I thinkI’vefigured it out.
ThereasonI’mso drawn toAveryis because she can’t help but be herself.Sheembarrasses easily but canugh at herself.Shestartles like a buck during hunting season but recovers so quickly with grace.She’sshy yet forward all at the same time.Shyenough to feel like a fish out of water in the bedroom but forward enough to ask me for help with her insecurities.
“Doyou mind ifIorder for us?”IaskAvery, sitting on the other side of the booth.Thistable could seat at least eight.It’pletely unnecessary for justAveryand me, butI’massumingAngelo’spissed at his staff and a little worried about his job at the moment.
“Notat all,” she says as she taps away on her phone.
“Yousure?Itdrives some women crazy.”
Shelifts one eyebrow but doesn’t look away from her phone screen. “I’massuming you know this restaurant well?”
“Ido.”
“Thenyou know what’s good.”Shefinally looks up at me and tucks her phone away in her clutch.
“Workemergency?”Iask.
Sheshakes her head, causing her long hair to jostle.I’mnot used to seeing her thick, dark hair down.It’shard to pictureAverywithout the sloppy bun.Thewoman in front of me is almost unrecognizable.
“No.IwasGooglinghow to spell hippopotamus.Tobe honest,Iwasn’t one hundred percent sureIcould spell it forward, let alone backward.”
“Forshame,Avery.Collegeeducated and can’t spell hippopotamus?What<i ss="calibre2">were</i>they teaching you?”
Shepoints both fingers at me. “Youknow something?Collegewas useless for me.EverythingI’velearned that’s helpful for my job,Itaught myself.Allcollege got me was a mountain of student loan debt.”
“Ican empathize,”Isay. “Mydegree is in economics.”
“Oh.”Shecringes. “I’msorry.”
Isnort. “Andmarketing is more interesting?”
“Mydegree isn’t in marketing.It’sin—”
Ourwaiter arrives in a huff, cuttingAveryoff. “Iapologize for the wait,Mr.Harvey…Mrs.Harvey.”
Averyshoots me a pointed look, almost demandingIcorrect him.
<i ss="calibre2">Whatis it with this girl?</i>Soshe clearly likes me, but the idea of being with me repulses her?<i ss="calibre2">Whatthe hell?</i>
Ihold out my hand, gesturing across the table. “Thisis my friend,Ms.Scott.”
Heflushes. “Iam terribly sorry.CanIget you another drink, miss?Oursignature cocktail for the evening has dark rum andTahitianvani bitters.It’squite popr.”
Iraise my brow atAveryand she smirks back.
“No, thank you.Ineed my head this evening.”This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.
Ifreeze and watch our waiter’s face turn beet red.
“<i ss="calibre2">Pardonme</i>,”Averysays with a sly smile. “Imean,Ineed to<i ss="calibre2">keep</i>my head this evening.Justwater, please.”
“Andyou,Mr.Harvey?”Thewaiter pulls the oversized menus from underneath his arm, butIhold up my hand to stop him.
I’mnot in the mood.We’vebeen waiting too long.Weshould’ve been wrapping up dinner by now.AveryandIshould already be back at my ce…<i ss="calibre2">studying</i>.
“Wateris fine.We’reready to order.Thesouthwest rolls, but not with the mango salsa, with the pickledtro w.Thenthe pot stickers with the duck sauce, the crab fritters, not too spicy, and for dessert, raspberry tiramisu.Don’tsplit it.e, two forks is fine.Bringit out individually as it’s ready, no need to wait.”
“Ofcourse, sir.Greatorder.”
Weboth wait until the waiter is out of earshot and talk at the same time.
“Yousaid<i ss="calibre2">head</i>on purpose, didn’t you—”Istart.
“Whatthe hell was that—” she also begins.
Irub my brow with one finger. “Ladiesfirst.”
“Whyis everyone here so skittish around you,GriffinHarveythe<i ss="calibre2">third</i>?What’sup,Finn?Whataren’t you telling me?”There’sa glint in her light eyes, eager to hear a juicy secret.
AsecretIreally don’t want to share.
Ishrug. “Mygrandpa owns this restaurant.Apparently, that trantes toIcan get anyone here fired, which is not true, nor wouldIwant to.”
