Page 14 of The Little Black Book

“Your hips are perfect,” he says, and I laugh as I point my spoon at him.

“You’re such a charmer, Sam Simmons.”

“Just telling it like it is,” he says before running the flat of his tongue along his ice cream.

My core tightens at the sight, and I quickly avert my eyes and tell that bitch to heel. Sam is my friend. Nothing more.

And apparently, I need to get laid. Fuck, how long has it been?

“So, Stacey is out,” Sam says, snapping me out of my internal dialogue.

He lays his phone on the table so he can tap at the screen with one hand while he holds his cone in the other. I see him openHis Little Black Bookapp and tap a name. A picture pops up, and he spins the phone around so I can see it.

“That’s Madison. We had a good connection, but after our second date, her ex popped back into the picture. She decided to give it another go with him, so I was out. That was six months ago.”

“Well, she obviously has terrible decision-making skills,” I reply. “We’ll check that off in the cons section.”

“Obviously,” he says, his lips twitching with humor. “But I don’t hold it against her. They’d been together for years and had a lot of history. And she’d only been single for a few weeks when we met. I don’t blame her for trying again.”

“That’s very mature of you,” I say with a smirk.

“I’m a mature guy,” he says, then grabs my hand and pulls my spoon of ice cream to his lips and eats it before I can stop him.

“Yeah. Real mature,” I deadpan, and he laughs.

“Damn. That is good. Want to switch?”

He holds up his half-eaten, melting cone and waggles it gently. Rearing back in faux disgust, I shake my head and pull my bowl closer to my body to protect it.

“No way. Your saliva is all over that thing.”

“What’s wrong with that? I got my cootie shot in the third grade, so I’m all clear.”

A laugh bursts out of me, and I lean back in my chair. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Guilty,” he says with a grin, then licks his ice cream cone.

“So, Madison,” I say, looking at his phone screen again. “Is she single now?”

“No clue,” he says. “I’ll call her tomorrow and find out.”

“What are you going to say?” I ask, digging back into my ice cream.

“I’ll think of something.”

“Sam,” I say my tone deepening, “you need to plan ahead. You can’t just call her out of the blue and ask if she’s single.”

“Why not?”

“Are you serious right now?” I ask incredulously.

“No,” he says on a laugh, “but the look on your face is classic.”

“Dick,” I mumble, making him laugh again before he shoves the last of his cone into his mouth.

“Seriously, though,” he says when he swallows it down, “I’ll just tell her I came across her number and was thinking about the fun we had. She’ll tell me if she’s with someone when I make it clear I’m still interested.”

“Okay. Decent plan. And if she’s unattached?”

---