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“Not everything, but a lot of things.”

Once I had a piece of pie in front of me (lemon meringue this time), I did feel better. Stace was grilling me about her brother and Micah.

“Oh there were definitely sparks. They were acting like there was no one else in the room after they made eye contact. The other yogis aren’t going to be happy about that. They’ve all been circling him like prey ever since his first class.”

Stace frowned. “Poor guy.” Her words were sincere.

“I know. He can’t help it that he’s one of the most beautiful humans I’ve ever seen in person,” I said.

“Tor loveeessss pretty guys. Just loses his mind. Most of the time he’s loud and confident, but get him around someone pretty like that? He can barely function. It’s hilarious.”

I sipped my tea. “He seemed to be doing okay from what I could see.”

“I can’t wait to hear all about it,” Stace said. “How has your week been since I saw you last?”

Her face was open, and I knew she was sincere about this question too. She actually gave a shit.

So I told her. I gave her a rundown of my week and all the mundane, boring little details that no one but even my closest friends would care about.

And she listened. And asked questions.

“Your hair does look good,” she said when I was telling her about my tutorials. “I mean, it always looks good, but this is cool, especially with the bow.”

Normally I didn’t blink about compliments on my appearance, but for some reason Stace giving them to me hit differently.

“Thank you. It’s a lot of work. People have no idea.”

Stace sipped her decaf and nodded. “Yeah, I bet it is. You do so many things. It sounds exhausting.”

I shrugged. “It’s not. I just manage my time.”

She laughed. “You should teach me how to do that. I’m not very good at it.”

“Doesn’t look like that from where I’m sitting. You seem to manage.”

Her dimples popped as she smiled and her cheeks pinked. Fuck.

She shouldn’t be allowed to do that. Her smile hit me in my chest and it also hit lower. I remembered the way I’d woken up this morning and shifted in my seat. I didn’t get horny in public like this.

“You’re sweet,” Stace said. “Can I ask you something?”

I let out a snort. “I don’t think I could stop you.”

For the first time, she seemed hesitant. “How do you feel about dogs?”

That was an odd question.

“Why?” I asked her.

“Because I have a dog. His name is Buck.” She showed me a picture on her phone of her crouching with her arm around a tan medium sized dog with one pointy ear and one ear that flopped over. I didn’t know what breed it was, but it wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen. Maybe a mix of breeds?

“Oh,” I said. “I don’t know. I’ve never had a pet or been around many animals.” There had been a few school trips to farms or a friend or two who had a pet, but I was always uncomfortable around animals because they seemed so unpredictable.

“But you’re not opposed to them?” she asked, leaning forward, as if my answer was important.

“I guess not, no. Why?”

Stace looked down at the picture on her phone and then turned the screen face down on the table.