“<i ss="calibre2">Oh.</i>”Averyruns her fingertip across her lips as she contemtes my response.Evenher nails are painted in a light pink.Shereally did go all out tonight.
<i ss="calibre2">Wasthat for me?</i>
“Idon’t mean to sound spoiled here, but then why did you have to call and make a reservation and why did we wait at the bar for so long?”
Ilet out a deep breath and sink into the tufted booth. “Mygrandpa owns a lot of ces on theStrip.Itry not to y theHarveycard.ButIinvited you out andIjust wanted to treat you to a nice evening.Iget the feeling you don’t get taken out a lot.”Idon’t know whatIsaid wrong, butIsure as hell said something wrong.<i ss="calibre2">Shit.</i>Hereyes hit herp immediately andIscramble. “Ididn’t mean that no one would ask you—”
“No, no,”Averyreplies, her eyes still down, “it’s fine.You’reright.Ihaven’t been single in years, andMasonandIwere homebodies.”
“There’snothing wrong with that.”
“Finn, this is the<i ss="calibre2">only</i>nice dressIown.”
Istay silent, too worriedI’mgoing to say something wrong again.
“Imean,Imake well into the six figures.Ican actually afford to live in a decent part ofL.A., which a lot of people can’t say…and this is the only nice piece of clothingIhave.It’sthe only dressIhave that makes me feel pretty.”
Irun my hand through my hair and grumble. “Isthis whole arrangement just soI’llcall you pretty, becauseIalready—”
“Stop.”Averylocks her eyes on mine, startling me with the fire zing in them. “Pleasedo not misunderstand me.Thisis not a shallow validation thing.It’snot about<i ss="calibre2">you</i>calling me pretty.Whatgood is it if you and every other man on this calls me pretty if<i ss="calibre2">I</i>don’t believe it?Evenmore terrifying, what good is it if my entire worth is wrapped up in a man’s opinion of me?Look,Finn, my mom gave me the sex talk at age sixteen.Youknow what she told me?”
“What?”
“Don’tdo it.Don’tget pregnant.”
“Ohboy…”Althoughmy dad’s rendition wasn’t much better.Hisadvice?Fuckearly.Fuckoften.Don’tsettle down.Advicehe gave me right in front of my mother.
“SoIwent from awkward sex to boring sex, eventually to no sex.Idon’t know ifMasonwas the problem, orIwas, butIjust knowIdon’t want to have<i ss="calibre2">that</i>problem ever again.Iwant to find someone who is a good match, who brings out the best in me.ButIdon’t know how to match myself becauseIdon’t know whatIlike.Ihaven’t tried much of anything.Sexis behind closed doors, lights off, obligatory, and awkward.Wouldyou be okay with that kind of sex life with your wife?”
<i ss="calibre2">Truthfully?No.</i>“Ina good marriage, if you’re unhappy, aren’t you supposed to talk about it and work on it together?”
Averypoints square between my eyes. “Exactly.That’swhat we’re doing.”Sheflits her hand in the air dismissively. “Withoutthe marriage part, of course.Thisis<i ss="calibre2">research</i>.Atrade.It’sthe perfect way to safely test the waters.Idon’t know anyone else who has your confidence in the bedroom who needs my help with something too.Orat leastIthought you did untilIrealized you’re secretly rich.”
Mychest tightens as my jaw twitches. “Excuseme?”
“Oh, please,”Averysays, then vibrates her tongue against her bottom lip. “Iwas confused for a minute, but it’s all making sense now.YourRolexhas diamonds on it,” she says, nodding to my wrist. “Youpulled out a hundred-dor bill from your wallet without flinching, soI’massuming there’s more where that came from, and everyone who hears yourst name is quaking in their boots.Plus,Ilied to you earlier.Iwasn’t looking up hippopotamus.Ihave an uncanny knack for spelling.Iwas looking upHarveyGriffinSeniorwho owns two hotels, a dozen restaurants, and several parking garages all on theStrip.Networth roughly in the ballpark of a quarter billion.Isthat true?Thoseonline estimates online are never urate.”Shepumps her eyebrows at me. “They’reusually a lowball.HowamIdoing here?”
Imatch her stare. “Areyou interrogating me?”
