Ruin Me Gently

Chapter Six

Scarlet POV

The smell of food hits me first, warm and sweet, and when I step into the kitchen, Liam is standing at the stove flipping pancakes like he has not got a care in the world. He gives me a soft, polite smile, the kind that somehow makes me feel worse.

“Please don’t look at me like that,” I mutter, grabbing a water bottle off the counter.

“Like what?” Liam asks with a quiet laugh.

“Like someone who lost something important. I didn’t, remember? Still perfectly intact.”

“That’s why I’m looking at you like this,” Liam chuckles, shaking his head in that way only he can.

“Right, you need a plan. You want to do it, but you back out at the last minute,” Zain says, sitting himself down at the table and looking at me like I am a case study.

He is not wrong. At this point, I want it over and done with, but I never feel safe enough. I never feel comfortable enough with the person to actually go through with it.

“So what’s the plan, Zain? Sell it on eBay? Maybe give it away to goodwill?” I ask dryly, slumping into the chair across from him.

Zain chuckles, tossing a grape into his mouth. “No, darling, but I was thinking about it last night. A lot, actually. Most of the night, it was stuck in my head.”

His words pull my mind somewhere I don’t want it to go, flashing back to the shower, and my face burns hotter than the stove. Was he thinking about my disaster of a situation while Liam was...

No. Not going there.

“Callum,” Zain says, snapping me back. “You were more comfortable with him than anyone. He is still a friend to you. Why not just go to him?”

I laugh sharply. “You want me to go to Callum and say, ‘Hey, you know how I’m still a virgin? Help me out and f*ck me?’ That’s crazy.”

“No, not exactly like that,” Zain says, rolling his eyes. “Go out, drink, have fun, and just let it happen.”

“You say let it happen like it’s easy,” I mutter, feeling the anxiety build in my chest.

“It should be,” Liam says, turning from the stove with a smirk. “Come on, Scarlet. You have fun, you relax, you go home with him. Done deal.”

“It’s not like I’m experienced. It’s not like I know what to do,” I snap, feeling overwhelmed by the way they are making it sound so simple when it is anything but.

“Right, you’re having s*x, not staging a Broadway show where you demonstrate how your toys work,” Zain says, waving a hand. “At most, you might need to touch him a bit, use a condom, that’s it.”

“Well showing him my toy selection would be easy, considering I don’t have any,” I mutter under my breath.

Liam drops his fork and stares at me like I have just confessed to being an alien. He looks at Zain, wide-eyed, before laughing.

“Funny,” he says, nudging Zain. “She had me there for a second.”

“She’s f*ck*ng serious,” Zain mutters, staring at me like I have grown another head. “You’re serious? The way you acted shopping for lingerie now makes sense. Not even one f*ck*ng toy? We’re dating and we have solo toys, for God’s sake.”

I bury my face in my hands. “Stop. It’s not needed.”

“You realise toys make it easier and quicker for you to get pleasure, right? Give your fingers a break, darling. Get some f*ck*ng toys,” Zain says, laughing loudly.

“My fingers have never been used to need a break,” I snap, my whole body heating with embarrassment.

Zain gapes at me like I have committed a sin against humanity. “Lord have mercy, she’s a f*ck*ng disaster.”

My eyes widen and Liam just shakes his head, laughing under his breath.

“Honey, you’re a disaster,” Liam says, flipping a pancake. “You’re twenty-five and you’re telling me you haven’t even been flipping the coin?”

“Flipping the coin?” I repeat blankly.

“Yeah, you know, like polishing the pearl, flicking the bean, flipping the coin,” Zain says with all the seriousness of a man delivering medical advice.

I stare at him, completely frozen for a second, before I have to slap my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. Flipping the coin. That is one I have never heard before.

“I can’t imagine it. Twenty-five, never having an orgasm, never having pleasure. The world would be burning, I need that release otherwise I’m an angry little sh*t,” Liam says with a smirk, flipping another pancake like he hasn’t just thrown a grenade into the conversation.

“Does it really matter that I haven’t?” I mutter, picking at the edge of my robe.

“YES!” they both shout together, so loud I nearly drop my water bottle.

I glare at them, but before I can get a word out, Zain leans forward, resting his elbows on the table like he is about to deliver some life-changing speech.

“Ever think you’re so anxious and not willing to let anyone f*ck you because you’ve no idea what to expect? I assumed you at least got pleasure from yourself. Had I known you didn’t, I would have fixed your issue ages ago.”

Heat floods my face for reasons I do not even want to understand, and I stare at him, feeling like the world has just tipped sideways.

“We’re going shopping,” Zain says, clapping his hands together like the decision is already made.

“God no! No, and no,” I say quickly, holding up my hands in defense. “I’m not doing it.”

“We’re getting you a full setup. Toys for everything,” he says, grinning way too much for my comfort.

My head shakes before he even finishes speaking. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Don’t think she’s going to, Bunny. Her face screams she’s not going to,” Liam says with a chuckle, sipping his coffee like he is just here for the show.

I frown. “I have to ask. Why Bunny?”

Liam grins and throws a quick look at Zain, who sighs dramatically and gestures for him to go ahead.

“Because he’s like a f*ck*ng bunny,” Liam says, flashing a wicked smile.

I blink, then start laughing. “So he’s always up for it?”

Liam shakes his head, still grinning. “No, sweetness. By Bunny, I mean he can go all night. He never f*ck*ng tires. Once he has his pace and rhythm down, there’s no stopping him.”

Zain groans and buries his face in his hands, his entire body vibrating with silent laughter. “We’re shopping,” he mumbles from behind his palms.

“No, we’re not,” I say firmly, crossing my arms.

Zain lifts his head and gives me a look so pointed I actually shrink a little in my chair. “How do you expect to be comfortable letting any guy f*ck you when you can’t even f*ck yourself? It’s happening. Get shoes on, honey, or I’m dragging you out barefoot.”

Sighing heavily, I nod, picking up my coffee like it is the only thing anchoring me to reality.

“I’ll let you two have fun,” Liam says, leaning over to kiss Zain with a slow, lazy press of lips that makes my face burn again. Zain groans into it before Liam pulls back with a wink. “See if that toy we wanted is in stock.”

He tosses me a wink too before walking out, grabbing his keys off the counter without missing a beat.

I stare at the door after him, then glance at Zain. “How many toys can two guys possibly have?”

Zain just laughs, grabbing his keys and tossing them into the air before catching them. “Come on. I’ll get you a coffee on the way, but we’re shopping. We’re fixing your issue, today.”