“No, you don’t. You look beautiful.” He walked up behind me and put his arms around my waist. “Though, I can check to see if there are any lost birds.”

“Lost birds?” I wiggled against him as I looked back at him.

“You know, that thought your hair was a nest.”

“Jerk.” I laughed and he picked me up and placed me on the vanity.

“I can be a jerk, if you want.”

“Oh?” I pulled him towards me and felt his hardening c**k against my leg.

“Yeah, I can do this.” He placed the tip of his c**k against my pu**y and pushed it in slightly so that the tip was inside of me. “And I can do this.” He slowly entered me and I moaned as I felt him inside of me. “And then I can do this.” He withdrew from me and I whimpered as he left my body.

“Brandon.” I groaned and he laughed.

“I told you I can be a jerk.”

I squeezed my legs around him and tried to pull him into me again and he laughed. “Not so fast, young lady.”

“Make love to me.” I groaned, as I reached up to kiss him.

“I don’t have a condom on me.” He shrugged and I groaned, disappointed. “You should get on the pill.”

“Huh?” I bit down into his shoulder, distracted by his musk.

“You should go to the doctor and get on the pill.”

“Oh, okay.” I murmured as I ran my fingers down his abs.

“Do you have health insurance at your job? Do you need me to take you to my doctor?”

“I have health insurance.” I licked down his chest as he fondled my br**sts. “I’ll go in on Monday.” I would have to look online to see what time the university health center opened. I cringed as I thought about having to tell the nurse why I was there. But I figured they should be happy I was having safe sex. This wasn’t my high school any more. I wasn’t going to get a lecture about abstinence.

“I wish you were on it now.” He whispered in my ear. “I want to take your right here and feel your pu**y walls close in on my c**k as I take you on a journey you've never even imagined.”

“So why don’t you?” I gasped, willing him to enter me.

“I don’t want to get you pregnant.” He chuckled and stared at me seriously. “I’m not really a guy that’s done relationships, and this is new to me. I don’t want to mess anything up.”

“You won’t.” I took his face in my hands and kissed him softly. “You won’t mess anything up.” I whispered against my lips and my heart fluttered as he carried me back to the bedroom and to his bed. I had been right as well, he hadn’t messed anything up. I had.

***

Fisherman’s Wharf is not full of fishermen. Or at least, it wasn’t when I arrived. I walked around for a little bit, glad that it wasn’t hot and humid. Hot and humid meant my perfectly coiffed hair would be a frizzy mess in minutes. Once it hit 8 a.m., I walked into the building that Marathon Corps’ company-wide orientation was going to be in and looked around for a welcome table. I saw it right away, and I gasped as I walked towards it. The table was decorated with white orchids and I couldn’t not think of the night I realized that I loved him. Every time I saw orchids, I thought of Brandon. Even Meg knew never to bring them into the apartment we shared. Every time I saw them, I cried. Even now, I felt teary eyed. I took a deep breath and continued towards the table. I couldn’t afford to get emotional now. Not now, not when my makeup looked so perfect. It didn’t matter that my heart was beating in my stomach and all my senses were in high alert. It didn’t matter that there were orchids there. It meant nothing, absolutely nothing.

Brandon and I saw each other every weekend for the first two months of our dating. He had asked to come over to my apartment several times, but seemed to accept the fact that I was too embarrassed to have him in my apartment. We saw each other some weeknights as well, but he seemed to like the fact that I didn’t ask to see him every day. I gave him his space. I didn’t call or text him every few hours, and I didn’t check up on him. He didn’t know that I didn’t have time to check on him. I was in classes or the library most days, and phones were banned from both. I had to study in the daytime because I knew I wouldn’t have any time in the weekends and rarely in the evenings. He just thought I was comfortable and secure in the relationship. I was too naïve to even think that there was anything to worry about. To me, he was just Brandon, a handsome man I was dating, but to the rest of New York, he was one of the most eligible bachelors in the city.

“Can you come over tonight?” I glanced at the text as I walked to my next class. It was a Wednesday, and I had an English test the next day.

“I think so.” I text back quickly and happily.

“Can you take the day off of work tomorrow?”

“Don’t think so, you know Maggie.” I text back quickly. Maggie was my fictional boss. Meg and I had spent an entire night creating a fake company and job for me. Maggie was my bitch of a boss who hated me and made me work late a lot.

“I wish you would quit that job and come and work for me. ;) ;)” I laughed at his text.

“You know we wouldn’t get much work done.”

“I want you right now,” he texted back. “I want to bend you over my desk and take you right now.”

“Maybe one day.”

“Shit, I’m going to have to lock my door.”