by Kelly Oram
Val stepped out of my arms and turned around to face me. She looked as if she were about to throw her hands on her hips and start tapping her foot. “‘Sweet victory’?” she asked. “And now that you’ve finally won your coveted prize, how long before you get tired of me and move on to the next challenge?”
I sighed. I could be such an idiot sometimes. I knew Val was concerned about my sincerity. I knew she was going to feel insecure at first.
“Never,” I promised. “I could never get tired of you.”
She didn’t look like she believed me.
“Do you really think I’m going to toss you aside the first chance I get?” I asked.
“It’s taken me five years to get this far. Am I excited that I’ve finally achieved it? Of course. Right now I feel like the luckiest guy on Earth, and I’m scared to death that any minute you’re going to realize you’re too good for me and send me packing.”
Her frown turned into a wry smile.
“It’s the truth,” I insisted. I stepped closer and took her face in my hands. “Trust me, I do not want to screw this up. Okay?”
She searched my eyes a moment and nodded. “Okay.”
Crisis averted, my smile came back. “Good,” I said. “And now that we understand each other, I think it’s time I reap some of the spoils of my victory.”
Before she could argue, I lowered my face to hers again. This time I kissed her good and hard. The heat of it was probably inappropriate for a public display but I didn’t care; I wanted her to feel it. I wanted to start a fire inside her that would leave her burning all night.
I pushed her back against the boat railing and leaned in until our bodies were flush against one another. My hand slipped inside the blazer she wore, and I ran my fingers up the side of her body. Nothing separated us except the thin material of her dress, but it wasn’t enough. My hands fell to her butt and I squeezed her against me, hoping her closeness would relieve some of my need for her. She gasped.
“Gross,” a young female voice said.
There was a round of snickers and then a male voice that said, “Yeah, get a room.”
I thanked the Lord for his divine intervention and disentangled myself from Val. I apologized when I saw her startled expression. “Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away.”
“Yeah,” she breathed.
We were interrupted again by a third voice. “Aren’t you guys, like, way too old to be dry humping each other in public?”
I laughed. Whoever our make-out police were, they had sass. “I’m a rock star,” I said, turning my attention to them. “It’s expected of me.”
There were six teenagers all dressed in formal attire, donned in corsages and boutonnieres. They’d been sneering but when I turned around, the frowns left their faces and their eyes all went wide simultaneously.
“Kyle Hamilton?”
“The one and only.” I flashed them my best smile. “Please, feel free to jump up and down and squeal a little if you need to. I don’t mind.”
Val snorted softly. I snagged her around the waist and reeled her to my side. “Same goes for you,” I told her. “Any time you want to fangirl out on me, you go right ahead.”
“Yeah, that’s gonna happen…never.”
I heaved an over-the-top sigh, making the girls in front of us giggle. One of them stepped forward holding a phone. “Can we take a picture with you?” She blushed and her eyes flicked to Val. “Would your girlfriend mind?”
Call me a dork, but I felt a thrill at hearing Val’s new title. “What do you say, girlfriend?” I asked, casting Val a look that made her laugh.
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
And suddenly that thrill was gone. I stopped paying attention to the kids and frowned at Val. “Um, yes, actually, you are my girlfriend.”
“Um, no, actually,” she repeated sarcastically, “I’m not. This is just a date.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Was she serious? I totally thought that conversation in her office earlier today made it official. I could have sworn she was right there with me, too. Why was she fighting me on this? Well, if she wanted a fight, she’d get one.
“I’ve got news for you, you gorgeous, stubborn commitaphobe. This is not just a date. It’s the start of a relationship.”
“This is a date to see if you deserve a relationship.”
“You know I do. You’re just being difficult. Maybe it’s not me that likes the chase. Doesn’t matter, though. Whether you admit it or not, we’re totally going out.”
