“Okay. I’ll stop.” He reaches over and squeezes my hand. “How are you otherwise? I mean, after you stayed over. Are you feeling okay?”

“You mean other than being sore from the thrust-a-thon? I assume with enough practice I’ll get used to all the pounding.”

Griffin coughs. “I mean, emotionally.”

“Oh.” I look out the window. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me getting all clingy on you because you’re the only man who’s ever been inside me.”

“You don’t have to be blasé about it.”

“I’m not being blasé. I knew what I was doing when I seduced you. I know the limitations to this.” I motion between us and keep talking, mostly trying to reassure myself. “I’m not going to make this into something it isn’t, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s not . . . I’m not worried about that.”

We pull into the parking lot of Shakey’s, which I’m incredibly grateful for because I’d like to put an end to this conversation. The truth is, I like Griffin. Enough that I’ll deal with the fact that he was with my sister before he met me, so I might be lying about making it into something it’s not. But in a couple of months he’ll go back to New York, and I’ll have my internship, so this is as deep as we get to go. “Great. I’m freaking starving. Let’s go eat.”

I get a burger with extra onions again and onion rings, intentionally this time. It’s a little strained between us, and uncomfortable, but Griffin asks me about work and school to keep the conversation flowing, and by the time I’m finished with my burger, things are less tense and more normal. Apart from all the stares I get for my STW uniform, anyway.

Griffin drops me off at my apartment, and it gets awkward all over. “Can I see you again this week?”

“Maybe.” I don’t want to give him a definitive yes and look like a complete pushover. I also need some space so I can get my emotions under control.

“I’d like to take you out somewhere nice.”

“Thousand - dollar - pair - of - shoes nice?”

“Only if you’re comfortable with that.”

“Can I think about it?”

His face falls, but he forces an understanding smile. “Of course. Take all the time you need.”

“It’s not a no. I want to see you again. I just need to figure out what I can handle when it comes to dates with you, okay?”

“Would something casual be better?”

“Let me sleep on it.”

“Sure.” His eyes keep darting to my mouth.

All I can taste is onions. I lean in and kiss him anyway. I rue the onions as soon as I do, because it feels like the lips on my face have a direct link to the ones south of my navel. I back off before I can do something stupid, like stick my onion tongue in his mouth.

He rubs his bottom lip when I move away. “Thank you for giving me a second chance.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for being so persistent.” I collect my bag and get out of the car. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

He’s still sitting in his car when I step into the elevator. The doors close and I sag against the mirrored wall. My phone chimes with a text.

I promise I won’t be someone you’ll think back on and regret.

I want him to be right, but the thing about promises is that they’re fragile, and more often than not, they’re made to be broken.Chapter Twelve: Mr. Mogul MillsCosy

It’s been weeks since I found out my virginity thief slept with my sister. I recovered amazingly fast from that blow. Although that may be due, in part, to Griffin’s excessively remorseful, overly doting behavior. He’s taken me for fancy dinners, we’ve gone on dates, and we’ve had lots of sleepovers. I have, unsurprisingly, been the recipient of a countless number of orgasms.

Griffin is a big fan of oral, both giving and receiving. Seeing as I spent all of my teens and the first two years of my twenties going without actual sex, I’m pretty good at the giving part. Griffin is also incredibly adept in this area. We have more than one orgasm battle and Griffin always comes out the victor, not that I mind losing since it’s technically also a win for me.

I’m supposed to see him tonight, and sleep over again. Between my time with Griffin, working at STW, and classwork, I don’t have a lot of time for much else, which is fine. My sister is super happy about my situation, seeing as the groveling she expected from the most recent boyfriend didn’t go quite as expected. She’s also quit three jobs over the past several weeks.

Since I’ve been out a lot, learning how to enjoy nice food and a lot of champagne and cocktails, my sister has been living off whatever is in my fridge. I often bring her leftovers since I haven’t been grocery shopping much.