Me: By going down on me for an unreasonably long amount of time?
Kai: Among other things.
Me: I’m still waiting for you to elaborate on that.
“Quit texting your boyfriend,” August complained. “You’re missing all the good parts.”
“You meanbadparts,” Michael said.
August bobbed his head. “Yeah, exactly.”
“It’s not my boyfriend,” I replied, hastily putting my phone underneath my leg. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Okay, your booty call, then,” August said. “I see the way you’re grinning at the screen.” He winked at me.
“Leave her alone,” Michael said.
“FINE.” August sighed and turned his attention back to the movie. “But seriously, why does a woman like you not have a boyfriend?”
“Woman like me?” I asked.
“Come on,” August said without looking back at me. “You’re a smokeshow.”
I frowned. “What’s a smokeshow?”
“Ehh.” August waffled his palm in the air. “I would love to elaborate, but I’m trying not to get any more visits from the HR department.”
“We don’t have an HR department,” Michael pointed out.
“ThemetaphoricalHR department. You know what I mean.”
“I promise not to tattle on you,” I said. “What do you mean?”
August paused the movie and sat up on the loveseat. His dark eyes bore into mine. “You’re fuckinghot,Ginny. Like,porn starhot. Like,shouldn’t-be-singlehot. I’m starting to wonder if you have a tail or something that’s scaring people away.”
His comment about me being a porn star rattled me, but I quickly recovered.If only you knew. It also felt like he was admitting that he’d thought about me naked, or having sex, or any combination thereof. That sent a tingle of excitement up my spine.
What I managed to reply was, “I could say the same of you two, you know.”
“No tails here,” August said. “I’ll show you if you don’t believe me.”
“I meant you’re both too hot to be single.”
August snickered. “Yeah, right. I know it’s normal to kiss up to the people at work, but you need to lower the bar a bit.”
Normally, I would have left it at that. But the alcohol was loosening my tongue. Plus, I liked the compliment he had given me, and wanted to return it.
“Michael is built like a Greek statue,” I said, gesturing at the man to my left on the couch. “Broad shoulders, a narrow waist. I bet you’re covered in muscle. When women imagine being thrown around in bed by a guy,thisis exactly who they picture doing it.”
I turned to August. “And you. You look ridiculously dashing in that suit. You’re like Bruce Wayne’s smarter, funnier brother. Or James Bond. Tall, dark, and handsome. You should have ladies begging you tostirtheir martinis instead of shake them, if you know what I mean.”
Both of them were shocked by what I said, I could tell. That was something I had learned about men: they rarely got compliments. Not the same way women did. So when someonedidsay something nice, it stuck with them more.
“That’s nice, but you’re only saying that because you’re here, with this view of Fort Perth laid out before you.” He waved at the windows. “Women only like me because I have money. You wouldn’t think I was hot if I lived in a crummy one-bedroom apartment on the east side of town.”
I live in a crummy one-bedroom apartment on the east side of town.
I shrugged casually. “You’ve got all of that going on,plusa sweet bachelor pad. But if you don’t want to believe it, that’s fine by me. Either way, neither of you should be single.”