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Like that makes any kind of sense.

“Well,” he says, “we’ll change that at some point.”

It sounds like a promise. I look down at the pendant resting against my skin and struggle against the weight of a crush I thought I’d left behind years ago. He still turned me down at that Christmas party five years ago. He still said those things to Alex four years ago.

And yet.

Here he is, making me feel things again.

West pulls into the marina and parks behind a large white building by the ocean. The adjoining restaurant is decorated in nautical themes, and there’s not a single white tablecloth in sight. A cheery teenager escorts us to a table right by the seafront windows.

West suggests we both get sirloins, and he does it in front of the waiter. I cut him off and tell him I want the ravioli instead. He nods at me afterward. “Good. You’re learning.”

“I know that everything is a challenge with you now.”

“Just because I know you can rise to them. You’re more than people think you are.”

I look down at my glass of wine. Whatheused to think I was, he means.Pretty enough, but boring.

“Proving people wrong is fun,” I say.

His eyes stay on mine. There’s amusement there, and something else, something that warms me to my core. “Give me the card game.”

“Can you say the magic word?”

His lips curve. “Please, trouble, can you put me out of my misery and let me ask you questions about sex?”

A hot flush surges up my neck. I dig through my bag for the purple card game.Naughty Conversations for Couples.And beneath, in smaller font.Learn more about each other’s fantasies, desires and wants.

He runs a finger over the cover. “You opened it.”

“I read some questions. Where did you even find it?”

“You can find anything online.” He pulls out the deck. “Why do you think I suggested this?”

“You’re going to make me say it?”

“Yeah.”

I sigh. “Because of the party. Paradise Lost. Because of what we saw.”

“Yeah. When you looked at the couple having sex and said you didn’t think she could be enjoying herself. That her pleasure was performative.” He raises his eyebrow. “And when you didn’t want to say the word. The one that starts with anM.”

“You’re gonna make me say it?” Now my cheeks are burning.

“I’m not going to make you do anything. Your terms, trouble. Always. But if your end goal is to date more and to get into a relationship, learning to talk about these things is important. You’ve never really learned to ask for what you want. Have you?”

“It’s not easy.”

“I didn’t say it was.” He flips through the cards, shuffles them like we’re about to play a game.

I rub a hand over the back of my neck. It’s hard to think around the length of his fingers as he expertly flips through cards filled with absolute filth. “I’m not a prude.”

“Didn’t say you were. I saw you watching the other couples that night.”

“And you weren’t?” I ask him.

“I had more… pressing things to focus on.” He finishes his shuffle and extends the deck to me. The cards look small in his large palm. “Ladies first.”