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“You lied about kissing someone?”

“I was talking to you about these dates I was going on, and I know it’s pretty normal for people to kiss on dates, but I wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t right away, either. Our first date was more about us seeing if there could be more; just a hug at the end of the night. Then, our second date, she was ready, but I wasn’t. Our third, she actually tried, and I pulled back that time. She didn’t try again, but that night, I could tell that she really wanted to, and she asked me to stay.”

“Would you have, had she not ended things?”

Rachel shook her head no.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m a twenty-eight-year-old virgin, and I wasn’t in love with her. Even if I weren’t in love with you, I still wouldn’t have been with her that night. I want my first time to be with someone I love.” Rachel looked down at her hands, which were resting in her lap. “Yes, I just admitted to being a virgin, by the way.”

Violet hadn’t known that, but she should have suspected it. The way Rachel had grown up, it wasn’t as if there had been a lot of opportunities, and she’d also confessed to Violet before that she hadn’t had any serious relationships with women. Dates here and there, yes, but nothing serious, and Rachel hadn’t ever seemed like the kind of woman who would be interested in one-night stands or even casual sex with someone she wasn’t exclusive with.

“Say something, please,” Rachel spoke and finally met Violet’s eyes.

“Do you want to watch a movie and talk through it with me?”

“That’swhat you have to say?”

“Well, I think we’re doing things a little out of order here,” Violet suggested. “I just told you that I loved you, and you told me that you’re in love with me, too, but we haven’t technically been on a date yet. So, I thought that maybe tonight could be our first.”

Rachel smiled and said, “Yeah?”

“And we could keep it low-pressure and relaxed, but for our second date, I want to take you out someplace nice.”

“Okay.” Rachel laughed a little.

“And maybe then, we could talk about all those other steps couples take together.”

“I think I could maybe take one right now, if you’re ready for that.”

“What step is that?”

“The one where we kiss,” Rachel said.

“Beforea first date?” she teased.

“You said we were doing things out of order. Why not that, too?” Rachel licked her lips. “I’ve been waiting a year, Violet.”

“You’vebeen waiting a year?” she joked and reached for Rachel’s hair, which she pushed behind the woman’s ear. “I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for you.”

She moved in closer and rested her forehead against Rachel’s.

“Does it bother you that I’ve never–”

“No,” she interjected and then gently pressed her lips to Rachel’s. “Not even a little bit.”

“Oh,” Rachel gasped out before she connected their lips together more fully.

Violet had wanted to kiss this woman since they met, but Rachel, it appeared, wanted it just as much, if not more, because her lips were eager, and they were moving against Violet’s in a way that indicated that Rachel wanted more than just a quick first kiss. Violet let her deepen it and connected their tongues, letting them dance and earning a moan from the woman she loved so desperately already. When Rachel shifted into Violet’s lap, Violet looked up at her in surprise.

“Told you; I’ve been waiting for this.”

Rachel reconnected their lips, and they sat like that, with Violet holding on to her and kissing her slowly until Rachel sped them up once more. Violet tried to slow them down again by moving her lips to Rachel’s throat, kissing, nipping, and licking a little, but that only seemed to spur them both on. Rachel’s hips moved. Violet grunted and kissed her again.

“We should stop,” she said when they pulled apart.

“I don’t want to,” Rachel replied.