Chapter 3

Damien shrugs and the bag slips off his

shoulder to the bed. “Once or twice,” he admits.

I so didn’t need to know that. “I meant—”

He gives me a saucy wink I’ve seen before,

through the lens of his webcam. “I’m kidding,” he says, but I don’t

quite believe him. With a pirouette turn, he flops onto the bed and

leans back, checking me out.

I glance about the room, searching for

something to focus on, something safe, something not Damien, but

he’s like a vortex in the center of my world. No matter where I

look he’s there, in the corner of my vision, watching me. Where’s

this nervousness coming from? This isn’t me. Online I’m so much

cockier, so much more different. Trying to keep that in mind, I

ask, “Like what you see?”

“I can look at you online,” he replies. He

shakes his long hair behind him and says, “Come over here and let

me touch you already.”

“What’s in the bag?” I want to know. He

doesn’t answer, just reaches out and snags the waistband of my