Ross 02 Rock Me by Cherrie Lynn

sniffing around. As if her hymen was a handicap. She was actually surprised that Sam was so gung-ho for her to initiate anything with Brian.
    “So why are you so happy about this?” she asked her friend, when curiosity got the better of her.
    “Honey, I just think it’s time.”
    “And she should pick someone off the street because it’s time ?” Macy asked in horror.
    “No, you idiot, she should pick someone she likes. And she likes him a lot. You can tell from that dopey look she’s had on her face ever since we started talking about him. She stares at that card as if she wants to frame it.”
    Candace tossed her straw wrapper at Sam. “Leave me alone. I might have always liked him, but I doubt I’ll hear from him again. As far as sleeping with him…” She trailed off, unable to complete the sentence. Oh well, it didn’t matter. It was so impossible it didn’t even bear thinking about. But then why was she nearly breathless?
    “There’s no telling what kind of freaky stuff he’s into,” Macy said seriously, all joking aside. “Really. You don’t want your first time to be with someone who scares the hell out of you.”
    Candace dropped her gaze and took a long pull on her drink, uncomfortable under her friends’
    scrutiny. If Macy only knew some of the fantasies she’d entertained about him, she might roll out of her chair in a dead faint.
    “I’m sure he’ll forgo the freaking ball gag her first time out, Macy,” Sam said sardonically.
    “He might. He might even be considerate of where he stabs her as he sacrifices her virgin body to his demon gods.”
    Okay, Candace had to laugh out loud at that.
    “Do you have a mental disorder?” Sam asked. “I mean seriously. You’ve gone completely off the reservation.”
    “Will you stop encouraging her!”
    “Will you stop dis couraging her? You’re the one trying to scare her.”
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    33
    Cherrie Lynn
    “Okay, if you guys don’t stop it, I’m seriously leaving. I officially declare the matter closed.”
    Candace downed the last of her icy slush and leaned over to pick up her purse, holding it in her lap like a shield. Both her friends looked crestfallen. “Now, are we going to get a movie or what?”
    “So you are in fact not calling him, right? I win?” Macy asked, collecting her own bag from the one empty seat at the table.
    “No, you don’t win—”
    Candace raised her voice to talk over Sam’s outrage. “You did not win, because I made that decision the second he gave me his number. That’s why I gave him mine, and as you know, I haven’t heard from him. You two have been going on and on for nothing.”
    “Dammit, Candace,” Sam muttered, shaking her head. Candace blinked innocently at her just as the cell phone deep in her purse rang.
    Tired of the wild jolting of her heart every time her ringtone blared for the past week, she’d assigned Brian his own ringer ID. That way there were no more instants of sheer panic when she heard the thing. Now there was only the moment of mild annoyance when the external display showed it was her mother calling.
    “Great,” she muttered. There’d be an inquisition later if she didn’t answer, so she flipped it open and greeted her mom as she and her friends stood to leave the shop. Not one for small talk or beating around the bush, Sylvia cut right to the chase. “Candy, have you spoken with Deanne?”
    Deanne was her cousin, and Michelle’s older sister. Despite being close as sisters to Michelle, Candace rarely spoke to Deanne unless forced to at family functions. “Um, no. Should I have?”
    “I got off the phone with her a little while ago. She’s in a tizzy. One of her bridesmaids has been dismissed and she’s desperate for a replacement. I told her you’d be glad to stand in for her.”
    Dismissed. Wow. Two weeks before the wedding. And how nice of her mother to volunteer her services. “Does she even want me?”
    “She was all for it. I think she’d