Page 17 of People Like Us

His brow furrowed. “When you asked me if I wanted girl friends, I thought you meant girls who were friends.”

“I did,” I said, leaning forward, my long dark hair fanning across the cushion. “But one day you’ll date someone—and she’ll probably be a friend first. So why not befriend girls you’d want to date?”

He shook his head. “That feels disingenuous. Shouldn’t I be friends with someone because we click, not because I hope to date them?”

I thought this over. “I think there can be some overlap.” August let out an exhausted sigh.

“Do you think I’m attractive?” I asked, tilting my head.

His gaze held mine as he gave me a let’s not go there kind of look. I smiled, and he let his eyes drop to where his fingers were spinning one of his rings in his lap. I nudged his knee with my foot again. His attention came back to me grudgingly.

“You can say yes,” I urged him with a soft smile.

“You know you’re pretty,” he said dryly.

“That’s not the same as knowing that you find me attractive,” I pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes, and looked away again. I took this as a challenge and leaned forward to move the bowl to the coffee table. August watched me from the corner of his eye, refusing to fully face me as I crawled across the couch. I stopped right in front of him, dropping my head to rest by his elbow perched on the back cushion.

I looked up at him through long lashes, and said with a mock pout, “If I wanted to kiss you right now, would you let me?”

His eyes finally met mine. “No.”

My bottom lip jutted out dramatically. “Because you don’t find me attractive?”

He hesitated, breathing in slowly. “Because your breath smells like cough drops, and now that I know what that means, the smell is a little unsettling.”

My faux pout curdled into a genuine frown. “Don’t act so high and mighty, August. If you had a girl’s mouth wrapped around your cock you’d be pretty enthusiastic about it too.”

He grimaced. “I would never want to hurt someone like that.”

I laughed. “So you’d, what, make love to her throat?” A flush of coral blossomed across his cheeks. “Oh my god, you would!” My eyes went wide with delight.

He said nothing to deny it.

“Have you?” I teased, almost giddy.

“Have I what?” he groaned.

I studied the profile of his face, his full lips that seemed to sit in a permanent scowl, his deep green eyes, and the firm set of his jaw. I wanted to lift the cap of dark curls from his head and peer inside his thoughts. I wanted to lay them all out like his color coded index cards, so nothing could hide from me.

“Have you done anything with a girl?” I asked in a low tone.

The coral in his cheeks deepened to near crimson. I couldn’t hide my smile as I sunk further into the couch. We were close enough to touch, though we weren’t. August looked down at me, his green eyes flickering between my own. I knew he could see down my blouse from the angle if he wanted, but he kept his eyes locked firmly on mine.

“Yes,” he finally answered, making my stomach flip.

“Like what?” I asked, pulse fluttering.

“I’ve touched a girl before.” His voice turned clinical.

“Where?” My own voice was barely audible. His gaze flickered to my lap, and I understood what he wouldn’t say out loud.

“Did you like it?” I pressed.

He nodded.

“Did she like it?” My throat felt dry. I didn’t know if I really wanted to hear the answer.