I blow out a breath. Are we there yet?
This is a tough one for me. Birdie is lovely, but I’ve know her less than a month.
Okay, yeah. I just admitted to feeling like I know Quinn is the one after only a few minutes, but this is different. I don’t have a lot of experience with female friendships. For so long, it was just me and Granny. I don’t know that I’ve a friend I could confide in since … well, since Granny.
Even though I think Birdie is about the coolest woman I’ve ever met, I hesitate a moment before nodding. “Okay, Yeah. We’re there. Hit me with the straight talk.”
“You want Quinn, right?”
“Yes.” This time, there’s no hesitation. Because I know what I want. I want him. I’m all in.
“Okay, then you and I need to talk.”
“We've been talking since you came down for breakfast.”
“No, we’ve been chatting since I came down. Now, we need to talk. About something important.”
“Oooookay…” I draw out my response.
“Harrison and I are going out of town.” She waves her hand dismissively. “Because I have this Comic Con thing I have to go to in San Diego.”
Again … Really? “This Comic Con thing” … as if going to Comic Con as a game designer isn’t cool.
She blows right past that detail.
“We're gonna just make a honeymoon out of it. And we're gonna be out of this house for a week. Which means…” Birdie stops talking and makes a motion with her hand like I'm supposed to fill in the blank.
“Which means?” I ask.
“It means that you and Quinn will be alone in the house. And y'all can finally stop dancing around all this attraction and you can make a move.”
She shakes her head. “Because I have to tell you, he's never going to make a move. He's never going to take the first step. Because he has had some stick up his ass about how old you are and how old he is and how that's somehow inappropriate.”
“The age thing?” I ask. “That’swhat’s holding him up? I'm perfectly legal. I'm nearly twenty. And I’ve been on my own for years.”
“I know that he knows that. But still. He has a hang up about the age difference. So if you want him—and I know you do—and he wants you because I've seen it—then you're gonna have to be the one to make the move. You have to push his buttons and break him.”
“How do I do that?”
“Good grief. Don’t you watch porn? Just do that.”
“No! I don’t watch porn. My granny would have swatted my behind if she’d even heard you talking about that!”
“Well, your granny’s not here.”
“No. She passed a couple of years ago.”
“Okay, well, now I feel like a jerk. My point is, you need to get some gumption and make a damn move.”
“I literally don’t know how to do that.”
Shaking her head, she sighs. “Okay, I’m sending you a list of books.”
“Books?” I ask skeptically. She already has her phone out and she’s tapping away on it. “Like instructional guides?” If we’re doing straight talk, I might as well be honest here. “Because I don’t have a lot of experience with men.”
Her lips quirk. “Yeah. I figured as much when you admitted you hadn’t ever watched porn. And no, not an instructional guide. I’m going to send you a list of romance novels to read.”
“How is that going to help?”
“Trust me.” She rubs her hands together and then hits send with a dramatic flourish. An instant later, the phone Quinn bought me on my second day here dings in my pocket. Birdie beams at me. “Go read. And then make your move.”