
But Eva wasn’t so sure about hers, which was why she had taken precautions in the first place. She had known what she was getting into, and had worked extra hard to steel herself against any emotional entanglements. She’d even practiced her causal, aloof, having-an-affair-for-the-first-time-is-no-big-deal routine in the mirror. And last night, when she’d met Lucy, she was sure she’d managed to pull it off.
Who would have thought playing it cool would make Jack so angry?
The truth was, meeting Lucy had felt like swallowing razor blades, and not just because she was a vile creature who had clearly worked some sort of Svengali magic on Jack when they were together. Coming face to face with someone else who had been naked with Jack hurt.
Still, Eva had pretended that she didn’t care, hoping to make things easier for both her teacher and her. Instead, Jack had lost his temper in a way that wasn’t like him.
Ugh. Men. They could be so hard to figure out sometimes.
Even Jack, who she’d known forever.
But the sex. Oh, God, the sex. The thought of him driving inside her, filling her to completion, made her shiver in the warm air. When he’d realized she was a virgin, he’d turned so gentle, sweet, accommodating. She’d heard so many stories about horrible first times, but Jack had handled it the way he handled everything—like a master.