Page 22 of Flirting Lessons

Taylor smiled at her like she was proud of her. That felt good, especially since Avery was proud of herself. She’d almost texted Taylor about this on Sunday night, but she wasn’t sure if she and Taylor were texting friends. All they’d ever texted about so far was Taylor telling her what time she was going to pick her up and what to wear. Plus, it felt good to tell her about this in person.

“It was sort of fun? Beth, from the bookstore, was there, and the very bossy head gardener assigned us a garden bed together.”

“A gardenbed?” Taylor said. “Avery, you minx.”

Avery laughed.

“That’s exactly how Beth and I both reacted. My God, Taylor, she kept saying things like ‘I’ll take you to your bed’ and ‘are you two willing to share a bed,’ and we almost died.”

“Hmmm, there’s hope for you,” Taylor said.

“What was that?” Avery asked.

Taylor shook her head with a grin.

“Nothing, continue.”

God, that grin of Taylor’s was deadly. No wonder Avery had overheard her friend call her the hottest catch in Napa Valley.

Wait, they were talking about the garden, remember?

“Anyway, the garden stuff was actually fun. I’m not sure how I feel about gardening, it seems both more work and also more confusing than I thought it would be, but like you said, this is low stakes, right? And Beth and I planned what we’re going to plant—we met up at the garden store yesterday. It’s no big deal, we’re just planting some seeds and little baby plants and stuff, but—”

“It feels like it’s a big deal,” Taylor said. “Especially since—I mean, I don’t know you very well, so correct me if I’m wrong—but I get the impression that you don’t like doing things you’re not already good at.”

“Of course I don’t,” Avery said. “Does anyone?”

Taylor laughed. Definitely at her, this time.

“Most people don’t mind it as much as you do. You have to be bad at things while you learn how to do them. At least, most people do.”

“Hmmm.” Avery thought about that for a moment. “Yeah, nope, still sounds terrible.”

Taylor chuckled as she started the car.

“And, on that note, time to head out to tonight’s big event. I hope we aren’t late.”

Avery looked sideways at her.

“Late to where?”

Taylor just grinned at her.

A little while later, they pulled into the parking lot of a community center in Napa. The lot was almost full, and people were still streaming in. Avery looked at their outfits, and then looked down at herself with a frown.

“You told me to wear something I could move in, so I wore leggings and a tank top. Look at all these people wearing flowy dresses! Where are we?”

Taylor gave her a teasing little smile.

“This is a community center! I didn’t realize it was here, either, all tucked away in this backstreet, but—”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!”

Taylor smirked at her.

“Yep. Come on.”

Avery got out of the car, her mind turning over possibilities of what could be inside that community center.

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