She rolled her eyes and held her hand out for the girl’s phone. “I’ll take the picture for you,” she said. She held up the phone and added, “Everybody squish in close. It’s going to be hard to fit you all in with Kyle’s ego taking up so much space.”
Everyone laughed, and Val proceeded to take a number of pictures with several different phones. As I smiled for one last shot, the girl clinging to me gasped. “Oh my gosh, I knew you looked familiar! You’re Virgin Val, aren’t you?”
Val gave the phone back to the girl and smiled sheepishly. “You caught me.”
The girl squealed and ran to Val, forgetting all about me. It was a little surreal. I can’t say that’s ever happened to me before.
“I can’t believe this! I’ve wanted to meet you for forever. Your movie inspired me so much.” The girl lifted her arm to show Val the virgin bracelet on her wrist that had been hidden beneath her corsage. “I wear it all the time. Can I take a picture with you, too? Please? It would mean so much to me.”
“Of course.”
Val slipped my jacket off to pose for a picture. As she handed it to me I winked at her. “Look at you, stealing my fans.”
She smirked. “I think you’ll survive.”
When she turned around, the girl gasped again. “Oh! You’re even wearing your necklace!”
“Always.” She laughed as she put her arm around the girl. “Especially now that I’m on a date with Kyle. He needs the constant reminder.”
“It didn’t look like the reminder was working very well,” one of the guys muttered.
Val blushed and I burst into laughter. “Can you blame me?” I asked. I waved a hand toward Val. “Do you see how insanely hot this woman is?”
After Val posed for a few pictures of her own, the girl who recognized her hugged her and said, “I can’t believe you’re dating Kyle Hamilton.”
Val sighed but I laughed. “Neither can I,” I said. “It only took me five years and a vow of celibacy to get her to say yes.”
The girl’s eyes bugged and she bit her lip to hold back a squeak of excitement. I stole Val back from the girl and slipped my arm around her waist. “Now, if you guys will excuse us, since this is our first date and all, I think I should take the lovely lady back inside for a spin around the dance floor.”
Before I could drag Val away, the girl yelled out, “Will you kiss her for us again?”
I stopped and smirked.
“What?” Val asked.
“Twist my arm.”
I started to lean in, but Val clasped a hand over my mouth. “Wait,” she said, laughing. “Didn’t you guys just ask him to stop kissing me?”
The girl blushed but said, “Please? My older sister is a huge Virgin Val fan, too. She’s never going to believe that you guys are really together.”
Val shook her head. “I told you, we’re just on a date. We’re not—”
Val gasped in surprise when I swept her into my arms and dipped her back. “Not together?” I asked and kissed her long enough for those girls to get all the pictures their hearts desired.
When I finally set her back on her feet, she sighed. “Must you always cause a scene?”
“Well, you know, it’s like I told them.” I pointed my thumb toward the teens. “I’m a rock star. It’s in the job description.”
As much as I hated having to wake up alone the next morning, having my own place to sleep while I was in town was a necessary evil of dating a woman I wasn’t
allowed to have sex with.
I thought I understood temptation. I’d been tempted to ditch my bracelet plenty of times in the last eight months and managed to stay strong. But those times I’d just been saying no to casual sex with a stranger. Val was not a stranger and there was nothing casual about the connection I felt to her.
When I dropped her off on her doorstep at the end of our date, I was slammed with a desire so intense it almost brought me to my knees. I stood there, leaning against the doorframe, scared to take even a single step inside as I kissed her good night.
I warned her to deadbolt the door once I left, just in case I changed my mind in a few hours when I was still suffering from the painful side effects of our abstinence. She got all misty-eyed and told me how much she appreciated my understanding and willingness to try. That’s when I drove straight to the closest hotel and took a nice, cold shower. Now it was the morning, and I wondered if I’d be able to take a warm shower ever again.
The nearest hotel to Val’s house didn’t have room service but they boasted free breakfast. Not one to ever pass up free food, I made my way downstairs around eight thirty on the hunt for what I hoped would be a waffle and some eggs.
