The Boy and His Ribbon (The Ribbon Duet, #1)(128)

I didn’t want to be a virgin anymore because Ren most definitely wasn’t.

He’d waited until he was nineteen but on the cusp of my eighteenth, he’d well and truly ensured I had a fair number to sleep with before I caught up to him.

Any idiotic concepts I’d had of saving myself for him—of him waking up one day and climbing into my bed with words like how stupid he’d been and how much he loved me and wanted me and needed me and then he’d kiss me and touch me and fill me and…

I sighed, blinking with my freshly painted eyelashes and waited for this pretty stranger to save me.

To make his life easier, I opened my beaded bag and pulled out a condom.

The first condom from the box of twelve that Ren had bought for me. Inside my bag, all I had was some cash, my phone, and two more condoms. Because who knew if once would be enough to ease the agony in my soul?

“What’s your name?” the pretty stranger asked.

I paused, wanting to use a fake one to protect me from any future pain but determined to ruin myself as much as I could, to prove I was brave enough to survive anything. “Ribbon. Della Ribbon.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, disrupting his dark blonde hair, blinking with baby blue eyes, looking the exact opposite of Ren.

I was glad.

I wanted to look into this stranger’s face when he was inside me and have no doubt that he wasn’t Ren.

“And his name?” he murmured as he stepped closer, cupping my chin and studying me. “The guy who’s just thrown you away?”

My eyes burned, but I kept the sobs away. “Wild. Ren Wild.”

It was the first time no one believed we were related. Two different last names. Two different futures.

“Well, Della Ribbon,” the stranger said. “He just made the biggest mistake of his life.” Drawing me close with his fingers on my chin, he kissed me sweetly.

I suppose I should stop there.

I should fade to black and let your imagination fill in the blanks, but I’m feeling extra martyr-ish today, so I’m going to tell you what happened.

It was nice, really. Exactly what I’d asked for.

First, I kissed him back.

I willed my mind to blank and gave everything had into his control. The kiss was innocent to start with, warm lips and soft touches, but then he took my hand and guided me through the stragglers still lolling on couches and drinking against walls and led me upstairs.

My legs shook and the draft from not wearing underwear reminded me exactly what I was about to do.

Part of me screamed not to do this, that I wasn’t ready, while the other stabbed her pitchfork into the dirt of my soul and screeched that it was.

I was ready to be an adult.

I’d been ready for so, so long.

“Don’t you want to know my name?” the pretty stranger asked as he guided me into a room with a queen bed, white bedding, and a mountain of pillows.

It was a girl’s bedroom.

I didn’t know whose house this was or where this room’s owner was, but I didn’t care as the stranger spun me around and pressed me against the wall.

“Do you?” he asked again, his eyes blazing blue, his lips wet and waiting.

“Is it wrong if I say no?” I dropped my gaze, expecting him to leave. I didn’t know why I didn’t want to know his name. After all, I needed something to remember him by. He would forever be part of my life—taking my virginity would tie him to me regardless if I wanted it to or not.

But he smiled softly, nodding as if he understood. “Are you going to pretend I’m him?” He kissed me gently, waiting for me to reply.

Against his lips, I murmured, “I don’t want to, but I can’t promise anything.”

How lucky was I? How incredibly lucky to be honest and not have to pretend to be brave and sexy. I didn’t have to hide my shakes. I didn’t have to fake my fear.

He kissed me again, and I opened my mouth, licking him. When he pulled away for a breath, I moaned, “I don’t want to think about him. That’s the point.”

“Well, think about me then. Think about where I touch you…” His fingers trailed down my face to my breast, cupping me with a pressure that wasn’t enough. “Think about where I kiss you…” He pressed his mouth to my neck, sending coils of desire through my belly. “Think about where I’m going to fill you…” His fingers drifted down my thigh and hooked under the hem of my dress. With locked eyes, he shoved aside the material and skated his touch, up and up.

I bit my lip, breathing fast as he touched me between the legs and found I wore no underwear.

A firework of surprise showed in his blue gaze as his fingers feathered over my newly shaved mound. “You truly came here to do this…didn’t you?”

I nodded as he pressed a finger inside me.

The condom in my hand fluttered to the floor as his mouth found mine again and kissed me deep.

I sighed, clutching at his shoulders and letting my bag drop to where the condom landed.

The stranger could kiss.

His fingers felt better than other boys who’d touched me.

And it didn’t take long for my body to shed its sadness and welcome any other feeling but heartache.

I spread my legs, pressing my spine against the wall and hooking my fingers into his belt.

He groaned as I cupped his erection, tracing the hardness, learning that his length and girth were impressive and would most likely hurt me.