Page 19 of Structure of Love

Zar theatrically reeled back two steps, hand clutched over his heart. He was the foil to Asher’s play-acting. I waited for him to grab his dark curls next in some dramatic gesture. “A man who can be thoughtful! Le gasp!”

Asher nodded knowingly, his slate blue eyes harboring a glint, like he could somehow predict how things would go from here. “You’re going to get nakedsofast for this man.”

“Hey!” I protested. “I am actually going to give this one a few dates at least before getting naked time in.”

“So fast,” Asher repeated knowingly, like I hadn’t just said the opposite.

Bastard. I mean, he was right, my history said I was perfectly willing to put out on the first date, but I tried to not let bad habits ambush me. Sex with someone who was basically a stranger wasn’t all that fulfilling. It scratched an itch, kinda, but it wasn’tsatisfying. It was like having fries without salt. Were you no longer hungry? Sure. Was your mouth protesting its lack of happiness? Absolutely.

I wanted emotions with my sex, thank you.

I took phone and popcorn back to the living room but changed where I was sitting. If I sat in the love seat off to the side, I’d have a better chance to text Logan without someone being able to read my screen. Clearly I must protect my screen. Asher was shameless; he’d sit right next to me and read every word.

The exact second I sat down, my screen lit up with another text, but this one was from FedEx. No, thank you. I’d blocked my ex’s old number, and he apparently had a new one he was using, but I knew even without asking who it was. His corny pickup lines gave him away. I blocked him again.

I switched back to my text convo with Logan.May none of your exes try to contact you tonight, amen.

Kryptonite:Why, did one of yours?

Me:Yeah, FedEx.

Kryptonite:Huh?

I grinned while I explained, as I still felt proud of this one.He’s FedEx because I got fed up and now he’s my ex.

Logan sent me a string of laughing emojis.

Ah, good, my humor had landed. Honestly, this was one of the main reasons why I wanted to go on several dates first before sex. There were so many things I needed to learn about Logan, his humor being one of them. Also what interests he had, how he handled finances, stress, was he a punctual person, et cetera. Only time and dating could answer all those questions.

The way Logan had approached me, I felt sure we were aiming for the same thing—a true relationship. Something else I wanted to verify and talk about. I wanted us to be on the same page.

Three dots danced on the screen before Logan’s message popped up:For real tho, sometimes when a door closes, you need to nail a fucking board over it

Me:Good news, I’m in the biz. I have nails, hammer, and wood to spare

Kryptonite:Ooh, I bet you’re good at nailing things

Oh? We were leaning toward heavy flirting territory? Game on.

Me:You bet your ass I am

Mischief prompted me to addActually, please bet your ass on that.

Kryptonite:*string of winking emojis*I prefer more hands-on conversations about sex. It’s constructive

Me:Was that meant to be a construction pun?

Kryptonite:Too soon?

I snickered under my breath as I sent back a good flirty GIF.

“Look at him,” Riggs said. “He’s clearly over there sexting.”

I glanced up from the screen to find all three friends watching me. “You should be watching a monster movie, not me.”

“You’re far more entertaining,” Asher said, his grin pure mischief.

I ignored the pot-stirrer. “And this is not my sexting face, this is my flirting face. God, you call yourself a friend.”