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Taylor smirked.

“Mm-hmm. I can tell.”

Avery narrowed her eyes.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re annoying?”

Taylor nodded, a grin on her face.

“All the time, as a matter of fact. I never pay attention.”

“That’s clear,” Avery said under her breath.

“What was that?” Taylor asked.

“Nothing,” Avery said. Taylor just laughed.

“Okay, so here are a few flirting tips to keep in mind,” Taylor said as she got on the freeway. “First of all, and I know it sounds basic, but bear with me: Make eye contact, at least briefly. Don’t stare—at least not until you get a little more advanced at this—but you want people to know that you’re looking at them. Second: Smile. You don’t have to give everyone the exact same smile, it doesn’t have to show all of your teeth or whatever, but people like to spend time talking to someone who seems friendly. And third: Ask people their name and try to remember it. Say it back to them right away, say it a few times in the conversation to keep it in your head. Remembering names makes a difference; people are really flattered by it.”

Avery wanted to pull out her phone and write all of this down, but she thought Taylor might make fun of her if she did. Then she thought about what Taylor had said about being honest. Taylor was right; she didn’t want to do this if she was going to worry at every moment that Taylor was going to make fun of her. And ifTaylor did make fun of her, fine, she’d just go home. She pulled out her phone and started a new note.

“Okay: eye contact, smile, remember names, anything else?”

Taylor glanced down at Avery’s phone and smiled.

“I also don’t remember anything unless I write it down. Hmm, okay: Ask people questions about themselves, and really listen to the answers. If they say something interesting, keep asking more questions. I know, I know, this is Conversation 101, but sometimes people think of flirting as something different and freeze up, when it’s just a category of conversation. You seem like you have the potential to freeze up.”

Avery let out a breath.

“You are correct about that.” She addedask questions, then more questionsto her list.

“But also,” Taylor continued, “flirting isn’t one size fits all. Pay attention to who you’re talking to and how they interact with you. People like to be flirted with the same way they flirt.” She laughed. “That goes for other things, too, but I digress. Some of what I said won’t work for everyone. Some people don’t like eye contact but will hang around and keep talking to you, some people hate being casually touched while others are super into it. What matters is what you like—if you’re not vibing with someone, don’t force it.”

Not one size fits all

Pay attention

Like to be flirted with the same way they flirt

Oh God, this was already so many things. How was she going to remember all of it?

“And I can already feel your shoulders getting tense over there,so please don’t try to memorize this all now and think there’s going to be a pop quiz or something, little miss A-plus student.”

Avery tried to relax her shoulders.

“A quiz would be easier than having to do this in real life,” she said.