Every Which Way

Chapter 40- Coach Cupid

"When was your first time?" I asked Declan later that night. We were wrapped in the sheets of my bedspread. My head was gently rising and falling with his chest as he breathed. He kept his shirt off when we put our clothes back on. Now his warmth enveloped me with comfort.

I moved with his sigh as he must have thought back to his first time. "Sophomore year," He said with a tone of disinterest. "She was a senior and we were both drunk so... not much to remember."

"And the next time after that?" It was my subtle way of finding out if there was a second time. He clearly knew what he was doing when he did me, so there had to have been a second time.

He stayed quiet for so long that I had to raise my head off his chest to look at him.

"Uh..." He started, clearly struggling to let me know what it was.

"What is it?"

"Well, I did date Brooke for a little while there." His expression cringed a little.

"Hm," was the sound of disapproval that I let out before I could stop myself. I dropped my head back into his chest before I let myself say something else.

"Row," he said gently, giving a nudge to his shoulder as he tried to get to look at him again. I was hesitant, but I looked up anyway.

"It wasn't-" He tried. "Sex was never something I did because I enjoyed it. My first time happened because I was barely thinking. And with Brooke, it was just something I did because- I don't know, I guess because people were expecting it, which is stupid, I know."

"But with you," He continued. "I wanted this with you, I chose this with you. It actually meant something to me, you wanna know why?"

"Why?" I humored him.

"Because I love you," he smiled at himself. "God, it feels good to say that."

I laughed at him before wrapping my arms around him and dropping my head into his chest once again. "It feels good to hear that," I said back, and then relaxed into him as he stroked my hair.

"I'm not mad about it, Declan. What you did in your past was your business. So, thank you for telling me."

"Hey now that we're being all open and honest, I think there's something else I should confess."

I lifted my head up again, his fingers still tangled in my hair. "What?" I asked, an edge of nerves in my tone.

"I'm really good at math. It's probably my favorite subject and I never needed tutoring for it."

I felt my mouth drop. "What? But why did you-"

"Because something told me that you wouldn't have said yes to me if I had straight up asked you out."

I got up from his chest, throwing myself beside him as I thought back to the time when I tried to avoid Declan and his mischievous smirk and watchful gaze. He was right, I probably would have said no.