Page 26 of The Other Side of Paradise

“Sorry. I was just thinking it complements your hair color.”

She laughed, a high-pitched nervous sound, and she adjusted the flowers, but she didn’t take them out of her hair, just setting them there more comfortably. She looked cute with it. “Color theory, huh? Guess you’re a good designer.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I laughed. “What were you asking before I interrupted?”

“I, uh, I have no clue.”

I grinned. “You can handle giving a girl flowers, but you can’t handle a girl giving you flowers, huh?”

She huffed, folding her arms, blushing again. It was kind of adorable how easily she blushed. I was having way too much fun with it. “It’s easier as… company policy.”

“Maybe it was company policy for me to put flowers in your hair and tell you how cute you look with it.”

“What kind of company do you work for?”

“Energy company. Experimenting with a new renewable power source based in the heat from making girls blush. I think I’ve hit gold.”

She put a hand over her face. “Oh my god. Just make sure to cut me a commission.”

I pushed her glass closer to her. “Drink your drink, Allison. If we’re going to make it to do some clothes shopping before meeting with Ryan and Brooklyn, you’re going to have to come out of your little hidey hole there and drink.”

“You can’t make me,” she said, muffled into her hands. I snorted.

“Don’t make it sound like a challenge.”

“What are you going to do, pour it into my mouth?” she laughed, and Ididissue her a warning—I reached across the table, and I took her by the wrist, pulling her hand away from her face. She let out a tiny gasp, looking at me with wide eyes, and I guess I was really getting a big cut on the energy development here, because she looked like she was generating enough heat to power about half the country. I slid the glass closer to her, and I lifted the straw up to her lips.

“Drink,” I said, and I saw her throat move as she swallowed hard, her eyes locked on mine as she took the straw between her lips, drinking slowly. When she stopped, I smiled, letting go of the straw and letting it drop back down into the drink. “Better. Tastes good?”

“I… didn’t notice anything about how it tasted.”

I laughed, letting go of her wrist and falling back in the seat. “Really not super experienced with flirting, huh?”

She cleared her throat loudly, looking away, fussing with the glass with both hands. “Oh, you think? What clued you in?”

“It’s kinda cute. But you can’t just freeze up if you want to get a girl’s attention. You can practice.”

“P-practice.” She repeated the word like she’d never heard it before, and slowly, she tilted her head, like a curious puppy. “Practice? Flirting? With who?”

“With me. I’m right here.”

“Uh. That’s not… I’m not…” She scratched her head, turning away, trying to act cool with it and failing abjectly. “You spend a lot of time telling girls to flirt with you?”

I laughed. “Is that your first try at flirting?” I said, and she groaned.

“Don’t look at me.”

“If that was your second try, your first try was better.”

She laughed, hanging her head, and she took a long sip of her drink. I wondered if she noticed this time what it tasted like. “For someone who’s not into girls, you’re better at flirting with them than I am.”

“I mean, I flirt with guys. It’s the same idea. Just, you know, usually it’s the guy making the moves.”

“Uh-huh…usuallymeaning it’s like that in theory but it’s actually you in practice?”

I laughed, relaxing back into the seat. “I wish I could. It just feels weird to be, like, out there making the first move on a guy, pursuing him like that. I feel like I’d feel self-conscious and he’d be put off. I guess I’m just sick of guys having zero initiative and I’m just putting myself in their shoes to see if it really is all that hard on their side, but it’s actually super fucking easy, so they have no excuse.”

“I, uh.” She sipped her drink before she set it down. “I think you’re allowed to flirt with guys first.”