‘That is very rude and not good flirting. Do not do this to Dex.’ He pauses and then adds, ‘Well, you can’t do this to Dex because he has big muscles.’
The way he signs that has me sinking back and thinking about those muscles. All of them. On every inch of his body.
‘Here,’ Leaf says, sitting back down and handing me another glass. It’s orange this time.
‘Why orange?’
‘No idea. Did nothing different.’
I doubt that, I think as I take another sip. It’s a little more bitter, but doable. Not bad, actually.
Leaf waves to get my attention. ‘Okay, now practice flirting with me. I will tell you if you suck.’
‘I’m not flirting with you. Thorne would kill me.’
‘No, my dead aunt would kill you. She would enjoy it too.’ I let out a laugh, and he grins back at me. ‘You should smile more. You have a nice smile,’ Leaf says.
‘I can do that. What else?’ I hate that I need so many tips, but I haven’t had to work hard to get a guy in bed in…god, years. Since my shit ex. Since I was actually looking for something like love.
Leaf pulls a face in thought. ‘Ask Dex about his day. And touch his arm like this.’ Leaf tries to reach out and touch me but gets yanked back and ends up stroking the island.
‘What’s going on?’ Thorne asks, his hands appearing in my vision. I blink up at him as Leaf continues to caress the granite.
Leaf grins up at his boyfriend. ‘I’m teaching him to flirt.’
Thorne’s eyebrows rise. ‘Why?’
‘He sucks at it.’
‘And stroking the counter is flirting?’
Leaf peers up at Thorne, and I can almost taste the desire crackling between them. I should leave. Problem is, I drank too much to go anywhere in my car.
‘You yanked me away from him, so I’m demonstrating. This is how I touch a dick,’ Leaf explains with a smirk, and Thorne coughs and looks away.
I grimace at that visual, finishing my drink and standing up. ‘Okay. You two can fuck now. I’m going to go outside to take a nap. He made me too many,’ I tell Thorne. Or at least I try to. I walk sideways out the back door and drop onto the porchswing that Thorne installed at one point. It rocks me back and forth, and my eyes drift shut.
Flirt. Smile. Touch.
I can do that.
I think.
I hope.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ROME
Leaf gotinto my head about the fact that I never smile, so while I’m waiting in the café parking lot, I practice in the rearview mirror. I look slightly deranged after a while, but at least I’m trying. Maybe my smile is more showing teeth than anything, but I think it might be the best I can do. And hey, if doing this scores me points, I’ll take it.
I try a few more times until my face looks somewhat natural, and I’m hoping my muscles remember how to make that face instead of my unhinged grimace. I have time. Dex is taking forever, and I got here early, which means I’ve been waiting around for half an hour.
I offered to pick Dex up for this date, but he said he had a class and would meet me there. This better not cost me points, damn it.
He better not be fucking allergic either. That would put me so far down the scorecard I’d be completely off it.
Thankfully, Leaf woke me up while I napped on his porch to tell me the grand opening of Toe and Coffee Beans Cat Café wasby reservation only. Apparently, it was set up this way to not stress out the rescues with huge crowds. I did a deep dive into the café’s Instagram and realized it was more than just some gimmick to sell coffee. This place takes rescues off the streets and nurses them to full health before putting them up for adoption.
