“I don’t know that I have a type,” he replied.
“That’s true. You’ve always been of the if it has boobs I’m on it mentality.”
Will hid his wince. Her tone was so matter-of-fact, and she wasn’t entirely wrong. Based on what she’d seen of his behavior over the years, he did seem to pant over anything with the right reproductive parts.
“For what it’s worth, you’re better off without him,” he said, trying to redirect the conversation back to her.
Brynn narrowed her eyes. “What’s the catch? That almost sounds like a compliment.”
“Just because I don’t like you, doesn’t meant I can’t like Jimmy less.”
She gave a little laugh at that. A soft, self-depreciating, tiny laugh, but she wasn’t busting his balls or getting huffy or throwing her wineglass at him just for being alive.
Could this be…progress?
“So what’s next in this little crisis?” he asked, gesturing at her with his wineglass. “Piercings? Motorcycle? Tattoo?”
To his surprise, her face lit up at the last one. “A tattoo! Do you think I should get one?”
Oh no. She was worse off than he’d thought.
“Well, you know…those are kind of…permanent.” Will shifted uncomfortably at being put in the role of the responsible one. “Do you think this, um…phase is permanent?”
“Oh gosh, no,” she said, running a hand over her newly dark hair and taking a little sip of wine. “This is just a month-long hiatus to clear my head and get back on track. A vacation. B
ut it would be good to have a little reminder, don’t you think?”
“How about a little less forever kind of reminder? Like…spiky earrings or a charm bracelet or something? Hell, you could just put those trampy clothes under your bed when you’re done with them, and use those as your memento.”
But Brynn wasn’t paying attention. She had that thoughtful-Brynn expression, which usually meant she was cataloging her dry cleaning, but apparently this time meant tattoo deliberation.
“Maybe just a little quote on my ankle, like seize the day, or something,” she said excitedly.
“Or, hell, why not just go for a huge tarantula tramp stamp? Or a python crawling up your torso.” He snapped his finger as though enlightened. “Wait, no. How about that ridiculous life list scrawled across your butt?”
Brynn sniffed. “For the record, that list is retired for a few weeks. But even if it weren’t it would never fit on my butt. It’s much too extensive and detailed…”
He shook his head. “This isn’t happening, right? We’re not actually having this conversation?”
“Oh, come on. Of all people, I thought you’d get behind my little rebellion.”
Will’s hand paused briefly as he brought the wineglass to his mouth. “Is that why you’re here? Because I’m the only person in your life that won’t freak out because you’ve gone off the deep end?”
“Sophie would be pissed if she heard you talking right now,” Brynn replied, sitting up straight and setting her wineglass on the end table that she’d picked out. “She’d totally kill to see me through this little transformation. She’s only been pushing for me to let loose for about a decade now.”
“So why aren’t you at Soph’s, then?” he asked, standing and grabbing both their glasses before heading to the kitchen. She’d barely touched her second glass, but he needed to do something with his hands to keep them off her.
Brynn trotted after him. “Well, let’s see…It’s a Tuesday, so she must be having copious amounts of sex with Gray.”
“How did you know I wasn’t having copious amounts of sex before you barged in here?”
Brynn leaned her forearms on the counter and studied him. “Lucky guess. You haven’t had any women over since moving in.”
He arched a brow at her. “Spying?”
“Observant. So what gives? You haven’t been this celibate since the womb. Waiting for some STD medication to kick in?”
Why do you care?