Page 21 of Dead Serious with Benefits
“I’m not attracted to you, Mitchell.”
“Ouch.”
I gave a repressed sigh. “Iam not personally attracted to you, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t attractive.”
He leaned in closer, and I fought the urge to lean away. Personal space was essential to me, but I could sense he was up to something. I’d spent too many years with mischief makers like Milo and Mason not to know better than to put blood in the water when a shark might be circling. Mitchell wasn’t as bad asMason, or as lovably goofy as Milo, but he was close enough to wait and see what would come out of his mouth.
His eyes narrowed. “Okay...who do you find attractive?”
My mind flashed to a certain playboy with an irreverence for life and death before I stared back at him, keeping my expression neutral. “Are you interested? Is that why you’re trying to figure it out?”
“No,” he said, waving a finger at my face. “You’ve got a weird face...and have a dick.”
“How observant,” I said, resisting the urge to reach up and touch my face. Specifically, it was my nose I wanted to cover. That particular appendage had always attracted attention because it was noticeably too big for my face. A narrow jaw and a pointed chin made for a rather striking, if odd, set of features for some people. I wasn’t immune to being self-conscious; I was human, but I worked not to let my appearance bother me too much. And I had to admit I had garnered enough attention over the years to know that, apparently, I was at least some people’s cup of tea. “Though, as you pointed out, it is the twenty-first century, you cannot guarantee that I actually have a dick.”
“True...do you?”
“Are you really that curious?”
“See, the problem with you is, you are too reserved to stand up and whip it out. At the same time, I’ve known you long enough to know there’s always a chance the shit head that lives buried deep inside you could come out at any moment. So there’s still a very good chance you might just stand up and whip your dick out.”
“And I’m trying to decide if the possibility excites or disturbs you.”
“Yeahhhhh, that’s...still not giving me a good idea what’s in that head of yours. Please don’t whip your dick out. I canappreciate the looks of another guy, but they, especially their dicks, do next to nothing for me.”
“Next to nothing is not nothing.”
“I don’t like dicks, do you?”
I eyed him again, confused. “What is this sudden interest in my sexuality?”
“It’s more just trying to understand you. I’ve been working with you for a while, and I’ve never seen you talk to a guy or girl like you’re interested.”
“I’m typically dealing with the grieving when I’m here, Mitchell. That environment isn’t conducive to flirtation or finding a date.”
“Okay, good point. That would be creepy.”
“Quite.”
“But I’ve also never heard you talk about a boyfriend or girlfriend, or that you’ve gone on a date.”
“I don’t typically date,” I said with a shrug, turning away from the file because Mitchell wasn’t ready to let the subject drop, so I could get some work done. If I had learned anything from him in the past, indulging him for a while was sufficient to guarantee some peace and quiet later.
“Wow, bad experiences?”
“There have been a couple of bad ones, yes. I suppose you can’t date without a few bad stories. But no, that’s not the reason I don’t date. I just...typically don’t.”
“So if I were to find a girl...or guy for you?”
“No matchmaking. And since you keep coming back to the topic and are showing no signs of backing down, I don’t have a particular sex or gender expression that I find myself attracted to. It’s about the person, not the...packaging they come in.”
“Ohhh, so like...bi? Pan?”
“I’ve never found a label that suits me, so I stick to doing what I know.”
“This from the man who insists on making sure everything in the storage closets is organized and labeled.”
“Labels and organization are necessary in a workplace. It’s not necessary in one’s personal life.”
