The buzz is gone now, but after sex, I still have the same lingering apprehension that fights me in my head and lurks there like a fucking time bomb.

I saw it. I didn’t fucking imagine it.

I saw the way Rose quizzically glanced at me when I pulled the condom from my pocket.

If I’d gone against my gut feeling and addressed the issue, the moment would surely have been ruined, and instead of helping Rose put on her shirt right now, I’d be alone here for certain.

“Thanks for making me look presentable again,” Rose laughs as I zip up my pants.

“You never stopped being presentable,” I tease and get a blush from Rose in response.

The adrenaline rush of sex still flushes my cheeks, and my heart is pounding. Walking to the bathroom, I take one look at myself in the mirror and realize that the awkwardness of the condom moment is not going to flee from my mind without a fight.

Turning around, I see Rose brushing her hair with a vacant expression on her face.

“Rose?” I call out to her.

“Hmm?” she asks with a satisfied sigh.

“Do you want me to go now?” I swallow hard, hoping the awkwardness is all in my own head.

Rose immediately shakes her head, giving some reassurance to my troubled thoughts. She gives me a funny look, as if she’s trying to analyze what I’m thinking and get inside my mind.

“Do you want to go?” Rose asks, furrowing her brows.

I slowly approach her as if she’s a lion in a cage because I don’t want to set her off-balance more than she already appears to be.

When I’m only inches away, I place a hand on her arms and give them a gentle squeeze of affection.

“Do you want to go with me, or are you going to stay?” I whisper, casting my eyes down at her gorgeous face.

Rose seems to be contemplating her answer, formulating it in her mind. I watch her as her features move with her conflicting emotions.

“I’ll just let everyone know that we’re going.”

She shrugs with ease, and I struggle to discern what will happen next.

My first reaction is to heave a sigh of relief. It’s clear as glass that Rose is suspicious of something, and the little condom problem I have might place a wedge between us unless I find a savvy way to figure this shit out.

But we also just had some of the most amazing sex of my life, and I think she feels the same way. There’s a connection there between us. Something real that has nothing to do with babies or heirs or fucking condoms.

I’m not going to lie, I’m scared shitless that when time comes, when we make this deal, I may not be able to deliver.

I usually wouldn’t give a fuck. I’m not the relationship kind of guy. Or at least I wasn’t.

But no, I’m not sure where the fuck my head’s at. Rose has this intense effect on me, and I’m losing control fast.

I bite my lip and cast my eyes to the floor, not wanting to look Rose in the eye right now. If I do that, all my secrets might be revealed.

Wait a minute…isn’t honesty always the best policy? Or do you sometimes run the risk of hurting the ones you care about the most that way?

I run my hands through my hair and pace while Rose goes to say her goodbyes. Looking out the window, the darkness mirrors the way I feel inside. I’m not in a panic yet, but I suppose I need to tell Rose now before everything blows up in my face.

Everything could go wrong if I’m elusive. Like the night sky outside the window reflecting back to me, it’s not fair for me to leave Rose in the dark regarding something of such importance. Not with what she really wants out of me.

She comes back in just a few minutes.

“I think I spoke to everyone, and we can sneak out of here without doing the walk of shame,” she says with a laugh.

We walk out of the bedroom, and her relatives bombard us as soon as we appear. Well, so much for that.

Rose looks like a deer in headlights. I can’t deal with this shit right now, but I know I have no other choice but to take one for the team.

Her tipsy uncle with the receding hairline approaches me and points a finger directly in my face, reeking of booze.

One of her female cousins whistles and claps, teasing us and asking us where we’ve been. Rose turns beet red and, honestly, I feel incredibly sorry for her in this moment.

Who knew a birthday party could turn into such a spectacle and fiasco?

The drunken uncle takes wobbly steps around me. I have two choices here. I can either blow it off, take it all in stride, and appease Rose, or I can punch the guy in the face and run out the door before I’m kicked out.

Obviously, the latter choice is a bit of an overkill, so I decide to take a deep breath and give the uncle a polite smile through my clenched teeth.

That’s when Rose’s father approaches and pats me on the back, as if to say, Way to go, son.

What. The. Fuck.

As if this moment can’t get any more embarrassing.

I shoot a glance at Rose, who looks absolutely mortified, but her cousins are all doting on her and playing with her hair as they whisper and cluck back and forth with Rose in the center.

“You’re going to treat this one right, aren’t you, boy?” The balding uncle is making the accusatory statement, trying to afflict me with some sort of emotional damage or some shit.

“Absolutely, sir,” I respond affirmatively, but holy fucking hell is this awkward.

No matter, though. I’m not looking at the uncle, I don’t give a flying fuck what his drunk ass thinks. I’m caught up in staring at the beauty and splendor of Rose.

“That’s great to hear,” Rose’s father gives me another unwanted slap on the back, but I smile at him with attempted enthusiasm.

