”
happened when she teased you.”
“Yeah, well… I can’t help it if I react when an attractive girl teases me.”
She nodded and fell silent.
After a moment I said, “Thanks for going with me tomorrow.”
“Of course. I’m your girlfriend.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t know about the nudist camp when you said you’d go.”
“You don’t,” I said quickly.
“I’ve seen nude people all my life,” she said with a shrug. “I mean… it’s art. You can’t draw the human body if you don’t know what it looks like.”
“And you can definitely draw the human body.”
I sat back and heaved a sigh of relief.
“Were you really that worried? That I might actually break up with you?
“Yeah, I was. It seems silly now, but…”
“No, it’s really sweet.”
She thought about it a moment. “I guess because I worry about the same thing. I mean, I thought you were going to tell me you weren’t interested when we had that big talk after the Halloween party. And I’m constantly afraid you’re going to break up with me because I’m not… ready… to, you know, go all the way.”
“I won’t break up with you ’cause of that. I knew you weren’t ready from the beginning. Well, when I first admitted that I liked you. Yeah, sex is really important to a relationship, but I think you’re worth the wait.”
“Besides,” I added with a grin, “to hear Wren tell it, you’re just waiting for the right guy to unleash your inner nympho.”
“Remind me to wring her neck,” Christy muttered. “For real this time.
And don’t believe everything she tells you.”
“Why? She’s been right about everything so far. Yeah, she has her own agenda, but I don’t think she’s lied to me. Has she?”
“I don’t know what she’s told you. She won’t tell me,” she added sourly.
Then, just like her father, she visibly adjusted her attitude and decided to make the most of the situation. “But I flatly deny anything that doesn’t make me look like a paragon of virtue!”
I laughed. Then I set my book aside and gestured for her to join me on the couch.
“Oh, no! You just wanna take advantage of me in a weak moment.”
“Weak moment? What’re you talking about?”
“I’m feeling particularly affectionate toward you right now.”
“For saying I’m worth the wait.”
“See? You’re doing it again, making me really like you.”
“Then come up here and show me. You can sit in my lap,” I added with a grin. “We’ll talk about the first thing that comes up.”
She rolled her eyes but joined me anyway.
“There,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her, “much better.
