Thin Love (Thin Love, #1)(52)
She took his kiss gladly, responding to his tongue and his hand flat against her ass with another soft moan. “This is going to be hard,” she said, scooting back from him. Kona released an unrestrained snort and Keira shook her head, laughing. “That’s not what I mean.”
“Why?” He liked how she felt against him. Liked that her small body fit perfectly underneath his. “I said I wanted to slow down. I didn’t say I’d leave you hanging.”
“What do you mean?”
That first night in her dorm, Kona had guessed that Keira wasn’t used to being around men. She’d been nearly shirtless and scared. She’d responded to his hands on her back, to how close he sat next to her, but she’d also been rigid, nervous. He’d assumed it was because she didn’t know what to do with the sensations working in her body. He’d assumed it was because she’d never been in that situation before. But the night they watched Les Mis, she told him she wasn’t the innocent little creature he thought she was. So why wasn’t she catching his meaning now? Did she lie to him just to throw him off? Kona didn’t think that was Keira’s way.
He leaned on his elbow then, wanting to see her expression, wanting to see if she got all nervous and fidgety like she usually did when she was trying to mess with his head. “You’re really not a virgin? If you weren’t then I’d figure you’d catch my meaning.”
She frowned at him and one eyebrow came up in a challenge. “I’m not a virgin. I’m not as active as you, but I’m not a virgin.”
“What’s your number?” When Keira sighed, he pulled her closer to him, hand gripping her ass. “Come on, I’ll tell you mine.”
“No thanks.” Her body took on a small shudder as though the thought of how many girls Kona had been with was a scary, disgusting thing. “I don’t think I want my head to explode.”
He knew he had a reputation. He knew Keira had been informed about that reputation, but it didn’t annoy him that she thought he was a slut. He knew who he was. Still, if he ever wanted a shot at being with her, Kona knew he’d have to be honest. “I’m clean, smartass. We get tested for the university’s insurance and I’ve never been with anyone without a condom. Ever.” The idea of anyone touching her bothered Kona more than he wanted to admit to himself, but he had to know. He figured it wouldn’t come close to matching his number, but he still had to know. “Come on, tell me.”
“One.”
Kona thought he’d heard her right, but wasn’t sure. She said the word so quietly that he had to move his head to hear her better. “What?”
Keira sighed again and her breath warmed against Kona’s cheek. “Diego Medina. Last fall.”
“Last fall?” Kona did the calculations in his head, figuring that less than a few tumbles almost a year ago would explain some of Keira’s stiffness when he was near her. The thought didn’t make him feel good.
“Yeah. I was feeling rebellious. Leann’s boyfriend Michael and Diego are cousins. They got arrested for stealing money out of the poor box at St. Anthony’s our senior year.” She shrugged, waved her hand like that small detail wasn’t as bad as it sounded. “My mom doesn’t like Leann and she hates Michael. I wanted to annoy her and I thought dating a Cuban boy with a record would annoy her the most. So when she told me I couldn’t hang out with Leann or her boyfriend, I snuck out and we drove to Atlanta to see Phish.” Keira’s voice was steady, but she took Kona’s fingers in her hands, rubbing over his knuckles as though she needed a distraction as she spoke.
“Diego took my virginity in the backseat of Michael’s Durango while Phish played “Free” a couple thousand feet away.”
“What did your mom do when you got back?”
“She didn’t even know I was gone. The Steamers had a bye week that weekend and she and Steven got tickets to a charity auction with the head coach. I got home before they did.”
“And what happened with the Diego kid? Why’d you stop seeing him?”
“He got arrested for a B&E in Zachary. He was eighteen by then so he went to Dixon Correctional. As far as I know, he’s still there.”
Kona considered the information, watching Keira’s expression to see if it was sad, to see if her being with that Diego kid was what made her frown the way she did. He didn’t think it was him that had her eyes shining.
“And that was the one time?”
She didn’t answer him immediately and she brought up her knees, laying Kona’s hand on her thigh as she traced the lines on his palm. “No. He got me drunk two weeks before he went in.” She smiled then, glancing to him once before she raked her fingers over his palm. “I slept with him, but afterward he tried to get me to have a threesome with him and some girl called Dena. She had an incredibly huge ass. I ran out of there quick as I could after Dena kissed me.” Her glance returned and Kona wondered why her smile was wider then, as though she remembered a detail he knew she wouldn’t share with him. “That was the last time. He gave me a hickey. A gross purple thing and I made sure my mom saw it. I was still pissed she didn’t notice me sneaking off to Atlanta.”
“What did she do?”
Keira’s eyes came up, rolling and she stopped messing with his hand. He didn’t like her not touching him. He didn’t like that just recalling her mother’s reaction to her small rebellion had Keira crossing her arms. “Told me it was tacky and then brought me to the doctor for an HIV test and birth control pills and then said we’d ‘never speak of it again.’”