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It couldn’t hurt to ask. He wasn’t committing himself to any course of action by doing so.
“I need some advice,” he said, keeping his voice low as he pulled out a stool.
“Youneed advice fromme.” She laughed. “The chief courtier needs the bartender to tell him what to do?”
“Yes. Keep your voice down.”
“All right.” She moved to stand directly across from his stool and raised her eyebrows.
“How does one...”
“Yes?” she prompted.
“How does one initiate a casual sexual encounter?”
“Are youkiddingme?”
“I am not. I figure you—”
“Are you calling my morals into question?” she exclaimed.
“No!” Oh, wait, she was teasing him, as evidenced by the twinkle in her eye. He hadn’t been referring to her personal life, though a woman as gregarious and pretty as she was certainly must have her share of offers. “I merely meant that as a bartender, you must see...” He waved his hand around. “Casual encounters.” He kept waving. “Or the, ah...” More waving. “Lead-up to them.”
“That’s certainly true. May I ask with whom you would like to have this casual encounter?”
“You may not.”
“Well, may I ask if you have a specific person in mind, or if anyone will do? Because if you’re not picky, an app is the way to go.”
“Oh, no, no apps. I do have a particular person in mind.”
“You don’t say.” She smirked.
“Are you going to help me, or are you going to mock me?”
She sobered. “I’m going to help you. What seems to be the trouble? Are you—Wait.” She lowered her voice. “Are you a virgin?”
“No.” Good lord. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Well, youareasking me for sex advice.”
“I’m not asking you for sex advice! I’m asking you for... logistical advice.” He did realize how ridiculous that sounded. All right. There was no reason not to level with her. “It’s been a while. And in the past, I always limited my, uh, activities to within the context of relationships. So this manner of approach is new to me.”
“All right. I understand.” She had dropped her teasing manner, which he appreciated. “Do you have a reasonable sense that this person might be open to the kind of arrangement you’re suggesting?”
He considered the question. He thought of staring at Cara in her bed as something shifted between them. “A reasonable sense? Yes. Am I certain? No.”
“Well, I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest you just... ask the person in question.”
“Just ask,” he echoed.
“Yes. You do this thing where you open your mouth and you form your lips into words.”
“Is being that direct advisable?”
“Look, what I hear you saying is that you’re not looking for romance, for anything long-term. So why not just ask? I mean, don’t be gross about it. Take no for an answer.”
“Well, of course.” He was a little piqued that she wouldn’t know that went without saying. “But you think simply asking is better than . . . making a move?”
