“Oh?” I asked. “And what’s your type?”
Asher took a drink of his wine, then leaned forward. “I like guys who know what they’re doing. Men who can take control. To me, a body is sexy when you can tell it’s been lived in. Most guys my age, they don’t even know what they want.”
I shared a glance with Frankie and tried to send one of our psychic messages.
You really found a live wire here, huh?
We both smiled at each other, and I made the decision to just enjoy Asher’s antics, instead of swatting them down. At least for the moment.
“You sound like you know what you want,” I said to Asher. “That’s a good step.”
“Exactly what I want,” he replied, casting his eyes back and forth between us.
I felt another soft thrill. He was practically begging me to consider what it would be like to take him up on his implicit offers.
A small part of me wanted to respond, as much for Frankie’s sake as for mine. He could use something surprising and fun in his life, a jolt to remind him that he was still wanted and desirable to people who weren’t me.
“Okay then,” Frankie said, awkwardly rubbing his hands together. “And let’s all get what we want in these garlic mashed potatoes!”
Or maybe this particular indulgence was outside of his range after all.
“I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for soon enough,” I said. “Seattle is a great city to be single in.”
“It’s true,” Frankie added. “We didn’t stay in watching Blockbuster movies every night. Over the years, Rory has taken me to just about every museum, public attraction, and landmark the city has to offer. We even bought some private disco lessons so he could take me dancing on the observation deck of the Space Needle.” He waggled his fork in the air. “If you ever need a special date with one of your gentlemen, don’t forget about that one.”
Asher’s eyes got wide again. “Disco dancing? Really?”
Frankie lifted his wine and waved it in the air as he talked, his head bouncing from side to side. “Oh sure! We learned all these variations of the Hustle. Now it wasn’t like anyone else was disco dancing, mind you, but I made some offhand comment about how it looked fun, and next thing I knew, Rory was dragging me up the elevator to put on a little show for the whole city.” He laughed to himself, then struck his arm in the air, hitting a perfect pose. “We had the night fever, what can I say?”
I chuckled, then rubbed his back. “I was a little better at swinging you around those days.”
“Can I see?”
We both turned to Asher, who had a wolfish look in his eyes, like he was ready to pounce across the table.
“Can you see?” I asked.
“A disco dance,” he clarified. “Just a quick one?”
I turned back to Frankie, ready to say no, but he had a curious look in his eyes. Maybe it was just the glow of the story he had told, the memory of that night. But something urged me to say yes.
Frankie looked a little shy as he scratched the back of his head. His cheeks were pinked, which always made me want to rub against him and feel the heat of his body.
“What do you say, Frankie?” I asked. “Little spin around the dining room?”
FRANKLIN
The electronic drum noises rang out over the speaker, beeping and chiming and tapping the rhythm as Rory and I tapped our feet, side by side.
I can’t believe we’re putting on a dance show for Asher.
If I hadn’t just spent the past week working with him, I’d probably feel embarrassed. But Asher never gave me the impression he was judging me, no matter how dorky I got. He just seemed sincerely interested in Rory and me, hard as that was to believe.
Anyway, I figured we had to grab these opportunities when we had them. There would only be a night or two every week when we had the house to ourselves, and it wasn’t like I wanted to start dragging random men home to dance when Ava was studying at the dining table.
Rory grabbed my arm, and I dipped slightly to the side, relying on him to brace me and hold me up. “You can ring my bell—ell—ell, ring my bell!” the song rang out.
We started stepping side to side, and the moves immediately came back n. A grin filled my face as Rory took the leading role, guiding me as we hustled our way around the room and occasionally dipping me back. He led me into a side break, holding my hand out as we stepped quickly, side-by-side, then pulled me back, wrapping his arms around my shoulders as we kept up the footwork.
