Max:Even though we’ll both be busy, perhaps we can steal a moment to eat some cheese together?
My cheeks flushed even more.
“You’re blushing.” Sarah pointed at me.
“I think he’s trying to use cheese to flirt with me.”
“Oh my God, he’s your perfect man,” Sarah sighed.
“He’s seducing me with cheese,” I repeated.
“Who’s seducing you with cheese?” Russ’s head was back round the corner again.
“Llama-man,” Sarah said.
“No. Absolutely not. You cannot make llama-man his moniker. It makes me think of something half man, half llama,” Yo said firmly.
“And then that raises the question of which half is llama and which half is man,” Russ added.
“Exactly.” Yo visibly cringed and so did I.
I looked back down at my phone and typed a message back.
Leigh:What cheese do you have in mind?
Max:What cheese do you suggest for a professional semi-work-related date with a cheese connoisseur?
“He just used the word ‘date.’ ” I looked up at everyone quickly.
“Ask him what kind of date?” Yo clicked her fingers at my phone. But I didn’t have time to type back, as he sent a response through immediately.
Max:Unless you don’t like to mix business and pleasure?
I almost died. “And now he’s using the word ‘pleasure.’ ”
“Okay, perfect, now segue into the sex part. Type, ‘What kind of pleasure did you have in mind?’ ” Sarah said.
“Babe! So forward,” Russ scolded playfully.
“I agree. I’m not typing that. That’s too much. That’s crossing the line.” I looked at Sarah and she raised her brows at me. I raised mine back and we held each other’s gazes. We didn’t need to talk to each other—we had known each other for so long, and been through so much, that our conversations often happened telepathically. Then I moved my eyes over to Yo who gave me a smile that I knew exactly how to interpret.
“You two are such bad influences,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m supposed to be on a detox.”
“Fuck detoxes,” Sarah said. “They never work anyway; you just land up binge eating everything in sight afterwards.”
“And anyone who says they actually like celery juice is lying,” Yo added.
“Okay, fine! Fine!” I started typing . . .Oh my God I was probably going to regret this.
“I can’t watch this,” Russ declared, and disappeared again.
Leigh:That depends on what kind of pleasure we’re talking about.
“Shit! I regret that,” I said instantly. “I should delete it, quickly—nope, two blue ticks.” I inhaled, holding my breath, knowing full well that I had just officially walked us both over the line.
Line Crossed
Max:I’ve learned over the years that pleasure is very subjective.
