“I didn’t want you to feel like you needed to do anything for me…I haven’t really celebrated the real day over the past few years anyway. I usually act like it’s any other day.”
“You still should have told me,” he sighed again. “Well, I was going to ask you about this on Tuesday, but I guess now would be more appropriate.”
He stood up and walked over to where his wet pants were draped over a chair. He pulled out his wallet and unfolded a few sheets of paper.
“I was in Wal-Mart a couple days ago and came across your face on a magazine…”
“Are you seriously about to ask me about a tabloid story?”
He laughed and sat in front of me. “Come on now, don’t you know me better than that? This was a cover story and interview with Cosmopolitan magazine.”
I froze. I’d forgotten all about my interview with Cosmo. I’d done it months ago—way before my wedding to Matt Sterling. They’d sent me an advanced copy once it was finished and were supposed to release it at the beginning of the fall, but my scandal forced them to push it back.
“It’s um…” he playfully waved the sheets of paper. “It’s a pretty interesting magazine—even though it seems to be all about…Well, I’m sure you know what it’s all about. I bought a few copies, but I ripped out the only part that interests me.”
I was glad the lights in the tree-house were dim; I was sure my face was the color of a tomato.
He cleared his throat and read the paper. “Selena Ross Tells Us How She Likes It in Bed…Pretty straightforward title, don’t you think? Miss Ross sat down with us over coffee at the new high rise Starbucks,” he emphasized that word and rolled his eyes, “and let us know how a guy can keep her satisfied between the sheets.”
Oh my god…
“Selena believes that the key to having amazing sex is communication,” he began to mock my voice. “I personally am a fan of talking during sex, she says—not full blown conversations or anything, but sweet sentences here or there. When we asked what her favorite position was, she giggled, ‘This is going to sound lame, but I’m a conventional girl. I like missionary. I like the guy to be in control—it’s the one area of my life where I like to completely let go and let someone else be in charge.’ As we were—”
“Stop reading it!” I reached for that stupid paper so I could tear it pieces, but he held it up high.
“I don’t think so,” he swatted my hand away and smirked. “It gets even better…As we were ordering our Venti Frappuccinos—she likes a lot of caramel drizzle on hers—Selena admitted that she sometimes uses her own bedroom experience as inspiration for the steamy scenes in her films. ‘Making love is an art,’ she sipped her coffee. ‘I love to do that whenever I can. It’s an incredible experience—to know that the person you’re doing it with cherishes you; to feel like every touch, every stroke, every kiss means as much to you as it does to him. I think every woman should experience it at least once during her lifetime.’ Selena also admitted that naked sex is hotter than half-clothed sex, that sex toys scare her to death but she’d be willing to try some out, and that she is a fan of quickie sex whenever possible.’ We at Cosmo are sure her future husband will approve.”
He put the paper down and smiled. “There’s more to this interview, you know—you give your fans seduction tips and talk about how you decide if a piece of lingerie is worth buying or not, but I’ll spare you for now. Is any of this true? Outside of the ‘making love’ part, which I already know is a lie…Or is it?”
I didn’t say anything. I was ashamed that I’d actually done that interview and even more ashamed that he’d read it aloud.
He cupped my face in his hands. “Is any of it true?”
I closed my eyes and hoped he would forget all about it in a matter of seconds. I was about to pretend to fall asleep, but I felt him tickling the back of my neck.
“Okay, okay,” I giggled. “Some of it is true.”
“Really?” he cut my laughter short with a kiss. “Which parts?”
“I’m not telling you!”
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t need to know!”
“I beg to differ,” he grabbed me and pulled me down to the floor. “Tell me which parts were true.”
“Well, I do like lots of caramel on my Frappuccino...”
He laughed. “You do know that I beat you at every single game we play, right? Is that what we’re about to do?”
“I guess so,” I crossed my legs and clung to my blanket wrap.
“Okay Selena. We’ll play it your way.”
Good…
He kissed my forehead and caressed my face. I braced myself for another kiss, but he began pulling bobby pins out of my hair—softly searching my scalp for each one, taking his time.
“Your hair was really pretty today Selena…I like when you wear it up…”
I took a deep breath and tried not to focus on him. He was barely touching me and I was already lost.
I decided to ask him a question—something about the hot dogs we ate at the state fair, but my body suddenly stilled—I felt his hands slipping underneath my blanket, softly stroking my thighs.
I shut my eyes then reopened them to see that he’d moved on top of me. Just that quickly.