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“So, I didn’t say ‘dress like the hottest thing in Napa Valley,’ but I’m going to thank you for doing that nonetheless,” Avery said.

Taylor smirked at her.

“Where do you think I get my power?”

Avery glanced down, and Taylor laughed.

“No, not from my boobs! Okay, notonlyfrom my boobs.”

Avery could feel herself blushing.

“That’s not what I was looking at! I was looking at your whole outfit—not just your boobs! Just to see what you meant.”

Taylor’s boobs did look great, though. But then, they always did.

Taylor just laughed and put a hand on Avery’s thigh.

“I can’t wait to find out where we’re going.”

Avery started the car, even though the pressure of Taylor’s hand on her thigh distracted her so much she forgot where they were going for a second.

“Don’t you have any guesses?”

She could feel Taylor smile at her, even as she looked straight ahead.

“What do I get if I figure it out?”

Avery pretended to think about that.

“Hmmm. I think it’s only fair that if you figure it out, I’ll go home with you tonight.”

Taylor’s smile got bigger.

“Okay, then, what happens if I don’t figure it out?”

Avery put her hand on top of Taylor’s.

“Well, that would be very sad for you. I guess, as a consolation, I’ll go home with you tonight.”

Taylor let out a deep sigh.

“Oh wow, so the stakes are high, then. Let’s see…powerful…maybe it’s a rock climbing gym? But you don’t seem like a ‘rock climbing gym date’ kind of person. Do you thinkI’ma rock climbing gym kind of person?” Taylor paused and looked at her. “No, impossible that you’d think that. Okay, not rock climbing.”

Avery smiled but said nothing.

“You’re not going to tell me? Okay, that’s fair. But I’ve convinced myself that it’s not rock climbing. Maybe a butchering class? I have always wanted to learn how to do that, so good for you if it is.”

Avery tucked butchering class away in her mind for the future.

“Hmmm,” Taylor went on. “Butchering class is a promising idea, but I don’t know if they even have them this late in the day. I feel like butchers have to get up early, like bakers and farmers,though I have no idea if that’s true. But if I’m right about that, it’s not a butchering class. Maybe, like, woodworking? You need to be powerful to do that…though I feel like you would have given me a different prompt if it was woodworking.”

Avery raised an eyebrow.

“Like what?”

Taylor shook her head.

“I didn’t think you’d say something phallic, please, you would never. Maybe something about almond or olive or walnut or something to make me think you were talking about food.”