2. Grace

TWO

GRACE

I lounge on the couch, flipping through the options on the streaming app while I wait for Tanner to arrive with our snacks. I don't know what kind of movie I'm in the mood for, but if I don't pick something quick, he'll talk me into some shitty action movie that'll bore me to tears within ten minutes. There are a few new releases this week, so hopefully we can settle on a rom-com or drama that can keep my attention.

I narrow it down to two new ones, waiting for him to get here so we can decide. Although I have a feeling he's going to throw one of them off the table quick, fast, and in a hurry. It's a drama about a billionaire who has a crazy sex dungeon in his house and moves a young, inexperienced woman in to be at his kinky beck and call. I've been dying to see it, but I doubt Tanner would be comfortable watching it with the girl he knows as an annoying little sister. I'm sure he thinks I'm some non-sexual being who couldn't possibly imagine herself in any type of situation where a penis is involved.

He'd be half right. Even though I can and have imagined it, I'm still a virgin. I know it's not the end of the world, but I hate the fact that I'm about to go to college in the fall with my v-card intact. As excited as I am that I got into the California College of the Arts Fashion Design program, I highly doubt that I'll find a guy that'll tick all my boxes when I get there.

I have a type. I like tall, masculine, and athletic guys. Which is going to be pretty hard to find at school since CCA doesn't have any sports teams.

Damn my brother for always having the hottest teammates. They made me this way.

I dated the captain of the football team last year and had every intention of having sex with him, but when the time came, I chickened out. He wasn't forceful or anything, but I could tell by the way he kissed and touched me that he didn't care if it actually felt good or not. I've heard horror stories about how the first time can be uncomfortable or even painful, and I knew I couldn't trust him to take care of me. So here I am. An eighteen-year-old almost college freshman who will be making the trip to California in the fall as a certified virgin.

Pitiful.

I'm snapped back to reality when the front door opens and closes. I hear Tanner in the foyer as he removes his shoes, sliding them across the floor to the mat my mom insists we use. She's tripped over flip-flops and sneakers enough times to make that one of her rules. Everyone who comes here regularly knows better than to leave their shit lying around.

I turn my head just as Tanner enters the living room. He's wearing a tight crimson Harvard Football t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. His black baseball cap is turned backward and every hormone in my body is holding up a little sign that reads ‘10' , as if they're scoring an Olympic event. He's always been hot, but right now? He's droolworthy with his ocean blue eyes and sand colored hair that's perfectly tousled. Maybe it's all the thinking about sex that went on before he got here, but I'm suddenly picturing Tanner as he sinks into me for the first time. Obviously, that would never happen, but I'm allowed to fantasize about him naked.

Not like I haven't done it before.

"I got your disgusting Sour Patch Kids," he says, tossing a family-sized bag of the best candy in the world into my lap as he rounds the couch. I try not to notice the way his bicep strains against the sleeve of his shirt with the motion. "I also grabbed us a pizza from Henry's, in case you haven't eaten yet."

That makes my ears perk up. "First of all, they're not disgusting. You just have terrible taste," I joke as I set the bag beside me and sit up on my knees, reaching for the top of the pizza box once he's standing in front of me. "I hope you got the—" I lift it up to see my favorite toppings, sausage and mushrooms. I can't hide the wide smile as it stretches across my face.

He raises a brow. "Did you really think I'd enter this home with any other kind of pizza, Bunny? You're a nightmare when you're hangry."

My jaw drops in mock exasperation. "I am not ," I argue. I pause, shrugging. "Okay, maybe I am." I take a slice from the box, turning to the TV and going back to the new releases as Tanner settles in next to me.

"So," I say with a mouthful of food, "here are our movie choices. You can pick."

He sets the box on the coffee table before choosing a slice of pizza for himself and sitting back. I watch his mouth as he takes a bite, noticing his plump lips and strong jaw muscles as they work to chew his food. I have a weird urge to reach out and touch the side of his face, but I ignore it because who the fuck would ever do that? I quickly turn back toward the television as he angles his head my way, trying my best to act like I wasn't just drooling over the way he masticates.

This is Tanner Lake, Grace. He's so far out of your league, it's laughable. Get a grip .

"How about that one?" he says, pointing at the photo of the exact movie I thought he'd want to avoid.

I slowly turn to look at him, unable to keep my eyebrows from almost touching my hairline. "Really? Do you know what it's about?"

"No," he replies.

