"I’ve never done this, Matt," she whispered. "Not ever. Not with anyone."

Matt frowned down at her bowed head. She’d never done what? She couldn’t possibly mean she’d never... His eyes widened. Jesus, was she saying she was a-

"You want to get a little more specific about what ‘this’ is?" he asked cautiously.

Her laugh was ragged around the edges. When she lifted her head, her dark eyes were bright with nervous tears. "I’ve never...had sex with anyone, Matt. And I don’t know why I feel as guilty as if I’d just confessed to one of the seven deadly sins.

When Matt didn’t say anything but just stood there, staring at her as if he’d never seen her before, nerves had her mood shifting abruptly from apology to irritation and she glared up at him as if he’d hurled accusations at her.

"There’s nothing wrong with being a virgin at twenty-nine," she said defiantly. "It may not be commonplace, maybe it’s even a little weird but it’s not... sick and it doesn’t mean I’m frigid or anything. Not that I’d know for sure, I suppose except I can’t imagine you could be frigid and not know it. Besides, I don’t think anyone believes in frigid women anymore though it stands to reason that there must be some out there somewhere. And probably frigid men, too, for that matter, only they never called them that." She frowned over that idea for a moment and then shook her head impatiently.

"I just haven’t met anyone I wanted to go to bed with. Well, I mean I have met guys I thought I might like to...But not enough to actually do anything about it. It is a sort of big step and then, the older I got, the more it began to seem like a really big step. You know, sort of like it’s no big deal to get your tonsils out when you’re four but it’s hell on earth if you wait until you’re twenty so it’s really better to get it over with when you’re young because if you don’t, you still have to do it someday and it’s just going to be harder. I suppose I should have told you that-"

She became aware that Matt’s chest was shaking beneath her hands, shuddering really, as if he were crying or- Startled, she lifted her head and met sapphire blue eyes dancing with barely suppressed laughter.

He was laughing at her? She was pouring out her heart and soul, writhing with embarrassment over something that shouldn’t be embarrassing at all and he was laughing?

Hurt and indignation flooded over her and she stepped back, half-formed visions of sweeping furiously from the room dancing through her head but Matt caught her hands in his before she took more than a step. He was smiling - No, he was grinning, damn him. Grinning like a hyena and she knew for a fact that she hated him. Really, really hated him.

"Let me go," she demanded, giving him a look that should have turned him to ash in an instant.

Not visibly scorched, he tightened his hold on her hands and even tugged her a few inches closer. His mouth was not quite steady and his eyes were bright with that damnable laughter. If he’d just let her go, she’d storm out in the best tradition of wronged women everywhere but not before she smacked that blasted grin off his face. And maybe smacked him again just for the fun of it.

"Jessie." His voice was shaking and he stopped, making a visible effort to regain control before he tried again. "Jessie, are you comparing sex to having your tonsils out?"