Page 18 of Lessons in Love
“You want me to teach you sex stuff?” I didn’t think my eyes could go wider but now they’re practically hanging out in disbelief.
She nods.
I repeat, “You want me to teach you sex stuff to get the attention of that asshole who doesn’t deserve your attention, nor time of day?”
She nods again. “Will you help me?” I’m not sure how long I’ve been staring at her, but it’s long enough for her to clap her hands in front of my face. “You still with me?”
“How?”
“How what?” She sits back down, looking a little confused herself.
Shaking my head, I ask, “How do you want me to teach you?”
The way she talks about this as if this is so ordinary, like we’re figuring out where to order takeout tonight. “I’ve been thinking about it. You made me realize last night that it would be like lessons in love, in romance.”
“In seduction?”
“Yes.”
“You understand that’s ludicrous, right?”
“I do, but what I’m doing now isn’t working.” Looking down, she holds her jacket out. “At all. I need help. Your help. You get any woman you want. Women throw themselves at you. You know how to read their wants and needs. You know how to make a woman feel special without feeling dirty.”
“Unless they want that.”
That makes her laugh. “Yes, unless they want to feel dirty.”
“Hey, Hardy?” Eddie calls from behind the bar, and waves me over.
We both look over and then back at each other. I say, “They need backup.”
“What do you say? Will you help me?”
“I’m not even sure what this entails.”
She pushes the photo back toward me. “When is your next night off?”
“Sunday.”
“We can talk then, go over the details. You can decide after that. If you say no, I won’t blame you. But if you say yes,” she says, her excitement growing, “we can plot it all out, set the rules and such.”
Standing up when Eddie calls me again, I run my hand through my hair. “This is wild.”
She stands as well, close to me, too far for my liking. “I can tell you like living dangerously.”
I don’t like when the danger involves my heart, but I know I’m going to accept the challenge, ready to put it on the line. “I don’t do things on dares.”
“Then what will get you to do this?”
“I like homemade lasagna.” I’m a mighty good cook, but I might just have fun with this, and score a home-cooked meal out of this nutball idea.
“Done. How’s seven?”
I like her too much to say no. “That works.” I hand her my phone. “I’ll text you directions to my place.”
She quickly adds her number into my contacts and says, “I put my number under my new favorite drink.” Handing it back to me, she bounces once on her feet and then lifts to hug me.
My arms wrap around her and I inhale the sensual vanilla I’ve come to love into my lungs. My body relaxes, and I wish we weren’t in the middle of the bar. Stepping back abruptly, I say, “I’ve gotta go.”
