I was still smiling when I woke up in the morning. I had a text from Harper, “Details!! I’m impatiently waiting!”

I text back, “I’ll call you when I get back from brunch.”

The thought bubble popped up immediately, “Brunch? Are you still together????” I could feel her emotions through the screen.

“No. But he is picking me up for brunch. And I DO have a lot to share later on.” I’d leave her hanging with that little tidbit.

“Evil woman! I’ll be waiting.”

I laughed at her response and set my phone off to the side as I put music on and got ready for our brunch date. Is that what it was, a date? Slow down, Gem, don’t get ahead of yourself, he hasn’t agreed to anything yet. As “Cut to the Feeling” came on by Carly Rae Jepsen and I knew it had to be a sign from above. I was singing along as I climbed into the shower and made sure to reminded myself this was a no strings thing.

But then I got out, and was singing and dancing around to “Timber”, and I couldn’t help but allow myself to get caught up in the possibilities of how this could turn out. It’s going down, I’m yelling timber. You better move, you better dance. Let’s make a night you won’t remember, I’ll be the one you won’t forget. I opened my closet and debated on what to wear. It only took a quick scan and I felt myself smiling even bigger.

I decided to fulfill the dress requirements of a stellar pupil. I pulled out a short plaid skirt and white blouse I had worn for Halloween a few years back. I added a white lace thong, a pair of white knee socks that ended just below my knees and some platform Mary Jane’s. I decided to go braless, and once I was dressed, I noticed you could definitely see the pink of my nipples through my blouse. I started to feel a little unsure as I looked myself over in the mirror. I felt sexy though, and that was a completely foreign feeling to me.

I pulled my hair into 2 ponytails on either side of my face and my hair flowed down over my breasts so that my nipples were covered. I felt better. This way I could stay covered up or be brazen. I was sure I’d know which way to go when the time was right. I put on my mascara and decided that, coupled with my cherry chapstick, was enough. Even though I wanted to be beyond naughty, I thought the wholesome, innocent look suited me better for now. And I basically was innocent. But hopefully that wouldn’t be the case for long.

Jason Derulo sang about crossing over to the other side as I finished giving myself the once-over in the mirror. Was that what we were about to do? There were Fourth of July sparks flying and he certainly kissed me like it was do or die. I took a deep breath as I heard the doorbell chime.

Showtime. I quickly turned off my cell and tossed it on the bathroom counter, before I headed in to answer the door.

I pulled the door open, stepping behind it partially while he entered. Bastian’s smile completely faltered and his jaw fell open when he turned back to greet me.

“Fuck, Gemma.”

I straightened my shoulders and cocked my head to the side. “I told you I wouldn’t change my mind. I want you to teach me. I’m ready, and more than willing, to be an ideal student.”

I saw him swallow as he stared at me, for once at a loss for words. I could see the war waging inside of him. I waited patiently to see which side would win. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long.

He closed the space between us in two large strides. I gasped as his mouth quickly claimed my own. His hands flew to my ass and pulled me flush with his body. I could feel his fingertips grazing the skin on the back of my thighs and my breasts were crushed against his chest, my nipples already straining against the fabric of my blouse. Heat and adrenaline surged through me. My hands wrapped up around his neck and my fingers gripped his hair. I moaned into his mouth as our tongues battled against each other.

Then, just as quickly as it began, I felt him pulling back. “Fuck.” I heard him mutter again.

He took a deep breath. His forehead was pressed to mine as his dark eyes looked deeply into my own. Desire, flames, heat, need, it all shined down at me.

“You completely derailed my thinking. I was planning on taking you to brunch and now all I want to do is make you my brunch. You have no clue how you affect me. I came here ready to accept whatever decision you made. I just didn’t expect to be greeted by you looking exactly like you used to in my X-rated school boy fantasies. Do you have any idea how fucking sexy you are?”

It was my turn to swallow hard. Up until last night, I had no clue he felt any sort of attraction to me, let alone had had high school fantasies. I licked my lips before I responded.

“I wanted to make sure you took me seriously. I didn’t want to give you the opportunity to turn me down. I meant it when I said no strings, Baz. We can even set a month for a timeline. I know how you feel about relationships, and I want to try it your way. My own way certainly hasn’t been working. I want to be Ms. Right Now.” I knew I was rambling, but couldn’t seem to stop myself. “I don’t expect us to be exclusive or anything-”

He pulled back quickly, his hands moving from my ass up to my waist, holding me at arms length. “Make no mistake, precious, if we’re doing this I expect it to be exclusive.”

He did? “You do?” That surprised me and I’m sure he could see it on my face. “I just mean, I don’t want you to feel like I’m trying to make this into something it isn’t. I get the meaning of no strings attached.”

He took me by the hand and led me to the couch. “I’m sure you do. But I told you last night if I agreed to this I was going to make sure you got what you deserved and I was going to do it right. You deserve exclusivity, especially in this situation. If you want no strings, I’m your guy, but I want to make sure I teach you everything, and that includes how a man should make you feel treasured. If you’re just one in a sea of many, how treasured are you going to feel?” He continued holding my hand as we discussed the terms of our agreement, his thumb drew circles on the back of it that sent chills up my arm.

I found myself nodding in agreement, he had a point. “Ok, then, I’m good with the exclusive part. What else?”

“So much, I’m not sure where to start and I’m not sure a month will be long enough, but we can say a month for now. I want you to know how much your trust means to me. I’m honored you want me to be the one to show you the ropes. I promise to do the best I can to make sure you learn everything you could possibly want to know. We need to set up some guidelines. First and foremost, we don’t let this arrangement effect our friendship. If one of us starts to feel like it’s going sour we each reserve the right to call a stop to it.”

“Deal.” I nodded again. This was a very small concern for me. I didn’t see how it could go wrong, he was great at being Mr. Right Now. I just didn’t have experience with being Ms. Right Now, so I’d just have to keep reminding myself this was a ‘right now’ arrangement, and having a timeline would help me with that.

“As much as I have to teach you, I’ve never done anything like this before, so it’ll be a little bit of a learning curve for me as well. For starters, I need to know exactly what you already know and what I need to teach you. You said you’ve never felt the spark with anyone. Did you mean ever or in a long time?”

I pondered that before answering. “I think I felt attraction back in high school, but definitely not an actual spark, and nothing similar to a spark in my adult years. With the exception of you,” I shrugged.

He couldn’t stop the dimple that popped up and the sexy smirk that creased his handsome face, but I could tell he was trying not to let my confession go to his head.

“Ok, so I know you haven’t had actual sex. So, start with telling me exactly what you have done.” He waited patiently for my answer.

“Um, so in baseball terms, second base and rounding third I guess. It’s been a while since I’ve let any man really touch me. And last night was the furthest I’ve ever gone.” I let that sink in for a minute.

“But, Gem, all we did was make out. Are you telling me you’ve never made out with a man since high school?” It was his turn to look surprised.

“I’ve kissed men, Baz, I’m not that virginal. But the roaming hands and grinding, well, no. I haven’t gotten carried away like that. I didn’t want any of those other experiences to go any further than kissing. I haven’t felt anything even close to what I felt last night.”

Understanding dawned on his face. “Wait, so you’re telling me you haven’t had an orgasm since high school?”

“No, I’m not telling you that. I never had one in high school. But I’m fully capable of giving myself an orgasm.” I stared at the floor, biting my lip.

Spit it out, Gemma.

I took a deep breath and peered up into his dark eyes before I continued.

“It’s just that prior to last night, I had never had one with another person.”