I sighed and glanced up. Georgina was trying so hard not to smile that deep, deep dimples formed in her cheeks. Those were new. I might’ve found them cute if I wasn’t sure she was giddy over annoying me. “She’shere.”
“Will you let her know some boxes have just arrived from heroffice?”
I hung up. “There’s stuff for you atreception.”
“Oh, good.” Georgina put her phone away. “It’s supplies and a bunch of research and data. I prefer paper over digital. Easier to sort through. But that means the boxes get a little . . .heavy.”
“Lift from the knees,” I said, returning to the notepad in front of me. I’d never claimed to be a gentleman. Well, Ihad. Several times, in my articles, but that was work. In my personal life, I was a gentleman where it counted—like any time I was in the presence of my sister or late mother. Or when I was on a date or trying to get one. It wasn’t as if I wanted to sleep withGeorge.
I cringed. George-ina.
If I was going to get in the habit of thinking even remotely sexual things about her, I had to stop referring to her asGeorge.
Once she’d left, I flipped the page of the legal notepad in front of me and wrote,Chivalrous Acts of a Modern-DayGentleman.
One—look into her eyes during conversation, not at her breasts. They say eyes are the window to the soul. Crawl through that window and right into herbed.
Two—she made you wait twenty-five minutes on her living room couch while she got ready? Instead of complaining, tell her she looks beautiful. She might bestow you with a quickie right there. This is where the couch shines. It’s the couch’s moment of glory. All the ass it has to endure, it does it in hopes that one day, you’ll get laid on top of it. Do it for thecouch.
Three—take care of her during a rainstorm. Give her your jacket if she’s cold, hold your umbrella over her, and walk closest to the street in case of splashing. Keep her dry now for the opportunity to make her wetlater.
Four—help her move. Moving to a new place, even if it’s down the block, can be daunting. Take a day off from Netflix and Chili Cheese Fritos to lend your girl a hand. Lift her literal box to get access to her metaphoricalone.
It needed some tweaking, but it would work. And yet, in place of pride, I felt a twinge of something I couldn’t quite identify. Instead of being a gentleman, I’d sat there writing about it. Once again, I wondered what my mom would say aboutthat.
I stood and went to the front, where I found Georgina bent overherliteralbox.
Which looked to be the size of a smallhouse.
“Let me get that,” Isaid.
She glanced up, surprised to see me. “Oh.Really?”
“Sure. I have a feeling I’ll be missing arms day at the gym tonight anyway.” I’d surely be staying late to try to reverse all the damage Georgina had planned for us. I dropped to a squat and lifted. Behind the box sat another smaller one. “I’ll come back forthat.”
“I’ve got it,” she said, bending over to pick itup.
As much as I liked the view of her surprisingly round, tight ass, I blurted out, “Knees, Georgina. I was serious earlier. You’ll hurt your backotherwise.”
“Knees, got it,” she said, crouching to wedge her fingers under the box. As she hoisted it up, she said, “And thankyou.”
I returned to my office, set her things by the couch, then reassumed my throne to review mynotes.
“Got something there?” she asked as she entered theroom.
“An article I justwrote.”
“Let’s hearit.”
“Maybelater.”
She sighed and dumped the box with athud. “Look, Sebastian. I’m here for the next two months. You don’t have to like it, but you do need to acceptit.”
“It’s not that—I just don’t share my work until I’ve had time to perfectit.”
“That’s a great tenet for amonthlypublication,” she said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. “Did you write it in the five minutes I wasgone?”
I leaned back in my chair, twirling my pen. “Impressed?”
