Page 5 of Tailored for Them

Nothing presumptuous.

Then I would go home and promptly shower and grab my toy until I saw stars.

Chapter Two

NICOLE

I fucking love guacamole.

My ex-girlfriend always rolled her eyes at that fact, calling me basic and encouraging me to branch out. Colleen was a certified food snob, and because Mexican food was such a common and exceptional cuisine in southern California, she was determined to find other, more niche foods to try and praise.

Whereas I could eat Mexican food every day for the rest of my life and be happy.

Ireallywanted to feel happy.

Whatever that looked like.

A sharp pain stabbed me in my lungs unexpectedly, which happened more often than I’d like. My ex always snuck into my mind, even after so much time had passed. Small things triggered the memories. Whenever I had to work late at my dream job. Whenever I came home with some flowers that I thought were cute and bought myself. Eating the greatest food on the planet because only a very bitter, sad person could hate guac as much as she did.

At least I finally had the opportunity to create financial stability while working at Sun Steer, because the company paid the best out of any tech startup in southern California.

I had to remind myself of the silver linings, no matter how small they were. I had been alone for so long. This was due to a number of reasons. One being that my parents passed, and I was an only child with no additional family nearby.

I had been feeling very much abandoned and unsupported during, what I would argue, was one of the most isolated chapters of my adult life. This was why I was trying to tag along with my co-workers to non-work things more often, desperate to stop mourning my last relationship.

I needed myowngroup of people. I needed my own friends outside of whatever relationship I found myself in next. I needed a foundation of support, so I wouldn’t find myself feeling abandoned if I experienced another breakup.

Shaking myself out of my spiraling thoughts, I scooped another chip of guac and shoved it in my mouth.

Happiness.

“Should we get another bowl?” Taylor asked.

Taylor.

I gave them a sheepish grin around my full bite, desperate to keep my lips closed.

Taylor Desmond was painfully attractive, and I had never felt more intimidated by a person in my life.

During the game, I kept watching Taylor whenever they adjusted their headband. Their brown hair was thick and voluminous, mostly because they kept brushing their fingers through it. When I first met them, they had little designs shaved into the back of their head. Now, though, I noticed that their hair had grown out a bit.

It looked a little messier.

Sometimes, I wanted to mess it up even more.

Their eyes were a deep, dark blue as they raised their dark brows at me, because I hadn’t answered their question yet. Their dark eyelashes fanned with their waiting blink. When theirsmirk turned into a grin, I tried not to imagine what their full lips would taste like.

Their septum piercing was a gold ring today, and it twitched with their smile as they raised their hand to ask a passing waiter for another serving of guacamole.

Taylor didn’t even wait for my response.

They just got me more.

I usually gravitated toward femme-presenting women, like Colleen. Every long-term relationship I had been in was with femme women. I hadn’t dated anyone who dressed more masc and gender neutral, like Taylor. I had no idea how to flirt with them.

What would flirting with Taylor look like?

What would intimacy with Taylor look like? I’d pictured it many times since the first time I saw them at Signe Lange’s apartment. How their lean body would feel over mine. How the line of muscle on their stomach would taste under my tongue. The things they’d whisper to me.

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