Page 54 of Say My Name

Her head turns slowly. “Our hands brushed. It’s not a data point.”

“I remember you making a similar argument about my mouth.”

“We’re working.”

“We finished.”

She checks the last line of the document. “Now we’re finished.”

I sit back. “Are your birthday drinks intended to provide a larger sample?”

“Of what?”

“Compatibility.”

“That one kiss seems to have encouraged your ego.”

“My ego wasn’t the part of me receiving encouragement.”

Her eyes drop for an instant before she looks at me again.

She picks up her mug and discovers the coffee has gone cold. “That was almost subtle.”

“I wasn’t aiming for subtle.”

“I noticed.”

“I remember what you said after the kiss.”

“That it proved nothing?”

“That’s the part you keep repeating.”

“Because it’s true.”

“What would you consider sufficient evidence?”

Elena turns the mug in her hands. “I haven’t developed testing criteria.”

“I’m surprised. You normally arrive with a binder.”

“That binder concerns having a child. It doesn’t contain a section devoted to your sexual performance.”

“You can add one.”

“I’m sure your attorneys would find a way to bill for it.”

“I’d pay them.”

She laughs and shakes her head.

I watch her take a sip, realize again that the coffee is cold, and put it down. “I like hearing you laugh.”

Her fingers go still around the mug.

Her smile fades, replaced by something more serious. The air in the room shifts. The professional pretext is gone, leaving just the two of us after work, with the memory of that kiss hanging between us.

Elena looks at me. “You can’t say things like that here.”