Page 23 of Flirting Lessons

“Maybe the people in dresses are going somewhere different than we are, and they’re just a misdirection to trip me up. Is this an aerobics class or something? Are you going to make me flirt with people while I do aerobics?”

“Anaerobicsclass?” Taylor asked with an indignant tone. “Do I look like a person who would make you go to an aerobics class?” She stopped and turned to Avery. “I need to know the answer to that right now before I go any farther.”

Avery looked Taylor up and down. She was in a snug black tank top, cutoff denim shorts, and stylish black sneakers. Infuriating,sexy, and impossibly cool—that was Taylor. Aerobics class, she was not. She let out an aggravated sigh.

“Fine, no, you don’t look like a person who would make me go to an aerobics class. If not aerobics, then yoga? Is it yoga? You seem like a yoga kind of person, all relaxed and chill about everything. Only you would wear jean shorts to yoga, but I can see it.”

“No one else in the world would describe me as relaxed and chill, but I guess compared to you, I am,” Taylor said. “But I feel likeyouseem like a yoga kind of person, all tense and anxious. People like you flock to yoga and wear perfectly put-together outfits like the one you’re wearing right now.” Taylor gestured to Avery’s black leggings, pink tank top, and white ballet-style sweater. “ ‘Something you can easily move in’ doesn’t need to be full-on designer athleisure, you know.”

Avery laughed at her.

“This is all from Target, thank you very much, but I appreciate the backhanded compliment.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

Yeah, she knew what Taylor meant.

“You’re one of those yoga people, aren’t you?” Taylor asked. “I can tell. I only know what the outfits look like because I see all of the women flocking to the yoga studio on my block, racing to be first in line for class. It’s like they’re in a competition to see who can be the most flexible, or the most meditative, or who can win the prize of best friends with Adriene.”

Avery pointed at her and cackled.

“Aha! I was right! You gave yourself away with the Adriene reference. Youdodo yoga! You want to be best friends with Adriene and everything! Is that what we’re doing tonight? Is it a yoga class?”

Taylor sighed, but with a grudging smile on her face.

“As soon as that came out of my mouth, I knew I’d given myself away. Fine, I have been known to do yoga with Adrieneoccasionally. But no, it’s not yoga.”

Taylor looked around as they kept walking toward the community center, and then she turned to Avery and lowered her voice.

“Okay, I can tell why you thought it was going to be a yoga class, because like half of the people here are in either outfits like yours or what I callsexyathleisure—the kind where you can tell that outfit has never actually been worn for exercise, it’s just to make the wearer look as hot as possible. All bare midriffs and slightly too-small sports bras and pristine sheer leggings.”

Avery knew what Taylor meant and held back a giggle.

“Give them the benefit of the doubt! Maybe they are exercising in those outfits, and they just take care of them very well.”

Taylor waggled her eyebrows.

“Oh, I’m not complaining. Didn’t I say they’re wearing them just to make themselves look as hot as possible? It’s working. I’m glad I’m here for the show.”

Avery elbowed Taylor and kept walking.

“You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Taylor walked along with her, a big smile on her face.

“Oh, I am, I absolutely am.”

Did Taylor thinkheroutfit made her look as hot as possible? No, probably not—she’d clearly differentiated Avery’s outfit from the sexy athleisure that other people were wearing.

Whatever. It didn’t matter.

A carful of people pulled into a spot right in front of the community center, and everyone who got out of it was wearing brightly colored dresses with full skirts. Avery turned to Taylor in a panic.

“Okay, now I feel very underdressed, and if there’s one thing I hate, it’s being underdressed. You’ve got to tell me why somepeople look like they’re going to the most fun wedding in the world, and some people—people like me—look like we’re going to yoga class.”

Taylor patted her on the shoulder.

“Thank you for telling me you hate being underdressed. I should have figured that out, but I’ll remember it for the future. But you’re dressed just fine, and you’ll find out the answer to your question in literally just a few seconds, so come on.”

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