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“No boiled peanuts?” The surprise on Jade’s face almost made Franny howl in laughter. “Yeah, we’re going to have to get you out of that if we’re going to be together.”

“Oh, is that the stipulation?”

“It’s definitelyoneof them.”

They were immediately interrupted by their waiter, bringing them a nice plate of bread and butter and then taking their drink orders. Once he left, Franny watched as Jade took the butter knife and spread some over her chunk of steaming bread, closing her eyes in pleasure as she bit into it for the first time. The delight on her face was completely arresting. It made Franny want to see it over and over. It made her want to be the one to put it there.

Was it normal to be jealous of a piece of bread? Or of the fingers that brushed her plush mouth?

“What are the other stipulations?” Franny asked, her voice significantly lower than it had been before.

Jade swallowed. “There’s obviously mutual respect.”

“Of course.”

“And care.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Definitely a lot of kisses too. An excess of kisses,” Jade clarified.

“I’m definitely starting to think you didn’t actually think about these stipulations beforehand.”

“Is it that obvious?”

Their waiter brought their drinks to the table—a gin and tonic for Franny and one of the fancy menu cocktails for Jade—and left again with their food orders.

“I’m starting to realize that you’re actually not that great at bullshitting. I don’t know how I was fooled by you for so long.”

Jade ran her thumb over her bottom lip, and Franny watched the movement like a hawk. “I’ll have you know, I’m an expert bullshitter. Maybe just not with you.”

“And why’s that?” Franny asked around the rim of her glass.

“You get under my skin too much. I’ve always kind of felt like you could see right through it, and it just irked my soul.”

“That’s so weird to me because I never felt like I had any real ideaof what you were thinking or feeling. Sometimes I feel like I’m just throwing shit at the wall and hoping it sticks when I talk to you.”

Jade’s eyes widened, the expression on her face becoming increasingly more surprised as the seconds passed. “You literally looked me in the eye and told me you knew I wanted you.”

Franny shrugged sheepishly. “I mean, I had hope, for sure, but ultimately, I was bullshitting, trying to get a rise out of you. You’re desperately sexy when you get worked up at me.”

“The only reason you got a rise out of me was because you were right.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Do you remember the first time we met?”

“Of course I do. New teacher orientation. Principal Coleman introduced us, and you barely looked me in the eye.”

“I was an asshole for sure.” Jade grimaced. “There’s no excuse for it, I just… I saw you, and I immediately got spooked. Hearing you talk felt like a punch to the gut. I didn’t really understand it, so I figured that whatever I was feeling must have been, I don’t know, dislike or mistrust. My gut was telling me that there was something different about you, and because I’m clearly a fucking fool, I assumed it was a bad thing.”

Franny swallowed; her mouth had suddenly run dry. It was a trip to get a reason, an explanation for someone’s confounding behavior. Even when that reason wasn’t baked into anything logical or levelheaded.

This woman was so terrified of her own feelings, it was devastating to see.

“And what do you think that feeling means now?” Franny asked.

Franny had one hand wrapped around her glass while the other rested relaxed on the table. Jade looked down intently before trailing her fingers along the thin black bracelet around Franny’s wrist todeftly trace circles on the back of her hand. Her touches made the skin tingle. It was almost innocent, the way she was so gentle, so sweet.