Page 85 of Awakened Desires

“Not even Chris Hemsworth?”

“No.”

“Maybe you’ve always been bi, but you just hadn’t met a guy you were attracted to. Maybe Rory stirs something inside that no one else could. You don’t have to understand it to accept it or explore it.”

I nod, mostly because I’m not sure what to say.

“Do you want to explore it?” Rubin asks.

I shrug. “Yes. No. I don’t know.” I touch my lips again.

“Did you like kissing him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to kiss him again?”

“I think so.”

“Then I think that’s your answer.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

Rubin smiles. “Do you like him?”

“Of course I do. Like I said, he’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“But do you like him as more than a friend?”

“I think so. Maybe. I can’t make sense of what’s going on in my head. I’m not sure I’d have kissed him if it wasn’t for the wax play.”

“Wax play?”

“Aye. Rory needed someone to practice on while Stefan was showing him what to do. I offered, and I-I—" I scratch my neck. “I got turned on,” I whisper. “And then I ran away, and Rory came to find me, and he was so nice and reassuring, and he made me stop feeling embarrassed and stupid, and then I kissed him.” I clamp my lips together as I realise I’m rambling.

“Was that the first time you’ve done wax play?”

“It was my first time doing anything kinky.”

“It’s very sensual.”

“I know that. Now.”

“Maybe it wasn’t the wax play that turned you on,” Rubin muses.

“If not that, what?”

“Rory.”

I suck in a breath.

“Or at least, the knowledge that he made you feel so nice and relaxed.” He glances at Quinn. “That’s one of the reasons I fancied Quinn.”

“Wax play?”

He laughs. “No! He always made me feel safe. We’d been friends for ages before our parents got together. He was my friend when my dad ran off with another woman. He listened to me rant and rave for hours on end. He hugged me when I needed to be hugged. He was always there for me. I trust Quinn more than anyone else in the world. Falling for him was easy.”

“That’s how I feel about Rory. He was always there for me when we were kids.”