Page 76 of Sand in My Boots

Her brows knit together. “So you had sex when you were like what?” She quiets for a minute, doing the calculation in her head. “Fourteen! Damn girl. I didn’t think you gave it up that early.”

“I didn’t. I was almost seventeen my first time. Not with Cameron.”

“Okay. Get to the good part.”

“So impatient.”

“For this? Hells yeah.”

“It had been a few years since Cameron had visited. I didn’t have any way of contacting him, so I kinda forgot about him. Until the summer before college. It was as if no time had passed. None. Except he was less on the scrawny side, more built, and definitely more man than his last visit. My teen crush blossomed into something way more than it had been. I hung around him and Preston as much as they’d tolerate me, which much to my delight, was a lot. Sometimes Cameron and I ended up at the pool by ourselves while Preston was off entertaining his lady friends, god knows where.”

Elisa covers her ears. “Gross. Don’t put images like that in my head.” She gags, selling the drama.

“One of those times, I went into the pool house to use the bathroom. I hadn’t realized Cameron followed me in.” I pause there for dramatic effect but also to gather exactly what I want to say. She’s going to ask how it was, and I’m not prepared to give her the truth. As much as I haven’t forgotten it, it wasn’t good.

“You had sex in the pool house with Cameron Fairbanks?” she squeals. “How did I never know this about you, you sexy vixen?”

“I didn’t tell anyone. Not a single soul. Not even my besties at college when I was drunk. You’re the only person besides Cameron who will ever know.”

Her brows scrunch in consternation. “Because it was bad? Because he made you feel insignificant? Because it was like having sex with your brother?”

“Ew. Gross. Definitely not the last one.” It’s my turn to shudder. Choosing my words carefully, I explain, “It was . . . fast.” Incredibly fast.

“Guy had no stamina?”

“Something like that.”

“That’s a bummer. I was once with this guy who shot his load before his pants were off. Like, dude, have some respect for women first.”

A nervous chuckle floats around us. My story’s similar to that, but I don’t want her to know it.

“Let’s say fourteen years later, Cameron more than made up for his pool house performance. The man has the stamina of a bull.”

“How would you know the stamina of a bull, Juli?” Elisa shakes her head, her attention drifting from my story to her coffee cup. She’s gotten enough of the tale to satisfy her instant gratification personality, which bodes well for me.

“Read it in a client’s book. Before she was my client. And then, when she became my client, I couldn’t not ask her about it. She had heavily researched it.” I shake my head. “Why are we talking about how long a bull can last?”

Ironically, unloading my secret to Elisa has taken a weight off my shoulders. I actually feel better about life now, if that makes any kind of sense.

“I love your job. Want to hook me up with some clients?”

“Um, no. You hate to read, and you suck at graphics. What exactly could you offer them?”

She ponders my question for a minute, as if she truly has an answer. “You’re right. As usual. Guess I’ll have to keep mooching off Mom and Dad for a while.”

“Don’t you have a degree? In fashion or something?”

Her cheeks tint red. “I’m six courses short of the degree.”

“Oh, Lissy. Do the parental units know?”

“Yes. I was forced to tell them.”

“Too much drinking and partying instead of class and studying?”

“Too many vacations. Too many men on those vacations keeping my attention away from my studies.”

I try not to react, but an unsolicited gasp escapes anyway. Not for her sake, but because of the similarity of why I’m in this predicament. The whole vacation fling.