He drove me home in silence, gripping the wheel until his knuckles were white. I held the strap of my handbag, wishing I could be as invisible as I felt. Clearly, I’d done something wrong… I just had no idea what...

When we reached the bakery, he parked on the street and came around to open my door. He didn’t touch me. I didn’t dare touch him. Somehow, the confident, smooth gentleman was gone. And Chase ran a ragged hand through his own tousled hair. He took the key from my hand and unlocked the door. He handed it back without letting his fingers even brush mine.

“Thank you for tonight,” I said, uncertainly. My skin was still crying out for him, but it was clear he had no intention of reaching for me again. ‘I’m sorry if I overstepped… I didn’t mean to shock you… I don’t make a habit of behaving like that.”

I wasn’t sure what had me the most frightened… That he found me so forward and so unprofessional that I might lose Amelia’s party, and maybe Sutton’s too… or that I’d come across as so wanton that he’d never touch me again. Truth was, I was wanton. The entire evening, not just the kiss on the beach, had left me wet and aching inside. Chase had awakened something in me I’d never felt before. And it was sweet and exciting… and demanding…

“I know that you don’t, Emi,” he said, flicking his eyes up briefly to mine. My pussy pulsed with the intimacy of hearing him say my name. “The last thing a sweet girl like you needs is a man like me.”

“I’m not that innocent,” I answered back, shocked again at my own boldness. I imagined my grandmother overhearing our conversation and felt a quiver of excitement run down my spine. He watched me and his eyes darkened. His lower lip moved sensuously and I held my breath…

“No,” he said softly, his deep voice setting off a trembling in my legs. “No… not a virgin… not quite…,” he said slowly, contemplating my face. It was like he could see inside me. “It was something too hurried, too inexperienced… with a boy who couldn’t wake the woman inside you… The woman aching to learn…” He leaned close, refusing to give me the touch my body screamed for. The passion in his deep voice touched me instead.

“But you’re every inch a virgin to the kind of pleasures I offer, Emi…

And it may be better for both of us, to leave you that way.”

Tammy didn’t even seem to notice… the flush in my cheeks, the denied desire I was certain showed on my face. She gathered up her college textbooks and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before she left. “She’s sleeping soundly,” she whispered on her way out. “She didn’t wake at all while you were gone.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Tam,” I said. “You’ve always been there for me, for Gran too… and she’s not even your responsibility.”

“Forget it,” she smiled. “You hardly ever take any time for yourself. Was dinner nice? Did you get a chance to give him that money back?”

“It was amazing,” I answered simply, my mind still spinning. “He wouldn’t take the money… He said we earned it…”

“Holy crap,” she said too loudly, clapping a hand over her mouth. She blinked and grinned. “Two thousand dollars… extra?” Tam was studying journalism, with a minor in social sciences as well as working part time. I knew just how much any extra income meant to her.

“And I’m splitting it, between your paycheck and Reese’s,” I said, grinning back. “No arguments either. Now, get out and go get some sleep. I want you fresh first thing tomorrow morning.” I scooted her out into the street, her mouth open and her eyes huge. I watched until she was safely inside her car. Then I headed upstairs. The closer I got to my room the faster I moved. I was desperate for the privacy and the darkness of my room, before I forgot the feel of his hands on me, his thick, hard cock pushing against my belly. I locked the door and kicked off my boots. A second later and my dress and panties were in a heap on the floor. I reached back to unhook my bra, and gasped as their weight swung free. Chase was right… In the dark we can give into secret pleasures… and no one will ever know…

I ran my hands lightly over my breasts, and shivered violently. The air was chilly, but my flesh was damp… overheated… I touched my belly and pressed with my fingers where his cock had pressed. I was hot, wet… slippery with the pleasure and pain of a hungry pussy left empty too long. I reached between my legs and felt the sudden shock of sensation on bare flesh. And although my fingers weren’t the flesh I needed, there was no stopping until I’d done everything in my power to satisfy what I could. My lips were thick and swollen, waiting for the cock that wasn’t there. I slipped my fingers in instead, folding my legs underneath me on the bed. I spread my knees and straddled my hands, thrusting and rubbing… imagining his body underneath me and his cock buried high inside me. I thrust with my hips, wanting frantically to be riding him, driving him to the edge along with me.

“Don’t leave me this way,” I begged in the softest of whispers. “For god’s sake, Chase… don’t leave me this way…”

“Where were you last night?” It was a rare morning that Gran came to the kitchen for her breakfast instead of waiting for her tray. “I heard voices downstairs...and the front door.”

“Just dinner with a friend,” I replied, as casually as I could. I dropped a teabag into her mug and pushed the sugar bowl closer. “You were already asleep… But Tammy was here. And I was home before midnight.” I poured my own coffee and bit my tongue.

“You know I expect to meet your friends, Emily… Or was this something more than a friend...?”

I sighed, digging deep for patience. “It was just business over a meal, Gran,” I replied. “I’ve been asked to do a bridal shower… the cake, plus a real buffet.” I sat down and took her hands in mine. “I’ll get to cook again, just like it used to be. And a lot more work could come from this.” I reached up, smoothing her greying hair. “I want to make you proud of me…”

‘You’re a good girl,” she said, taking her hand out from under mine. “I just want to make sure you stay that way.

Now help me get my bath before you run off to work. I want a shampoo today… and don’t forget, we have the doctor at two-thirty. And tell me next time, before you stay out so late. I don’t sleep soundly until I know you’re home safe…”

I cleared the table dutifully and left her with her tea. I gathered an armload of clean towels and sat on the edge of the tub, adjusting the temperature of the water carefully. As it ran, I caught sight of myself in the old mirror. The silvering was disappearing in places, leaving me looking spotted and strange, older than my years. The conversation between me and my grandmother hadn’t changed since I was fourteen years old. Be good… be responsible… try harder… don’t forget…

I flashed back to last night, Chase’s mouth on mine, his hand under my dress and caressing my thigh. I was tired of being good and being responsible. I wanted more than a life of endless work, always trying harder… and forever falling short…

I wanted to be the girl in the silver dress behind the bar. I wanted to be myself, wrapped in Chase’s arms on the beach, pulling up my hem and baring myself for him in front of the whole world. I was still young and I wanted so much more than life seemed to ever offer. There was so much out there to experience… and I wanted it all.

Whether I could have it or not, I didn’t know. I only knew that Chase had awakened something inside me. I had no idea where these feelings might lead. Of if it was wrong to be wanting more. I only knew I wasn’t the same girl I was before he had touched me.

And I didn’t want to be.