I laugh while I pad over to the sofa and sit down near him. "Toss my virginity? Not sure how that works. It's not like I have an actual cherry in there that I can whip out and hand to you."
His upper lip curls. "That's the most revolting image I've ever been forced to picture."
"Yeah, I realized how gross it was while the words were spewing out of me. Sorry. I have a tendency to say inappropriate things."
"Do you?" His lips curve into a sexily teasing smile. "I think I'm going to like you, Arden Clover Pesti."
"Most people think I'm nuts."
"Well, you are slightly barmy. But it's endearing, in a strange way."
"Thank you. I love being strange."
He cocks his head like he's analyzing me. "How old are you?"
"Didn't anyone ever tell you women don't want to be asked that question? I'm surprised a player like you doesn't know that."
"I'll have you know I've never asked a woman her age before." He angles his body toward me a little. "But I'm curious to know how long you've been holding on to your virginity, and why. So, how old are you?"
"Guess that's a fair question, considering I told you I want to have sex." Get naked and crazy with him, actually, but I don't want to scare him off. "I'm twenty-eight."
"You don't act twenty-eight."
My lips twitch, but I stop myself from smiling. He seems sincere in his belief that I don't act the way someone my age should. "How do you think twenty-eight-year-olds usually behave?"
"I don't know. Less demented."
This timehislips twitch, and I realize he's kidding.
Crossing my arms, I lift my chin. "Okay, Mr. I'm So Hot You'll Forgive Me for Being a Smart-Ass, how old areyou? I mean, since I answered---"
"It's all right. I'm not shy about anything." He sets one ankle on the other knee. "I'm twenty-four."
"A younger man. Wow, that's even hotter."
"Older women definitely are hotter." He winks. "Even if they're still innocent."
"Who said I'm innocent? I've had orgasms, you know. Loads of them."
His brows shoot up. "You have?"
I give him a fake chastising look and wag my finger at him. "Don't make assumptions about me. You'll almost always be wrong."
"Lesson learned." He slants forward, resting his arm on the sofa's back. In a hushed voice I'm sure is pure sarcasm, he asks, "Are you sure they're orgasms? Since you've never had sex, how would you know?"
A laugh snorts out of me. "Yeah, like there's any doubt about it when I'm writhing on my bed and can't breathe because I'm coming so hard."
He stares at me for a few seconds, without blinking, then clears his throat and sinks back into his corner of the sofa. He grabs a throw pillow and puts it on his lap. "So you, uh, self-pleasure."
Oh holy cuteness, it's so absolutely adorable that he can't seem to make himself say the word masturbate. Which makes me want to torture him a little. He deserves it after being so shocked that I'm a virgin, and so shocked that I want to have sex with him.
"I don't do it all by myself," I say. "I have Rod."
"You---" His eyes bulge like they might explode or something. "Who the bloody hell is Rod? I thought you didn't have a boyfriend. And you said you're a virgin, so how in the world could some bloke called Rod give you orgasms?"
No, I'm not lying. I do have Rod. But I might be allowing Reese to get the slightly wrong impression about my little friend.
Rod is my favorite vibrator. Yeah, I named it. I'm kooky, remember?