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“Do I get snacks if we do it at your place?” I asked.

“Absolutely. What do you want? I’ll get whatever it is. Thank you for doing this, Reid. I know you don’t have to, but I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.”

Well, fuck. Now I wanted to give her a hug and I wasn’t a hugger. What was this woman doing to me?

“I do like cupcakes,” I said. “That was just a bad day for me.”

“Oh,” she said, smiling. “Good. Cupcakes it is. What kind?”

“Chocolate. I really like chocolate.”

“That works. You still want the peaches?”

I moved toward the bowl to stop her from taking them back.

“Yeah, I still want the peaches. I’ll bring the bowl back next time we see each other.”

She pulled her phone out and fiddled with it. Wordlessly, I put my hand out and she unlocked it and gave it to me.

I typed in my number and then gave it back to her. I’d put myself in as Jedi Master Reid to keep up with the Star Wars theme.

She let out a little giggle and then sent me a message. I put her in my phone as Padawan Sophie.

“Yeah, just let me know when you’re free and, um, we’ll do this.” I couldn’t for the life of me remember exactly what she’d told me these lessons would entail, but I’d figure that out later.

“Sounds good,” I said, and she scurried to the door as if she wanted to escape. Friday night must still be hanging over her head. I was doing my best to act like it had never happened and I didn’t remember any part of it in too-vivid detail.

“Thanks, Reid,” she said before she left.

“You’re welcome,” I said to the closed door.

The peaches were absolutely delicious, and I ate two of them over the sink in the minutes after she left before I looked up peach cobbler recipes online. I only had a handful of the ingredients that I needed, and Sunday was normally when I shopped for groceries, so I added what I was missing to my list and headed out.

While I was going down the aisles and bopping my head to the music, a new message popped up.

Do you prefer chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting? Or something else?

It was from Padawan Sophie.

I hadn’t expected her to send me a message right away, but maybe it was easier for her to talk to me this way than in person.

All chocolate, all the time I told her. I liked all forms of the substance. Milk, dark, white, you name it, I loved it and would shove it in my mouth. Give it to me, right now.

Cade used to be the one always bringing chocolate for me, but now she was living in her mansion with Eloise, so I had to go to her if I wanted the good stuff.

There had definitely been a chocolate deficit in my life, and it was a good thing that Sophie was going to try and fill it. I guess I could give her some dating advice in exchange.

The whole idea of me letting her “practice” her skills on me was strange and interesting, I had to admit. Would this practice get physical? Would it involve kissing or anything else? Lines would have to be drawn, definitely.

I was waiting in a terrible checkout line when I sent her a message.

Have you ever kissed a woman? I sent it before I could ask myself if that was an appropriate question. If I was going to teach her, I at least had to know what she was working with. Something told me we were starting from zero. There was an innocence to Sophie that was both annoying and charming. Annoying in how charming it was.

Those three little dots flashed across my phone and then disappeared. Flashed and disappeared. Sophie didn’t know how to respond to what I’d said.

It’s okay if you haven’t. I just wanted to know what your experience level was. As your teacher.

The checkout line finally moved, and I didn’t get to read her answer until I was pushing my cart through the parking lot to my car.