I’d just poured myself a cup of coffee when I heard Val’s voice. It took me a minute to find her because I didn’t think to check the television.
“I’m sorry, but what are you all doing here?” she grumbled.
The TV in the hotel lobby was set to the local news. A highly annoyed-looking Val stood at her front door in her pajamas with disheveled hair.
“We saw your picture on the cover of this morning’s Celebrity Gossip magazine,” the reporter said. “Is it true that you’ve reconciled with Kyle Hamilton and are now dating him?”
I laughed. So the fans we’d met last night were the enterprising kind. I should have asked for a cut of the money they made selling our pictures to the tabloids.
“Kyle and I reconciled our differences over four years ago, and yes, we went on a date last night. I still don’t understand why that constitutes a press conference at my home at eight thirty on a Saturday morning.”
I chuckled again. Val wasn’t a morning person, then. I wouldn’t have guessed that about her. I’d assumed she was one of those women who was always perky and completely put together.
“Where’s Kyle?” a man holding a large camera asked. “Can we talk to him? What made you decide to break your vow to wait until marriage?”
Val’s eyes widened when she finally realized what they were all so worked up about. She let out a breath and rubbed her head like it hurt. “I haven’t broken my vow,” she said. “I went on a date. That’s it. Kyle took me to dinner and brought me home around eleven thirty last night. I went straight to bed. Alone.”
“Then whose car is that in your driveway?”
“I have a roommate.”
I forgot about breakfast when I saw the hurt in Val’s eyes. Val needed to be rescued. She was trying her best to keep her composure in front of the cameras, but she was insulted by the questions.
Val’s house was only three blocks from the hotel and I got there in less than five minutes. I honked to get everyone’s attention as I pulled up and jumped out of the car, saying, “Okay, people, move it along now. Nothing scandalous going on here. If Val dumps me because you guys questioned her virtue, I’m going to be very pissed.”
The small group of paparazzi went into a frenzy. They bombarded me with questions, but cleared a path for me to Val’s front door as they took their pictures and videos.
Val stepped out onto the porch, rubbing her upper arms. Maybe she was cold, or maybe she was just trying to hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra. She was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. She was barefoot, makeup-less, and her hair was a mess. I decided the just-rolled-out-of-bed look was very sexy on her. Still, I pulled my jacket off and wrapped it around her. Only I should be able to enjoy her like that.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I said as I pulled the jacket closed and kissed her cheek. “Did you know you’re live right now?” I pointed to the van parked on the curb that said Channel Nine. “I saw you on TV at the hotel and couldn’t let you have all the fun by yourself.”
She frowned at me but melted into my arms and said, “Thanks for coming. How do I get rid of them?”
I laughed. “You smile and answer their questions.”
That earned me another frown, but Val sucked it up. “Fine,” she said and forced a smile for the cameras. “What do you guys want to know?”
Everyone yelled questions at once, but there was one that stood out. “Is it true that you broke up with Adrianna Pascal because of Val?”
“I broke up with Adrianna because she went home with the wrong guy on my birthday. I mean, I know Brian played me in the V is for Virgin movie, but the resemblance between us really isn’t that strong.”
“Are you guys officially together, then?”
Val said “no” at the same time I said “yes,” and the crowd laughed.
I flashed the paparazzi a big smile and said, “Excuse us a minute.” I turned to face Val and said, “Come on. Didn’t you have a good time last night?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you want to go out again?”
She hesitated to answer, as if waiting for a trap. Have I mentioned she’s an intelligent woman?
“Yes…,” she said slowly.
I grinned. Step right this way into my snare, Ms. Jensen. “And wouldn’t you be really mad if I started dating someone else right now?”
She didn’t answer, but she narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. Bingo! Game. Set. Match. Winner—Kyle Hamilton. Girlfriend—Virgin Val.
