Page 41 of The Surprise Play

“I’m serious on the friendly thing. I like to be nice to everybody. If some people interpret that as flirting, that’s really not?—”

“No, no, no.” I shake my head. “What you were doing with that girl just then… that was intentional flirting.”

He opens his mouth with exaggerated offense. “I was being nice.”

“And checking her out.” I laugh the words, then quickly pull myself together. “And winking and eyeing her up like you were imagining what she looked like under that uniform of hers.”

Holy crap, what am I saying?

I’m never this bold with people, calling them out on their shit. Why do I think I can do it with Wily?

His lips part a little farther, his mock expression changing to genuine surprise. It’s like I’ve caught him red-handed, and I can’t tell if he’s impressed or annoyed by that.

I shrink down in my seat, pressing my back against the booth.

After a painful beat, he seems to make a decision andturns my cheeks crimson by admitting, “I do that with all girls.”

My face scrunches. One: to try and hide the fact that if he did that with me, I would want to crawl into a hole and die. And two: to try and hide the fact that he probably didn’t do that with me, and that makes me feel even worse for some weird reason.

Oh yeah, and then my face starts buckling with disgust because “Ew. That is so creepy.”

“What?” He shrugs. “I’m not going to act on it. I only ever hook up with girls who want to be with me.”

“Still. I don’t think your friends would appreciate it if they knew you were mentally undressing their girlfriends.”

His eyes bulge like I just slapped him or something. “I would never do that.”

“You just said you do it with all girls.”

“Okay, fine.” He raises his hands. “I don’t do it withallgirls.”

I keep watching him until the tips of his ears turn bright pink, and I have to snort derisively. “You’re gross.”

Dipping his head, he squeezes the back of his neck and softly admits, “Girls are beautiful, okay? I like looking at them. But I’d never disrespect them or hurt them or do anything to make them feel less than.” Looking back up, he holds me still with his intense blue gaze. “You get me?”

I bite my bottom lip and nod, telling myself I should just drop this. But then my mouth opens of its own accord.Again.

“It’s lucky they can’t read your mind. Because by the sounds of it, all you’re doing is turning them from ahuman being with a soul to just a body you can drool over.”

He closes his eyes, obviously disgusted by my interpretation. “That is not accurate at all. I didn’t mean to say it like that, okay?”

“More like you didn’t mean toadmit it.”

What are you doing? Shut up, you’re gonna piss him off!

He lets out a soft huff and rests his forearms on the table, leaning toward me, his face flickering with irritation. “I respect women, okay?”

“Uh-huh.” I cross my arms, surprised by how I’m not just letting this go. He’s getting annoyed with me. I should seriously drop this!

It’s really not my concern.

“Look…” He sighs, shaking his head while the tips of his ears glow red again. “I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a complete asshole, but I think women’s bodies are beautiful, and I have this habit of wondering what they look like under their clothing.”

I can’t help making a face. “Well, can I suggest it’s a habit you try to break? Because it’s gross, and if you ever get a girlfriend or a wife, they won’t appreciate it.”

Leaning back with a sigh, he eyes me up, tapping his fingers on the booth between us and finally nodding. “That’s fair, and I’ve never thought about it that way. It’s just a quick thing I do.”

“It’s an ick thing you do, and you need to stop,” I mutter, my insides flaring.