COWBOY ROMANCE: Justin (Western Contemporary Alpha Male Bride Romance) (The Steele Brothers Book 1) by Amanda Boone, Amber Duval

back over the fence and running across the small arena.
    I watched him go and then made a small squeaking sound. I had been so excited to get to the point of seeing him again that I hadn’t fully processed what it all meant.
    “You okay, Sara?” Avery’s voice cut in and he gently shook my shoulders. “You’re kind of pale.”
    I moved my frantic eyes to him and made a scared face. “I just realized something.”
    “What?”
    “I’m a virgin.”
    His eyes went huge, and I thought they might bug out of his head. “You just realized that?! Holy shit!”
    I slapped my hand over my mouth. I did not just tell Avery that. I knew I was bright red, and it was all I could do to not run away.
    “How did you just realize that?” He wasn’t screaming anymore, so that was a plus.
    “I mean, I knew. It’s not like I forgot I’ve never had sex. I just hadn’t thought about it. I think I just realized that Justin doesn’t know that and that we’re going to have sex tonight.”
    Avery’s face contorted into one of disgust. “I do not want to think of Justin having sex with you, especially not first-time sex.”
    I slapped his arm. “What should I do?”
    He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I don’t know, Sara. Don’t you have girlfriends to talk about this with?”
    “They don’t know I’m a virgin. You and god are the only ones now.”
    He laughed and slapped the fence. “You hate me, don’t you? I’m not good at this shit. I don’t know what you should do.”
    “You have to know something! What if a girl you were about to sleep with was a virgin? What would you do?”
    He looked down at me with sadness in his eyes and shook his head. Instead of replying, he stared out at the men dressed as clowns in the arena. When he did look back at me, it was with a look so gut-wrenching that I took a step back.
    “Avery?”
    “I’d want her to tell me so I could make it special. Because that’s what she is. Special.” He shook his head and then blinked a few times like he was clearing his thoughts. When he looked back at me, he was the same old Avery. “I can’t believe it. You’re such a baby, Sara.”
    My palms grew sweaty and I nodded roughly. I shook my own head to clear the weirdness that had just happened with him. I hoped it didn’t mean what I thought it did, that he had feelings for me, but either way I ignored it. “I am a baby. Okay. So, I’ll tell him. Before it happens.”
    He laughed. “Yeah. Preferably.”
    I spent the rest of the night watching the rodeo, stealing kisses from Justin when I could, and trying to remain calm. The bull riding was never as scary as it was when Justin did it. He’d made it eight seconds every time he’d ridden. It was no wonder he was a champion.
    By the time the rodeo was about to end, I was a bundle of nerves. I couldn’t stop thinking about when I was going to tell Justin that I was a virgin. I had a horrible fear that it would freak him out and he’d just walk away.
    The show was over but Justin had been called into the arena one last time. He ran over and picked me up so he could drag me to the center of the arena with him.
    I couldn’t calm down with all the eyes on us. Everyone was watching us, and I was close to hyperventilating. I didn’t know why I was so nervous. It just felt like a big deal. Justin was basically a manwhore and I was an inexperienced blob.
    Before I could insult myself more than I already had, the announcer joined Justin and I. They began talking about something but I couldn’t pay attention.
    I just had to do it. I just had to tell Justin and see how he reacted. I glanced out into the audience and saw Avery’s face. He was making a slashing motion across his neck and shaking his head. I would’ve laughed if I hadn’t felt like throwing up.
    “Justin, I’m a virgin.”
    I expected my whispered confession to just be heard by Justin, but the announcer had moved the mic over to Justin at just the perfect time, so instead of a