Page 35 of The Wingman

He’s so likable and flirtatious as a baseline; I bet if he were actuallytryingto get into a girl’s pants, they’d melt right off. My knees press together under the table. What’s that like, feeling so attracted and turned on by someone that I can’t stand it?

“Like what?”Try it on me, I secretly beg.

He rakes a hand over the back of his hair. “We’d talk about her job, where she goes on vacation, what she does for fun.”

That sounds like the kind of stuff I talked about with that guy the other week at the bar, except the conversation didn’t flow at all. “Let’spractice.”

He regards me with a playful spark in his eyes. My heart jumps.Thisis the Hayden I know, fun and confident and silly.

“So, Darcy.” He leans forward and gives me a seductive, arrogant smile. “What made you ask me out?”

I bite back a laugh and clutch my chest dramatically with a faraway look. “You were standing on the table in the middle of the bar, flexing those big muscles?—”

His eyebrows bob and he grins wider, entertained.

“—and I thought,now that’s a man. Then you roared and tore your shirt open, and I fainted.”

“And I caught you.” His smile is magnificent as he leans back in his chair, watching me. “You woke up in my arms, caught one look at my rippling muscles, and fainted all over again.”

Laughter bubbles out of me and he smiles over his wineglass. Behind him, the band begins to move around the restaurant, serenading couples.

“My turn.” He wants to play this game? I’ll play.

Hayden’s teeth flash as he shrugs, playing with the stem of his wineglass. “Go for it. I’m an open book.”

He picks up the glass to take a sip, and I’m distracted by how hot he looks like this, drinking red wine in an expensive suit. It fits the lines of his body like a glove, the crisp white shirt making his skin glow.

The game. Right. Making each other uncomfortable with questions.

“So, Hayden.” I lower my voice. “What kind of porn do you watch?”

He chokes on his sip of wine, and people around us glance over as he clears his throat.

“That bad, huh?” I wince at him, biting back my laughter. “It must be the really kinky stuff.”

He clears his throat again, staring at the table, his glass, the floor. Anywhere but me. “Yep, that’s it. The really kinky stuff.”

“What are we talking?” I lean forward, lowering my voice another notch. God, this is so fun. A million times better than trying to navigate an awkward conversation with someone new. “Spanking? Pee stuff? People sitting on cakes?”

“All of the above.” His ears are pink and his voice is tight, and he won’t meet my eyes.

He’s lying.

“Seriously.” My eyes narrow. Now I need to know. “What kind of porn?”

He fidgets with his shirt collar, glancing around. “Can you stop saying the wordporn, please?”

Delight bubbles up my throat, but I hold the laugh down. “What, you don’t like when I talk aboutporn?” I raise my voice on the last word, and someone at the table beside us drops their fork. Any embarrassment I should feel is wiped away by how fun this is. “What a little prude you are, Hayden.”

He lowers his face into his hands. “I can’t take you anywhere,” he mumbles, but I can see his features tightening in a smile.

“You’re hiding something.” I toy with the stem of my own wineglass, high on power, and when he lifts his head, his eyes linger on mine.

He looks so fucking guilty.

“It must bereallygood if you don’t even want to tellme,” I gesture at myself, “your best friend in the whole world.”

I don’t know why I said that. Kit’s obviously his best friend. I’m just the roommate.

---