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“Lovely to meet you, Jacqueline.” His gaze quickly swept over my body sitting on the stool next to him. I wasn’t too familiar with flirting with men at this point in my life, but when he rested an arm on the bar next to us and set one of his booted feet on the rung of my barstool, I wanted to punch the air with the success that he, too, must have liked what he saw.

“Any fun plans for tonight?” I asked, twisting in my seat as well and crossing one leg over the other. The movement rode my skirt up my thigh a little bit more, and I fought the reflex to tug it down.

“This is it, unfortunately,” Leo replied. He rubbed his thumb against his bottom lip as he studied me, “I’m only in town until tomorrow night.”

“That’s perfect,” I whispered, making his dark eyebrows jump up.

“And why is that?” Based on the smirk he gave me, and the way his hand made a fist so he could rest his cheek against it in a way that had no business being as sexy as it was, my jig was officially up.

“I…um…” Well, at least I knew when my air of confidence had officially run out. I drummed my fingertips on the bar top, a movement Leo clocked as he waited for my response, “I was wondering if you could help me with something—no pressure though.” I pressed my lips together to keep myself from blurting out more. To keep me from saying something like,Are you interested in getting freaky tonight, good sir? Perhaps a bit of canoodling to release some pent-up stress? You know what? I’m sorry to bother you, I’ll see myself out.

Game, to no one’s surprise, was something I did not have.

“I’m happy to be of service,” Leo replied, not pronouncing thehin “happy”. He was so calm. I suddenly felt so put on the spot. What did I say now that didn’t turn him off or scare him away? Would it be this easy?

“Are you sure?” I asked, leaning closer as I checked my surroundings to ensure no one else was listening to this train wreck of a seduction, “It’s a little embarrassing.” I bit my lip and blushed harder when I saw Leo’s eyes land on my mouth.

“I doubt it,” Leo replied to my lips. He didn’t pronounce his t’s half the time either, but I enjoyed the sound of his accent. If I wasn’t specifically attempting to learn how to orgasm with a casual partner, I would have loved to stay here and hear him talk as much as possible tonight.

“It’s not something I like to brag about,” I added, licking my lips and internally squealing at how he mirrored the movement with his own, “But I’m feeling a little bit…lonely.”

“Lonely.” His gaze lifted to meet mine again; something sparked behind it and heated my blood.

“And I’m trying to put myself out there,” I continued, glancing down at my nervously twisting fingers. I looked back up and saw that I still had his full, undivided attention.

“I see,” was his only response. He didn’t give me any more than that; he just sat there, confidently resting one of his feet on my barstool, one elbow on the bar top with his cheek resting on his fist. Not a care in the world.

I wondered what that was like.

“So…if you’re interested…” I started to clam up, swallowing around a nervous lump in my throat. I stopped my fidgeting as soon as I saw his hand reach forward and wrap around both of mine, halting my movements.

I glanced up to meet his gaze again, and his expression was a mixture of emotions my frantic nerves made difficult to read.

“Not to be too forward,” he responded, gently squeezing my fingers with his hand, the warmth of it seeping into my skin, “but I amveryinterested, Jacqueline.”

The grin that pulled at my cheeks was instant, something about the immediate validation from him filled me and made me straighten my spine a bit more. Leo smiled as well, continuing to hold my hands in his grip when I didn’t pull away.

“That’s…good.” I nodded.

And then we just sat there in silence.

“Just so we’re clear,” Leo leaned forward, casually scooting his stool a little bit closer to me, “You’re trying to pull me, yeah?”

I furrowed my brows at his terminology, “Pull?” The visual I had was immediately filthy, and part of me wondered if I even remembered how to give a hand job. It couldn’t be that hard, right? Like riding a bike, or something?

“Sleep with?” he explained, as his gaze fell to my lips again.

Oh.

“Yes.” I nodded, leaning in a little bit more when his gaze lingered on my mouth.

I needed to wear this plumping chapstick way more often.

“Good to hear,” he nodded, his grip on my hands loosening just enough for him to trail his index finger over my knuckles, “Though you should probably take the lead, love.”

Oh my god, he did the thing. He did the English guy thing, using “love” as a term of endearment. Even though this was a hookup, I felt my insides turn to goo. This man was dangerous to someone with as little experience as me, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. Somehow, the stars were aligning and Leo was picking up what I was laying down. He seemed just as enthusiastic as I was on the inside.

“Oh…” I spoke, glancing to the side nervously to figure out what the next step could be. My forgotten piña colada was sitting in front of me, and I wondered how long it had been there, “Do you…want to try kissing me first?”