I laugh incredulously. "It's…how do I say this?" I pause. "Spicy."

He stops chewing for a moment. " Spicy? Is that like, sexy? Is this a kissing movie, Bunny?" he jokes.

My cheeks heat. God, this is embarrassing. Tanner has probably had sex thousands of times. Meanwhile, my hymen and I are practically besties. We're inseparable… literally . "Umm, yeah." It comes out as a squeak and holy shit just bury me alive right now.

He laughs. "We're watching it," he says, swiping the remote from my hand and hitting play. "You don't even have to tell me what it's about. I just want to watch you squirm during the sexy scenes."

"I hate you," I mumble, melting back into the couch cushions as he chuckles. He reaches forward, grabbing the remote that controls the lighting in the house. The room darkens just as the opening credits roll across the television screen. Suddenly, I'm no longer hungry, reaching forward to set what's left of my pizza back in the box.

The first twenty minutes of the movie is just introducing the characters to us. The guy is a rich CEO who hires the young girl to be his live-in housekeeper, not reading the fine print of the contract before she signs on the dotted line. If she had, she'd know that she's really agreeing to be his submissive for the next three months. Imagine her surprise when she's dusting the bookshelves and he enters the room, telling her to kneel. She resists, of course, but after considering her options, she eventually consents.

It isn't long before the slow, sultry music starts playing as the man undresses her completely. She stands there, trembling as he circles her like a hungry lion playing with his food before devouring it. I feel a delicious pull low in my belly when the camera zooms in to his hands as he ghosts them up her torso, stopping to pinch her hard nipples. I let out an almost inaudible gasp right along with her, and I'm thankful for the surround sound when I remember that I'm not alone.

I feel the couch cushions shift under me and look out of the corner of my eye as Tanner's legs become restless. And when I see his Adam's apple bob in his throat as he forces a swallow, my thighs press together on their own volition. I immediately notice the wet feeling in my panties that I know wouldn't be as prevalent if I wasn't sitting so close to this six-foot-four perfect specimen. It's uncomfortable, but also, I can't help but notice how good it feels when I clench my inner muscles while I sneak another peek at his profile that's illuminated by the glowing lights of the television.

I shouldn't be thinking of him like this, but it becomes increasingly hard not to when the man on the screen takes a handful of the woman's hair, forcing her into submission before him. Thankfully, since it's not actual porn, the camera fades away just as she leans in to take him into her mouth. I let out the breath I was definitely holding in as the movie returns to the everyday life of the billionaire and his new pet. I'm able to tamp down my arousal and stop thinking of my brother's best friend as if he were a juicy piece of meat waiting to be tasted.

He's not meaty, Grace. So stop it.

An hour and several kinky scenes later, the end credits roll, and the tension from enduring that movie next to a man who is arguably the hottest living being on the planet finally subsides from my muscles. I blow out a relieved breath.

He turns to me with a cocky smirk. "You good, Bunny?"

I paste a look of nonchalance across my face. "Why wouldn't I be?" I ask .

"I don't know," he says. "You just look a little embarrassed."

He's trying to rattle me. To pick on me. But I'm an adult who can watch a sexy movie with another person and stay cool. Fuck this guy, right?

"Embarrassed," I scoff, "I'm the furthest thing from embarrassed." I sit back, crossing my legs and mustering up every ounce of fake confidence that I can find. "As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to do some of that stuff when I get to college."

Oh. My. God. I did not just say that.

"Is that so?" he asks, trying to hide his smile. "You gonna go find some guy to tie you up, Gracie girl?"

I can feel the tips of my ears getting hot because I'm so flustered. I'd rather get up close and personal with a Taco Bell toilet seat on a random Tuesday than finish this conversation, but I dug myself into this hole of humiliation, so someone pass me a shovel. "Totally," I squeak out. "I think it would be really hot."

His brows shoot up. "Hot?"

"Mhmm," I say. "I've just been waiting until I go to LA because the guys here don't really rev my engine, you know?"

"Yeah," he says, but his expression has changed. At first, he was playful, trying to get a rise out of me. Now, he almost looks pissed off. I guess it's not really a surprise since Tanner has always seen me as a younger sister and probably doesn't want to think of me getting tied up and spanked. I probably grossed him out.

He stands, wiping his hands on his sweats. "It's uhh, late. I'd better get going," he says, avoiding eye contact. Yep, I definitely grossed him out . "Good night, Grace."

And then he's gone, leaving me to wallow in my own desolation.