“I’ve gotten so used to girls giving it up freely, that hearing you say you haven’t had sex came as a shock. But the truth is, you’re still young. We both are.”

“How old were you when you first had sex?”

“Fifteen, I think.” I paused to confirm that in my head. “Yeah. Fifteen.”

“Wow. Who was it…your first?”

“The girl you saw at the pool that day. She was my first girlfriend and my first.”

“Green Bikini Girl.”

“Yep. She’s a year older than me, and she’d had sex before our first time.”

“I assume there have been a lot of others?” she asked. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I’m not hiding anything.” Damn, I had to actually think to answer her question, though. After silently counting, I said, “Nine.”

“That’s less than I thought.”

“What kind of a manwhore do you take me for?”

“I guess I have a wild imagination when it comes to you.”

“I can say the same about me when it comes to you, Raven.”

My imagination was currently envisioning what it would be like to push inside of her for the first time, how tight and amazing that would feel.

She could sense where my mind was. “You promised to be good.”

“I can’t promise not to have a dirty mind. I can try not to act on it, if that’s what you want.”CHAPTER SEVEN* * *RAVENGavin had actually stuck to his word about keeping things platonic. We’d hung out a few more times, and he never tried anything. We went to eat sushi with Marni and to City Place, where he’d had several opportunities to touch me or make a move, but refrained. We also did another improv show together, which had been even more fun than the first.

Maybe he’d freaked out when I admitted I was a virgin. Whatever the reason, it seemed Gavin really was okay with being just friends.

We’d managed to keep a low profile, too, not having any interaction while I was working at the house. Well, aside from his musical messages, which I loved. One afternoon he blasted Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain” to tease me.

Ruth appeared to have backed down on monitoring the situation. Gavin said she hadn’t mentioned me lately. I’d never been happier to be reduced to an afterthought.

Everything had been going smoothly, aside from the fact that the more time I spent with Gavin—the more we talked about our hopes and dreams and fears—the more I was falling for him. The more I wanted him in every way, longed to feel his lips on mine again, longed to feel other things with him. My physical attraction to him was at an all-time high. Just the way he’d look at me from across the room could make me shiver all over.***Tonight was going to be difficult. The Mastersons had called the full staff in for a dinner party to celebrate Gunther’s birthday. This would be my first evening party at their home, and I really didn’t know what to expect. I was always comfortable working during the day because most of my tasks were away from Ruth. But tonight we would be serving her frou-frou guests, and I suspected I would be under a microscope as she waited for me to mess up.

On top of my anxiety, just as I was getting into Mom’s car to head to work, a truck whizzed by, dumping a deluge of muddy water onto my white uniform. These were the only clean, white pants I had, and there was no time to throw them in the laundry.

“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” I asked my mother.

“You don’t have anything else that’s white?”

I took a moment to think. I did have one dress that was an eyelet material, but nothing that resembled a uniform.

“Just the white dress hanging in my closet, the one I wore to my graduation.”

“Okay, well, we’re already running late. Why don’t you just throw that on, and we’ll hope for the best.”***The Mastersons’ house was all decked out with bouquets of fresh flowers. The best china had been laid out, and the most delicious aromas from the kitchen filled the air. My job for the evening was to greet the guests at the door and take their coats, if they had them. Then I’d move on to passing out appetizers, which included caviar on crackers and tuna tartare. Later, I’d help serve dinner.

Ruth came up behind me as I was drinking a quick glass of water in the kitchen. Her voice shook me.

“Can I ask why you’re not wearing your uniform? That dress is not appropriate for staff. You’re not supposed to be dressed like one of the guests.”

I took a deep breath in and said, “I apologize, Ruth. A car drove by and splashed me with mud. I had no choice but to change out of my work pants and into this dress. It’s the only other white thing I own.”