Page 9 of Fumbling for Perfection

“It’s okay, Walker. You don’t have to—”

“Riley.”

“Seltzer water is good.”

“I can get ice if you’d like,” I offer, pouring her drink into a plastic cup.

“No. This is fine. Thank you.”

She remains standing in the middle of the room, one arm across her stomach, holding on to her waist, as the other takes the plastic cup from me.

I pour the little nip of whiskey into a cup—no mixer needed—and swirl it around before taking a sip. I don’t need it to calm my nerves, but I do need it to keep my hands busy. While I want nothing more than to rip that fucking sexy dress off her body, I also want to take my time with her, making this night last as long as possible.

“How long have you and Kendall been friends?” I ask, pulling out a chair at the corner table, indicating she should take a seat.

Riley curls her bottom lip between her teeth before she crosses the room and sits at the edge of the chair. “Almost five years.”

“She seems like...a lot.” I take a seat across from her.

“Oh, she is.” Riley chuckles. “She says what I wish I had the confidence to say.”

“Such as?”

“If she wants something, she goes after it. If she doesn’t like something, she speaks up.”

“You don’t seem like a pushover.”

“Oh, no. I’m not. I eventually get there, but maybe not as direct as Kendall.”

“So eventually you would have asked me if I had a wife, an STD, or a safe word?”

“Yeah. Sure.” She takes a healthy gulp of her drink and I try not to laugh.

“Interesting that you had no problem asking me about my serial killer career.”

“I mean, there’s no coming back from that. It’s always at the top of my list when dating a guy for the first time.”

I don’t comment that what we’re doing is far from dating. We’re jumping right ahead to the good stuff. But the prospect of dating Riley has a charm to it. We’re doing things backwards, and I’m okay with that.

“I guess I should have asked you some vetting questions as well.”

Riley rests her elbow on the table and straightens her shoulders, ready for the inquisition. Her nerves are obvious, from her rigid torso to her wide eyes, so I go easy on her.

I hide my grin and ask, “Have you ever cut off any body parts of men you’ve dated?”

“Does thinking about it or threatening to do so count?”

My hand instinctively covers my junk. “Nevermind. I got my answer on that one. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done on a date?”

“Worst? Nothing. I’m a nice person. Now if you asked me what’s the worst thing Kendall has done, I’d need a few minutes to rank them all.”

“Please don’t tell me she’s your inspiration for when you dump a guy.”

“She’s not the inspiration for when I dump a guy.”

“Good.”

“Mainly because I’m the one who’s always getting dumped. She is my inspiration for revenge though.” Riley smiles so sweetly at me that I can’t help but laugh.

---