Hersmile spreads. “Yourwealth is not my business,Finn.ButIdo wonder why you’re mooching offDex’snice steaks and borrowing his hot tub.Iget the feeling you could certainly afford your own.”
Icould lie about this so easily.Ido it all the time.It’sa secretImanaged to keep fromNora.Tothis day, she thinks my grandpa is actually broke because of tax evasion and my inheritance won’t be enough to cover aHappyMeal.Itcouldn’t be further from the truth.
Butthis isAvery.Withouta doubt,Iknow my money doesn’t interest her.She’snot exactly a woman after the finer things in life.Yetanother reason why we get along so well.
“Myinheritance wille in stages.Twentypercent whenIturn thirty.Anothertwenty percent whenIturn thirty-five.Soon and so forth.”
“<i ss="calibre2">What?</i>”Averyasks in a shrill voice.Sheclears her throat, her prior tone idental from surprise.
“Mygrandpa is a level-headed man.He’sestablished trusts for all of his children and grandchildren, but he set up the disbursements to make sure we still had to work our way through adulthood.Iwas raised never to count on his money.Plus, there are all sorts of stiptions to get the full disbursements.Wehave to be married by a certain age, have children, or prove we medically can’t.Wehave to live in a certain radius.It’scontrolling ofGramps, actually.”
It’sthe only reason my dad married my mom.Shemarried for love.Hemarried for a payout.Mygrandpa thought he was doing his son a favor by trying to rein in his dickish behavior, but all he did was make my mom an easy target.
BeforeIcan say more,Angelo, dressed in a full suit, tie and all, arrives at our table with a te of steamed dumplings and spicy duck sauce.Helooks like a walking contradiction.Hisjet-ck hair is slicked back, pulled into a tiny knot on the nape of his neck, yet his three-piece suit is pristine.Ican see part of a tattoo wrapping around his thumb.AngeloandIuse the same tattoo artist.Hisbig-boy job asRue52’s manager was only because of my insistent rmendation toGramps.Istand by it.He’sa hard worker and a good guy.
“Iam so sorry, man,”Angelosays as he slides the tter onto the table.Avery’seyes follow the heavenly-smelling dish and she’s practically drooling.Poorthing was lying.She’sstarving.It’sbeen nearly two hours sinceIpicked her up andIbet she was saving her appetite.
“What’sgoing on?Thebar is a mess.”
Angelorolls his eyes. “Ihad two waiters call out on me ten minutes before their shift due to legitimate medical emergencies.Mybest busboy burnt the shit out of his hand, and my sous chef sliced his hand open on a bottle of merlot.It’sthe house of fucking horrors in here tonight.Iwas actually back there washing dishes myself.Ithrew on this monkey suit toe apologize to you.Whydidn’t you call me and tell me you wereing tonight?”
Heholds out his hand and sps mine in a brotherly handshake.
“Ididn’t want to make a fuss,Lo.I’msimply taking my friend to dinner.”
Angelogives me an impish smile as he turns his gaze toAverylike a hunter eyeing his prey.I’mnot sure what his intentions are with that look on his face, butI’meither about tough or knock that stupid smirk right off his face.
<i ss="calibre2">Hismove.</i>
“Whereare my manners?Hello…”
Averysticks her hand out in a hurry. “Avery.Niceto meet you.”Shepoints to the dumplings. “Thesesmell divine.Youare the first person to bring me food all evening, meaning you are officially my favorite person in this restaurant.”
Angelotsks his tongue but doesn’t take his eyes offAvery. “Shameon you,Finn.Starvingyour date like that.What’syour favorite kind of wine, hermosa?Iowe you a bottle for making you wait.”
“Lo,”Igripe, “keep your wine and yourpliments and just bring out the rest of our food.”
Iknow he’s messing with me.Heused to do the same thing withNorawheneverIbrought her around.Afriendly pissing contest.Exceptwhen ites toAvery,I’mnot feeling very yful.Justprotective.Angelo’snot good enough for her.He’snever going to take the time to appreciate all theyers—her humor, her charm, her elegance,<i ss="calibre2">and</i>her t-out goofiness.Hedoesn’t realize she has a secret weapon she likes to tuck away.Thatsweet pussy for starters.Bare, pink, and puffy—all my favorite adjectives for that part of a woman.ButAveryys the part of inJanebecause it’sfortable for her.She’strying to hide behindrkKent’ssses.Whentheye off and she dresses up the way she is tonight, every man can clearly see what they are to her…
Undeserving.
