Chapter Thirty Seven

As soon as Chloe returned from her run, she quickly rushed upstairs and climbed into the shower. She was still furious with Lee for how he'd made her feel. She'd thought the days were long gone, when he'd been able to make her feel stupid and insignificant, but apparently not. She'd shared her biggest secret with him, one that she'd never told anyone before and he'd managed to make her feel like being a virgin was something to be ashamed of, like she was a disappointment to him.

The time had come to put a stop to it, she wasn't going to tolerate it anymore. She needed to prove a point to him. Once she had finished in the shower she quickly pulled on a tight dress and heels, her heart sinking slightly as she heard footsteps climbing the stairs. She quickly sat at her dressing table and carefully began to apply her makeup.

"What are you doing?" Lee asked, locking eyes with her in the mirror as he hovered awkwardly in the doorway.

"I'm going out." she snapped.

"What, now?" he asked quickly, his heart sinking in his chest.

"Yes now. " she replied.

"But we need to talk, I made dinner." he said quietly.

"Invite someone over to eat with you then, you could always invite one of your booty calls over." she said sarcastically, cursing herself as she smudged her eyeliner. Lee sighed quietly, not wanting to rise to the bait.

"We need to talk though." he tried again.

"I think you've said enough, I know how you feel." she said.

"No, you don't, you've just assumed." he told her quietly.

"Well don't worry, I won't be a problem for you to fix anymore." she snapped, too angry to listen to him.

"Please just stay. We can talk about it." he pleaded with her.

"I can't, I'm ready to go." she said sharply. He watched as she stood up and squeezed past him in the doorway. As he watched her walk down the stairs and out of the front door, he found himself wishing, not for the first time, that he hadn't reacted the way he did. He was shocked.... he'd never imagined that Chloe wouldn't have had sex before, especially given how beautiful she is. He knew that she was hurt by his reaction but if only she would stop and listen to him, he would be able to explain. He hesitated for a moment, not entirely sure what he should do, he knew that she would be angry if he followed her but at the same time, he couldn't leave her alone and defenceless late at night. He ran down the stairs, desperately hoping that he could catch her up.

Chloe sighed quietly and massaged her sore temples as she sat at the bar of the pub, trying to drown out the loud music. The last place she wanted to be was in a pub, but she knew that she had to prove a point to Lee. If she was going to make sure that he treated her better, she had to make him realise she wasn't wrapped around his finger. She knew as she sat there that she had no intention of spending time with any guys, she wouldn't do that to him. She loved him so much that she would never hurt him. Chloe quickly downed the rest of her drink as her mind raced as to why he didn't want to sleep with her. She couldn't help being a virgin, in some ways she wished that she wasn't, but she couldn't understand why he was so put off by the idea. She jumped as she felt someone place a hand on back. She turned slightly and sighed to herself as she saw Lee standing beside her.

"Have you come to supervise?" she asked him sarcastically.

"No, I've come to take you home, it's not safe for you to be on your own in a pub in the middle of the city." he explained.

"What are you doing here anyway, you hate pubs?" he frowned.

"Well, I figured if I came out and pulled a random guy then the problem would be solved...after all, it's what you were saying wasn't it." she snapped sarcastically.

"There's so many guys in here with no standards, I doubt many of them would say no to me." Chloe added, quite enjoying the fact that she was making him squirm.

"No probably not." Lee said quietly, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry.

"Chloe, please come home." he begged her, unable to stand the thought of her being with anyone else. Chloe looked up at him, sensing a change in his body language. She nodded and climbed off the stool. He gestured for her to walk in front of him, wanting to have her in front of him so that he could make sure she was safe. They walked home in silence, neither one of them wanting to talk about their situation until they were safely home.

As soon as they got home, Chloe pulled off her heels and wandered to the back of the house, smiling to herself as she pushed open the large wooden door and gazed in wonder at Lee's indoor swimming pool. She hadn't been in this room for so long that she forgot how stunning it was, both of the front walls lined with glass, overlooking the large garden. She slowly sat at the side of the pool and placed her legs into the water. She sighed to herself as the coolness of the water helped to calm down some of the anger that she was feeling.

Her eyes wandered over the other side of the room, towards the hot tub area, in a few short weeks Chloe felt like she was living a completely different life. It felt a world away from living on a park bench. She glanced at Lee as he sat beside her.

"I'm really sorry." he said nervously. Chloe nodded slowly, not sure what to say or where they went from here. Lee sighed sadly as he watched Chloe sitting beside him, gently swinging her feet in the water. He hated that he'd managed to upset her.

"It was just a shock." he told her.

"I know, I was shocked too, I didn't think you'd react like that." she said.

"I didn't mean too, I was panicking." Lee admitted.

"Panicking about what?" she frowned.

"Sex has never been a big deal to me, it's always just been about doing what's fun, no feelings involved. But for you, it's different, it's about a connection." he said quietly.

"But if you love me like you say then we would've had a connection anyway, so I don't see what difference it makes." she said.

"I know, and I was nervous about that side of it anyway, but when you said you are a virgin that's a completely different situation." he replied.

"I don't understand, surely it's a privilege for you to be my first?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I don't deserve it." he said quietly.

"What?" she frowned, turning to face him.

"I've been with so many people Chloe, I've lost count, you need to give your first time to someone better than me." he muttered.

"It's up to me to decide who I want to give myself too and I want it to be you." she whispered, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"But I don't want to hurt you Chlo." he told her gently, his heart breaking slightly at her sad tone. Lee hated being in this situation, he could finally see how much this meant to her but at the same time, the thought of her being in pain because of him made him feel sick. Chloe felt her heart flutter as he said those words. She'd been convinced that he didn't want her, but the truth was that he did, but he was afraid to hurt the person he loved.

"But you won't." she said gently, desperately trying to convince him to agree.

"It will hurt Chloe, you know it will." he said, gently planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

"I know, but it'll hurt less with you because you'll be careful, some random guy won't be." she told him.

"I don't want anyone else touching you anyway." he said, his tone slightly fierce. Chloe felt her heart flutter as he said those words.

"Nobody else is allowed?" she smiled, raising her eyebrow.

"No, that's never an option. " he said quickly.

Chloe sighed in pleasure as Lee placed a series of soft kisses on her neck, gently sucking on the sweet part of her neck, just above her collarbone.

"Are you marking your territory?" she asked hoarsely. Lee ignored her and continued his determination to leave a mark.

"I really want to give myself to you." she whispered, gently resting her head on his shoulder. Lee instantly stopped kissing her and sighed to himself.

Chloe lifted her head and sighed quietly, sensing that Lee needed some time with his thoughts, to figure out what he wanted to do. She slowly slipped into the pool, smiling to herself at the feeling of the cold water. Lee smiled at her, before quickly removing his shoes and socks and climbing into the pool beside her. Chloe quickly swam over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I have a condition." he said quietly, placing his hands on her hips. Chloe raised her eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

"We wait until tomorrow, so that I have time to make it special for you." he whispered in her ear.

"Really?!" Chloe exclaimed, not quite able to believe that he had finally agreed. Lee nodded, smiling slightly at her happy expression.

"I don't want lots of fuss though, I hate fuss." she told him happily. He smiled at her as she gently stroked his hair, a cheeky glint in his eye.

"Lee?" Chloe asked nervously.

"Just trust me." he smiled, pulling her closer and resting his head on her shoulder.