I smile and sip my drink, making an effort to nudge her knee with mine again. “You mean desperation and fried food don’t turn you on?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“I’ll cross those off my list of potential aphrodisiacs.”
She grins. “I take it back. I could probably be seduced by a big plate of cheese fries.”
“Duly noted.”
God, I love this easy banter with her. I also love the fact that I can see the edge of a black lace bra down the front of her dress. Regardless of what happens tonight, I sincerely hope there’s a chance I’ll see more of it.
I order myself to focus on Cassie’s girl-kissing mission and try to imagine a vibe more conducive to helping this plan along. I’ll admit I’ve never been much of a pickup artist. For some idiotic reason, women have always approached me. Not in high school, of course, when I was a pimply geek with big feet and smudged glasses. But later in life, when my skin cleared up and I started hitting the gym and discovering women are apparently into the whole Clark Kent vibe. That, and my bank account made me unexpectedly appealing to women.
Which is the main reason I’m avoiding telling Cassie I’m loaded. Her choice to spend time with me has nothing to do with my money or career or anything tied to those assets. Is it wrong to want to hold on to that a little longer?
“What about adding a game element to it?” I suggest.
Cassie looks startled for a moment, and it occurs to me her mind drifted like mine did. What was she thinking about?
“A game element,” she repeats. “How do you mean?”
“I’m just remembering back to college parties. Seems like the girls who hooked up were always doing it on a dare. Usually a drinking game or some other silly party game where two girls ended up having to kiss for five seconds while a bunch of drunk frat boys looked on. Maybe you need a game.”
She looks dubious. “You think I should bust out Chutes and Ladders as a form of foreplay?”
I laugh and swirl the ice cubes in my drink. “How about Hungry Hungry Hippos?”
“Connect Four?”
“Ha! Bonus points for the orgy innuendo.”
“Maybe I’ll add that to my next Fucket List.”
I can’t decide if I like that idea or not. I know things are over with Cassie and me when we hit number ten. The thought makes me sad, but it’s what we agreed to. Of course, if she made a second list, that might mean another shot at?—
“How about Apples to Apples?” she suggests. “That’s a sexy name for a game. Bonus points for sounding like something that lends itself to a little girl-on-girl action.”
I laugh and do my best Matt Damon impersonation.
“How do you like them apples?”
“Exactly.”
“Did you know that’s not just a movie quote? I read up on it once after I saw Good Will Hunting and wondered about the origin of the phrase.”
“I thought it came from From Dusk till Dawn?”
“It was in both films, but the phrase originated during World War II. A reference to bombs or grenades. Soldiers would use it to taunt the enemy.”
She smiles at me over the rim of her glass, and I feel my gut clench tight. “The intelligence aphrodisiac thing works both ways,” she says. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad I picked a smart guy to be my frivolous sex toy.”
“So am I,” I say, even as I feel a sharp, painful pinch at the edge of my heart. The frivolous sex toy phrase stings more than it should, which is stupid. That’s exactly what we both agreed to here. What the fuck is wrong with me?
And then I remember the phone call from Junie this morning. The disappointment in her voice when I turned down her last-minute invitation to pizza night at the group home.
“So, you can’t come?” Her voice quivered a little on the last word, and I felt like someone stabbed a corkscrew through my heart.
“I’m sorry, Junie. I made plans tonight.”