Myselfincluded.
ButI’ma hell of a lot closer than<i ss="calibre2">Angelo</i>.
Angelo’ughing at me, enjoying my agitation. “Fine, how about a picture?”Hepulls his phone from his pocket. “Youboth look so nice tonight.I’llframe it and you can go on the celebrity wall.”
“No!”Averypractically shouts.AngeloandIboth jump a little. “I’msorry,Imean no, thank you.Noto the picture, and most definitely no to my face on a wall.Please…just, no, thank you…”
Ican feel the hot diforting off her skin, soIreach across the table and ask for her hand.Obediently, she ces her hand in mine andIsqueeze the tips of her fingers. “Lo, go check on my eggrolls, man.”
“Allright, all right.Oh, hey, whileIhave you, are you still looking to sell your truck?Imight have scrambled up the cash.CanItake a look before you leave tonight beforeImake a final decision?”
Ireluctantly pull my gaze away fromAvery’seyes.Hereye makeup entuates the green perfectly.Natural, yet hershes look a little darker.Thosepretty eyes don’t need any help.Theycatch my attention all the time on their own.
“Ididn’t drive it tonight.Wetook anUber.”
“AnUber?” he squawks.Hebows his head and shakes it from side to side. “Justsad.Iwould’ve brought you in a limo, hermosa.”Hepuckers his lips atAveryand she snickers.Itruly can’t tell if she’s enjoying the attention.Icertainly am not.
“Bye,Lo.I’dsay it was nice seeing you, but honestly,Icould take you or leave you right now.”
Hughs heartily as he retreats from the table. “Havea good dinner, you two.Finn,I’llcall you about the truck.”
IgiveAvery’sfingers one more quick squeeze beforeIrelease her hand and point to the dish between us. “Theseare best while they’re hot.”
Sherubs her hands together in glee. “Youdon’t have to tell me twice.”Shegrabs her appetizer fork, stabs the smallest dumpling, and dunks it in the bowl of sweet and spicy sauce.
“Bythe way,”Iask her, twirling my own fork in my hand. “Didyou not want your picture taken, or you didn’t want your picture taken<i ss="calibre2">with me</i>?”
Shescrews up her face, taken aback. “Nothingto do with you.Ijust hate pictures.Myface always looks like a balloon.Ihave no camera charisma.Ismile so big my eyes look crooked.I’venever once taken a good picture.”
“Yourheadshot on your website is nice.”
Sherolls her eyes. “Thatwas my high school senior picture, andIphotoshopped the shit out of it.”
“<i ss="calibre2">Highschool?</i>”Iask, incredulous.Shesimply nods in response. “Youare a highly sought-after brand consultant who works withFortune500panies and you haven’t had a legitimate picture taken since high school?”
“What’syour point,Finn?It’sclearly not inhibiting my business,” she mutters.
“Mypoint is,Ican help with that.Imight know a guy who takes some damn good pictures.”Ipoint to the middle of my chest. “Icould take some really nice professional headshots for you.Letme help you.”
Fora moment,Ithink she considers it.Butshe eventually shakes it off. “Youalready have your work cut out in helping me.Believeme.”Shetakes a small bite of the dumpling, chews, then swallows.Shenudges the te in my direction across the linen-covered tabletop, inviting me to join her. “Theseare the best thingsI’veever eaten in my life.”Averymoans in appreciation.
“Whatdo you meanIhave my work cut out for me?”
Shepoints her fork at me. “Oneof us is about to have the time of their life in the bedroom tonight.”Shedunks the other side of her dumpling back into the sauce. “Andsorry to tell you, buddy, it’s not going to be you.Imay be a quick learner, butI’mbasically starting from ground zero.You’regoing to have to take the lead and pull me across the finish line.”
Ichuckle to myself.Doesshe really think that’s a problem?LittledoesAveryknow, a woman like her letting me take the lead…?
<i ss="calibre2">There’sno bigger turn-on than that.</i>