“Can I peek?” she asked before I unlocked my phone.
“Ugh. Get over here.”
Selene shimmied next to me, peeking at my phone as I typed in the passcode.
Her brown eyes twinkled as she looked at the screen. “Tegan! You stalker! You made his contact photo the picture from his website?”
My cheeks flushed. “Don’t judge me! I don’t have any pictures of him yet!”
“You have got it bad. I’ve never seen you like this!”
I bit back a grin and held out the phone so we could read his text.
Atlas:I had a lot of fun this morning. What do you want to have for dinner? What are you bringing me for dessert?
“He sent you a wink face!” She shrieked out the last part.
This was a mistake. I should have just waited to read the text myself like a normal person.
Shit.
“What do I say?” Now it was my turn to shriek.
“Oh my gosh, you are so adorable! Just tell him what your favorite meal is! I know you love shrimp scampi, so just say that. And don’t think I’m letting the wink face go. He definitely planson having you for dessert.” She threw her head back and cackled as I pulled the phone away from her to type out a reply.
Tegan:I had a lot of fun too. I really like shrimp scampi! But if you have a seafood allergy, we can have something else! And I’ll handle dessert
Selene read the message from over my shoulder as I hit send. “Look at you, ya flirt. You betterbedessert after this morning’s gym stunt. We don’t like men who receive but don’t give.”
She was 100 percent correct in that. I didn’t have time for a partner who wasn’t interested in going down on me. I had the feeling that I’d actually have the opposite problem with Atlas. He’d probably apply that same practiced perfectionism to cunnilingus as he did to working out and sculpting his body.
We stood in silence for a few seconds, staring wide-eyed at my phone. Yeah, I was making Selene a part of this. She was invested.
I almost dropped my phone when it vibrated.
Atlas:Shrimp scampi it is. What you want, you’ll get. Especially after this morning I owe you one, baby.
“Baby!” Selene screamed in my ear. “Since when does he call you ‘baby,’ Tegan!?” She covered her face with her forearm in a fake swoon.
“Well, it definitely sounds like he’s down to reciprocate.” I chuckled under my breath and bit down on my lower lip to fight back a smile.
“This is a big deal, Teg. What time are you meeting him?” she asked.
“Shit. I didn’t ask. I need his address, too,” I said, typing out another text to Atlas.
Tegan:I almost forgot! What time and what’s your address?
It only took a second for him to respond.
Atlas:How’s 6pm? I usually eat at 5 because I’m a grandpa, but I’ll have a snack before I start dinner. My address is 317 Briar Lakes Drive. See ya then
Selene’s mouth was hanging open. “Oh, Tegan. Briar Lakes? Isn’t that the gated development where the mayor lives?”
Panic welled up inside of my chest. “Fuck. It is, isn’t it?”
Selene grimaced and nodded her head in confirmation.
“I mean, it’s fine. He seems like a perfectly normal guy. So what if he lives in a really fancy house in a really fancy neighborhood, right?”
