Rachel Lawson used to believe she'd save her first time for someone truly special, maybe even until the day she died. That she’d never get the chance to experience what her best friend Millicent Armstrong always teased about: that thing between a man and a woman—you won’t get it till it happens to you, and when it does, it's like dying and coming back to life, over and over again.
It wasn't that she was some kind of prude. She just followed the usual path—school, then work—and never really had anyone worth the risk. Not until this guy showed up.
And to be fair, he was a real gentleman. Always attentive, always mindful of her boundaries. He made her feel respected and yes… maybe even loved. That kind of gentle made her drop every ounce of unease and self-doubt.
Of course, Rachel never mentioned her situation to him. One, she didn’t want him overthinking it. Two, she didn’t need him getting too proud of himself. So, right from the start, she acted like she had it all under control—cool and experienced. But acting is one thing. When push came to shove, it was pretty obvious she wasn’t as smooth as she tried to seem.
"Turn off the lights," she finally blurted out.
He chuckled softly when she said that and reached over to switch them off without question. The room went dark, and Rachel let out a quiet sigh of relief. If he'd left the lights on… Nope, she didn’t even wanna think about that expression on her face he might’ve seen.
Then the guy got up and turned on the floor lamp beside the bed instead. The warm light outlined his straight, lean figure perfectly, and Rachel couldn’t help the sudden dryness in her throat. She was sweating all over and starting to feel kind of gross.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” she mumbled.
Before he could turn back around, she wrapped herself in a robe and darted into the bathroom like she was making a getaway. Only when the steam began to fog up the mirror did she start to relax a bit.
Yeah, she screwed up.
Millicent had basically drilled it into her head—don’t hook up with people you *know*, especially if you’re totally green. That’s just asking for trouble.
But… does Ethan Forsythe technically count as someone she *knows*?
He was a big name in Senzhou. Of course she’d heard of him. But he almost definitely had no idea who she was. So, does that make him a stranger?
Tonight had just been a fluke anyway. She rarely went to reunions. The only reason she showed up was because her old high school friend Emily Turner was in town for business and organized a little get-together. Rachel couldn’t say no.
And then, boom—there was Ethan Forsythe.
He wasn’t one of their classmates. He was in the science track back in high school, she was in the liberal arts. Their paths never crossed. The only vague connection was their class rep Kendrick Bennett, who happened to be his childhood friend. And Kendrick lived in Senzhou too.
Kendrick didn’t even really introduce Ethan. He just casually mentioned, “We were talking about something earlier, so I brought him along for dinner.”
Honestly, no intro needed. Anyone from Senzhou knew who Ethan was. In fact, a bunch of their classmates liked to brag during drinking nights—“I went to high school with Ethan Forsythe,” followed by some stories about how he was a genius even back then. Made themselves sound like they were tight with him or something.
But when the real guy showed, everyone clammed up. Nobody even dared say hi. Not that you could blame them—Ethan gave off this cold, distant vibe like he couldn’t care less about being here. Kendrick said he was just here for the food, and it did seem that way. He sat down, didn’t bother with small talk, just focused on eating like the rest of them didn’t exist.
Rachel didn’t feel like part of the group either. If it wasn’t for Emily, there’s no way she would've shown up to a high school reunion. Kendrick hadn’t seen her in ages though, and as soon as they exchanged a few words, he started dragging her into the conversation.