“Thank you, sir,” I say and shove my hands in my pockets because I don’t know what the fuck else to do with them at the moment. This is probably the most uncomfortable moment of my life.

“Can I get your guarantee?” The obnoxious uncle just won’t fucking quit.

“Let me guess, I need your seal of approval?” I attempt a joke, and it goes off with flying colors as the drunk men roar with laughter.

I sneak another glance at Rose, who’s wincing but seems to be relaxing somewhat the longer we stand here and endure this shit.

Rose’s dad is getting ready to speak up again, his mouth hanging open mid-breath, but Rose interjects, stepping in front of him.

“Okay, Dad,” she says, acting as a moderator, gently pushing her father back a few strides. “That’s enough.”

“Hey, come on,” her father teases. “We’re just having a little fun with your new friend. It’s a rite of passage, you know.”

Rose rolls her eyes and doesn’t take her father’s bait. “Now you know why I never bring boyfriends home,” she says with exasperation and takes my hand as we move to the front door.

“Goodbye, everyone.” She does a slight curtsy and waves her hand through the air as we make our way out the door.

“Okay, so I guess we’re going now.” I grin at her.

After I help her climb into the passenger seat, I pull out of the driveway.

“Well, that was brutal.” I’m aiming for a lighthearted conversation, but when I glance over at Rose, she’s staring out at the world as it whizzes past us. I’m not even sure she realizes I’m speaking to her.

“Hey, at least we got to have some play time in your room upstairs.” I chuckle again and rub her thigh, but she subtly retreats, moving her leg closer to the car door and further away from my touch.

Rose sighs, as if she’s deep in thought, and reclines in her chair, so I allow her to be consumed by her mind, unbothered.

I’m tired from that whirlwind of a night and from having to deal with overbearing relatives that I don’t know―but I’m grateful for the quality time with Rose, at least.

The freeway is never ending, and I don’t think I’ll ever reach my destination with Rose if I don’t come clean about the condom thing. It’s like a fucking albatross around my neck. I know I have to tell her, especially if she’s starting to feel anything at all for me, like I am for her.

Hell, even if she’s not, she needs to know I can hold up my end of the deal.

I mean, there’s obviously something bothering her. Maybe it has nothing to do with me. Maybe it’s her family.

I don’t know, but I just wish she would tell me what it is so I can at least try to help her work through it.

I decide against my better judgment to press her a little further. Maybe a nudge is all she needs to open the floodgates.

It’s my goal to cheer her up, no matter how distant and preoccupied she’s behaving right now.

“Hey,” I whisper softly, going for a gentler effect this time.

Rose slowly turns her head and gives me an expectant gaze. “What?”

I clutch the steering wheel and dive right in. “Is there something on your mind?”

Rose gazes out the front windshield. “No.”

“Really?” I ask with surprise, all my senses on alert now. Because, yeah, there really fucking is. “Are you sure? Nothing is wrong that you want to talk about?”

“Did you not like my family?” Rose asks defensively.

“What?” I shake my head ardently. “No, of course not. Why would you think...” I trail off because I’m fucking stunned at her question.

It’s not what I was expecting—probably because I’m so fucking stuck in my own head—and frankly, I’m not sure how to respond to it.

Rose continues to stare out the window. “Good.”

“I know they’re protective of you,” I say.

Rose scoffs as if what I’m saying is humorous. “They can be a bit much, you don’t have to lie.”

“I’m not lying…” I trail off again. Then, a thought comes in my head that I know Rose can relate to. “I have a huge family, too. I mean, you should meet them. Meeting your family was a cakewalk compared to what that would be like. But overbearing or not, ninety-nine percent of the time, they love us and just want the best for us.”

My comment seems to break Rose from her little spell a little bit. “Yeah…that’s the truth.”

“So, nothing’s wrong?” I grin and try to make myself look totally fucking irresistible.

Rose looks back at me with a small smile on her face. “No.”

“No, nothing’s wrong?” I just need to nail down a correct assumption here. “We’re good?”

“We’re good.” Rose nods and looks back out her window briefly before rubbing her temples.

I’m still not convinced―she still seems detached, indifferent to me

I try not to take offense. Maybe she’s just tired, like me. It was a long night after all.

Pushing ahead, I let her know the plans for the night, if she’ll agree to them. “We’re heading back to my penthouse to spend the night there.”

I’m met with silence. I mean, I can almost hear fucking crickets in the car between us.

“Rose?” I inquire once more. “Is that alright with you? Do you want to spend the night with me?”

I hold my breath, but it doesn’t take long for her to respond.

“Yes,” she confirms. “I’ll spend the night with you.”

Okay, so we’re establishing she’s spending the night. That’s progress, right? Hopefully it’s all uphill from here.

Because there’s one thing I’m certain of: I want to move forward with Rose, whatever that actually means.