Page 27 of Hooking Up

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Chapter Six

Iris

It's a simple question, but it feels profound.

You want some company?

I have no idea.

Thankfully, the question isn'tsome.

It's not a date withsomeone.

It's Walker.

I want to get coffee with Walker.

I want to get lunch and ice cream and dinner and post-dinner coffee with him.

And I really, really want to lead him back to my apartment so he can fuck me senseless.

I want it too much.

It's dangerous.

I press my lips together. I try to find a polite no.Thanks, but I need to get to work.

Thanks, but I think it's best if we never see each other again.

Thanks, but how about we skip the coffee and go straight to the backroom slash office instead?

I stare into his eyes.

I don't want to say no.

I want to say yes.

It's just company.

Just coffee.

I nod. "Only if you promise it will be great coffee."

"I know just the spot."

* * *

The air is warm.The breeze is soft. The sun is high in the bright blue sky.

It's a beautiful day.

But then, it's always a beautiful day on the Westside.

Venice is a lot like the gated community in the valley where I grew up. It's more crowded and less sauna like in the summer. And it's harder to find parking. And it's a million times more hip.

But it's the same lemon sun and bright sky.

That particular cliché about California is true.

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