“You’re sexy when you’re jealous,” I teased. “Now that we’ve established that I’m not allowed to see other people—which, you’re not, either, by the way—would you kindly admit to these fine people that you’re my girlfriend?”
She looked up at the sky and let out an exasperated breath. “Fine.” She sent a deadpan look toward the cameras and said, “I guess it’s official.”
I grinned like an idiot and pulled her to me. “Thank you.” I gave her a peck on the lips before presenting her to the cameras. “Everyone, say hi to my new…” I looked at Val again. “What’s the word I’m looking for? You’re my what?”
She rolled her eyes but still cracked a smile when she said, “I’m your girlfriend. I’ll even make sure to update my Facebook status.”
Who’s the man?
The crowd began firing off their questions again. It was the Channel Nine news guy who got his answer when he held his microphone out to me and said, “How are you guys going to handle the sex issue?”
I held up my wrist with a grimace and waited out the gasps.
“You really agreed to abstain from sex?”
I shrugged. “She wouldn’t go out with me otherwise.”
“Isn’t that going to be difficult for you?”
I barked out a laugh. “Are you kidding? Not being able to touch her last night was so hard I almost drove her to Las Vegas to get hitched just so I could finally have my way with her.”
The reporters went crazy over that comment. They crowded closer, snapping their cameras again and shouting more questions—most wanting to know if we were engaged. I started to laugh until Val swatted my arm. “Kyle!” she shrieked.
“What? I said I was tempted. Not that I planned on following through.”
She glared at me and I couldn’t help laughing at her. I’ve always loved when she was mad at me. “Okay,” I said. “I’m sorry.” I turned my attention to the reporters. “Val and I are not secretly engaged. We’ve only been on one date, so you can all calm down. No one’s running to any chapel. We don’t even know if things are going to work between us. Yes, this not having sex with my girlfriend thing is going to be insanely difficult, but I am going to try my best. Now, if you all don’t mind, I’m going to take Valerie inside and make her some hot coffee. She’s pract
ically turned into a popsicle standing out here in her bare feet.”
Val looked relieved when I opened the door and pushed her inside, ignoring the questions still being thrown our way.
. . . . .
I thought the interview went great, but it became obvious that I was the only one enjoying myself the minute the door was shut between the reporters and us. Val let out a long groan as she took off my leather jacket and sank down onto her sofa.
“It wasn’t that bad,” I said, joining her.
I held out my arms for her to snuggle into and got a glare instead. “Vegas, Kyle? Now everyone thinks we’re secretly engaged, and that you’re only marrying me so you can sleep with me.”
I seriously didn’t see what the big deal was. “Who cares?”
“I do.”
“Sheesh. Somebody’s grouchy this morning.” Her mood was contagious and I found myself working to keep control of my temper. “Look, people know me, okay? And they know you. They might think I’m capable of it, but nobody is ever going to believe that you’d run off to Vegas with me. It was just a joke.”
“No, it was a circus act. Everything with you always is.” She stood up and wandered over to her front window. Pulling the curtain back, she scowled. “You haven’t even been back in my life for twenty-four hours yet and I’ve got the media camped out in my front yard.”
She dropped the curtain and turned back around to face me. “I’m starting an intense graduate program in September at one of the most competitive schools in the nation. I’ll never get through it if the paparazzi are hounding me 24/7.”
She rubbed her temples again, seriously stressed. I wanted to help somehow, but there was nothing I could do about the reporters and photographers. They would always be there. They were a part of life for me.
I got up and crossed the room to her, relieved when she let me take her hands in mine. “This is just because we’re new right now,” I promised. “The media frenzy will die down before you start school.”
She slammed me with a severe look. “No, it won’t. You’re an instigator, Kyle, a showboat. You ham it up for the cameras and they follow you around like dogs hoping you’ll throw them another treat. Your life will always be that.” She thrust her hand toward the door, indicating the reporters on the lawn. “I don’t want that. I hate the craziness.”
