“She said I hated change.That I think I’m better than everyone else.”
“Do you?”
“No,” she said sharply.
Shit.I was making this worse.“Sorry, that came out completely wrong.I meant,” I paused, wanting to word this the right way.“I know we haven’t seen eye to eye on the bar,” her expression contorted into the strongest physical embodiment of “no, shit” I’d ever seen, and I stifled a smile, “but it is obvious to me that your … arguments are always backed up by your experience.Not because you dislike change.I would expect someone who was sleeping with you to know that.”
Tiffany shifted on the couch, folding her lean legs underneath her in the same way I’d seen her do in my office many times.A muscle in my neck unclenched.But she stayed silent, staring out the window and bringing a hand up to chew on a nail.
There was a long silence, where I debated whether it was wise to open my mouth again, having done a horrible job of cheering her up so far.In my defense, I hadn’t had much practice.Outside of mediating the occasional work dispute, the last person I consoled was my ex-girlfriend, and I knew none of my usual tricks—sex, dessert, or a holiday—would work here.
On the other hand, the idea that Tiffany’s girlfriend had had a problem with her sexuality bothered me too much to keep quiet.“Also, I don’t, and forgive me, but I can’t understand how she could possibly have a problem with you being bisexual.”
This got a reaction.“Really?You don’t think it’s slutty of me to pander to all genders?”Judging by the venom in her words, this was a specific quote.A vile, inconsiderate quote.
“Absolutely not.I happen to be more attracted to women with,” I stalled, knowing my next words were “blonde hair,” and decided to sidestep that minefield, “certain attributes.That doesn’t mean I’m automatically attracted to everyone with those attributes.I suspect it’s the same for you.”
She let out a playful snort into her glass.“You know, outside of the fact that you just sounded like an AI learning how words work, that was surprisingly insightful.”
“Thank you,” I said, returning her teasing with my own.“And just so you know, as a hard-working cyborg who is very proficient with how words work, we really don’t like being referred to as ‘AI’.It’s a misnomer.”
She laughed, incredulous.“Excuse me, where the hell have you been hiding this?”
“What?”
“This sense of humor.You’ve been a puckered-up a-hole since I met you, and now you become a human?”
If the sight of her brightly smiling at me wasn’t making my insides flip, I would probably be more put out by the a-hole comment.But instead, I was almost giddy.
I cocked an eyebrow at her.“Because you’ve been absolutely pleasant this whole time.”
She dropped her head onto her forearms, groaning, but when her head tipped back up, she was smiling with that familiar spark in her eyes, and I felt immeasurably better.And comfortable enough to add, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for acting like an ass.”
I heard her suck in a surprised breath.“Wow.Ok.”A flush graced her cheeks again, which she tried to cover by draining her glass.“I guess I should apologize for being a little difficult, then.”
“A little?”
“Don’t push it.”She grimaced.“I may have referred to you as Sir Smugington the Third.”
I choked on a laugh, surprising even myself with the force of it.Damn, I really liked her.This was definitely not going to end well for me.
I’d have to be more careful around her.Returning her playful banter was a terrible idea.I should stop it.She clearly felt better.I could say goodnight, send her home, and berate myself in the morning.
I should have.But I didn’t.“At least you got the title right.”
This earned me another hearty laugh.I felt my toes curl in my shoes and the edges of my own smile lifting.“How about we call it even and try to work from a fresh slate?”I said.
“I think I can do that.”Her piercing green eyes snapped up to meet mine, and I was stunned to realize the pupils were ringed in gold, like an eclipse.I was so taken by them that I almost missed her words.“This doesn’t mean I’m just going to agree with you on everything, though.”
I mentally shook myself.Distance, remember?“I wouldn’t expect it to.”
She held her glass out, an olive branch if ever I saw one.“Then, to fresh slates.”
I clinked her glass with my own, knowing this was exactly the opposite of keeping my distance.
I didn’t care.
