I shook my head. “Absolutely not. You can’t rush me, and you can’t blackmail me.”
“First time bottom,” Ezra mumbled to himself as he tapped on his phone. “Looking for devastating tops to teach me about extreme BDSM and—”
“Ezra,” I yelped. “I swear to god…”
Ezra dangled a finger over his phone, mocking that he was about to post the profile. “Text the hottie from the comic shop,” he encouraged.
“Just get a cup of coffee or something,” Valeria added. “Burst the bubble, and everything after that will be easier.”
I thought about the options in front of me. Between letting those two write my dating profile and going another season as a timid virgin, texting Mars was actually starting to look a little appealing. At least I knew he liked sci-fi and that he wouldn’t make fun of me for my geeky job.
“Do it, do it,” Ezra chanted in a whisper.
“Do it, do it,” Valeria chanted back, a little bit louder.
“Fine,” I said suddenly and yanked my phone out. I paused for a second, then grabbed my wallet and retrieved Mars’s number from inside.
“Wait, you kept his number in your wallet?” Valeria said.
I shrugged and felt a blush blooming across my cheeks. “It was just nice to know it was there,” I said, with my heart nervously thudding in my chest. “And to remember that someone was interested in me.”
Ezra grabbed another handful of chips, then leaned back against a couch. “Trust me, Clark. Once Valeria and I are done teaching you about dating, you’ll have more people than just Mars trying to get in those pants.”
* * *
I sat at a small table in the front of the coffee shop. I had a giant mug of green tea in front of me and an old Philip K. Dick novel on the table, although I couldn’t concentrate enough to read. I nervously ran a hand across my slight beard and studied my reflection in the large windows that faced the street.
Glasses straight… Hair disheveled in the right way… shirt casually unbuttoned at the top…
You’d almost think I was actually ready for this date.
An old truck pulled up outside the shop, its loud engine roaring down the quiet street. It sat there for a moment before the engine switched off, and somehow, I just knew it was Mars. Part of me had thought he might not even show up, especially after I insisted on an afternoon date at the coffee shop instead of an evening drink at a dive bar he recommended. But sure enough, Mars jumped out of the truck.
I couldn’t deny—he looked just as sexy as Ezra described him. His jeans clung to his hips and his thighs in a way that left very little to my imagination, and when he sauntered his way toward the coffee shop, he ran a hand casually through the dark tendrils of his hair. Under a black leather jacket, he sported a worn old T-shirt, with illustrations of skulls and bottles around what I assumed was a band name.
I’d always been scared of guys like Mars. It was rough guys with the same look and the same attitude who bullied me all of those years ago, and as a result, I was always quick to hide, keeping my eyes on the ground in order to avoid any trouble. But as Mars wandered into the coffee shop and spotted me with a cocky tilt of his head, I couldn’t lie.
For once, I didn’t want to look away.
Mars grabbed himself a cup of coffee, then joined me at the table. I wasn’t sure if I should stand up and hug him or not, so instead I kind of squatted awkwardly over my chair and stuck my hand out. The corner of his mouth turned up in a half-grin as he accepted my hand and squeezed just tight enough to make my stomach feel funny.
“Clark from the comic shop,” he said. “Didn’t know if I would hear from you.”
I took a sip from my tea in order to do something with my hands, then nodded. “My friends convinced me,” I said, then immediately regretted saying. Would he think that meant I didn’t want to be there? But then again, a part of me didn’t want to be there.
Mars must have noticed my internal spiral into anxiety. He leaned back in his chair and kicked one of his boots up against the wall. “So it’s hard to get Clark on a date,” he said. “Good to know. I like the hard to get guys.”
I sputtered a laugh. “Something like that,” I said. “You’re new to Seattle, you said?”
“First date conversation,” Mars said. “I can dig it. It’s been a while.”
I tried to swallow despite my dry mouth, then took another sip of tea. “I mean, if that’s okay?” I thought the date was about getting to know someone, although probably Mars had different ideas.
“Sure,” he said, with a warmer voice than I expected. “Whatever makes you comfortable, Clark, although I have to say, you’re pretty damn sexy when you’re nervous.”
“Hmmrm, thank you,” I mumbled into my mug.
“Yeah, I’m new to Seattle,” he continued. “Moved across the country from Detroit to help a friend take care of his aunt. We’ll probably be here a year or two, depending on how her recovery goes.”
