Page 96 of The Sounds of Her

Her brow furrows, she hasn’t pushed my hand away, letting me trace the tip of my finger around her nipple in slow circles.

“I’ve seen it once, and even then I spent most of the time annoyed as hell. It’s factually inaccurate. And the whole French girl scene is so damn cringy.”

“I kinda liked that part.” I squeeze her breast, then sit up, putting my back to the headboard.

“Wonder why,” she rolls her eyes.

If I’m not mistaken, she’s disappointed I’ve stopped teasing her nipple. Then she goes on, being all Brooke about a movie.

“And the door thing, yeah, he could have fit on it with her, but it would have sunk beneath the combined weight, and they both would have frozen to death. Jack made a choice there. But, if they were rescued together, there is no way she would have continued in a relationship with him. In those times, it would never have been allowed to happen.”

“Remind me never to watch a movie with you. I bet you talk through them, pointing out all the things that are wrong with it.”

“I do not,” she scowls. “Okay, next topic. When was the last time you were in a relationship?”

“How long have you been waiting to ask that?”

“Don’t answer a question with a question.”

“Can’t remember,” I say.

“That is not an answer, Archer.”

“It’s all I got. What about you?”

“I’ll get it out of you.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

She pushes the sheets off, flashing her naked body. When I go to grab her, she covers herself up.

“You tease.”

“Come on, if it makes it easier, I’ll go first.” Brooke shifts so she is sitting up beside me, close enough that our arms brush. “It’s been a while since I’ve gone out with the same person more than once,” she says. “It was three years ago, and we were together for five months. He was another lawyer I met at one of our annual mixers.”

“What happened?”

“He went back to his wife.”

My eyes bug out. She dated a married man?

“Relax, they were divorced. I do not sleep with married men, Archer, and I’m offended you think I would,” she is more amused than angry.

“So they got back together?”

“Last I heard, they were getting married again. I guess for him it was a fling, something to do while he figured out what he wanted.”

That is a fucking sad way to think about a relationship that lasted five months. Another bastard who treated her like she doesn’t matter.

“Come on, now it’s your turn,” she nudges me again. “Be honest. When was your last relationship?”

“High school.”

Brooke turns her head. “You haven’t had a relationship since high school?” she asks.

“The label picked us up when we were eighteen. We left before graduation.”

“You didn’t graduate?”