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Well. Taylor had.

Avery felt that smug smile spread across her face again.

“What are you smiling aboutnow?” Beth asked.

Avery laughed, slightly embarrassed, but only slightly.

“Because I was going to roll my eyes at you and say, ‘Then why does no one ever actually want to have sex with me in real life?’ But then I remembered—”

“Someone did!” Beth finished for her. “And mark my words, that someone still does.”

“Why do you think that?” Avery asked. Not rhetorically, she really wanted to know.

“Because of everything you told me,” Beth said. “Yeah, she kind of blew you off, but she was alsointoit. Wasn’t she?”

Avery didn’t have to think about that. Even with her generalinsecurity about everything sex and relationship related, she knew the answer to that.

“Yeah,” she said. “She was.”

Beth nodded.

“Even if you two don’t sleep together again, she still wants you.”

Avery hoped Beth was right. Because she sure as hell still wanted Taylor. At least no matter what happened between them in the future, she’d know she’d already had her.

That would probably give her more confidence than any possible flirting lesson could.

Eleven

Despite their grown-up, mature conversationon Saturday morning, Taylor was still irritated at herself for sleeping with Avery. She didn’t want things to be weird between them, damn it. They’d actually become good friends over the course of the past month, and she didn’t want to ruin that.

She should have thought of that before ending up in Avery’s bed on Friday night. When was she going to fucking grow up and stop making bad decisions?

No, that was Erica’s influence talking. Everything would be fine! She would keep things purely platonic on Tuesday night. No flirting, no glances at her cleavage, no accidentally touching her hair, or her shoulder, or her knee, or…none of that.

She decided they’d go to a queer social at a paint-your-own-pottery studio. Toddlers painted pottery; it was impossible to make it sexy. Simple, no stress, no innuendo, lots of other people, bright lights. They would go and each paint a mug or bowl or something. She would encourage Avery to chat with some cute women, and then congratulate her for a job well done on theway home. A nice way to ease back into teaching Avery how to flirt a few days after she’d flirted Taylor’s fucking pants off. Literally.

Monday afternoon, when she was at the winery in the middle of four different things, Avery texted her.

Avery

What should I wear tomorrow??

Right, she’d forgotten to do that. Okay, what was a good dress code and also a tiny clue? She hastily typed out a quick answer.

Taylor

Something you can get dirty in

Oh no, she’d already violated her no-innuendo rule. Why was her brain like this? Was innuendo such a natural part of her conversation that she did it without even thinking? Probably. She meant she wanted Avery to wear something togetdirty in, notbedirty in; would Avery understand that distinction?

Okay, fine. Shedidwant Avery to wear something she could be dirty in. Obviously, she wanted that.

But she didn’t want Avery to think she wanted that. Because then Avery would think she wanted a repeat of Friday, and while she did very much want that, she also wanted no drama, and to stay friends with Avery and keep doing these surprisingly fun flirting lessons. She didn’t think she would get all of that and get to sleep with Avery again, too.

Avery

Lol ok