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“I don’t have a kink. I’m completely vanilla.”
Garrett narrows his eyes at me, and I bite my bottom lip to hold back my bashful smile. “It’s always the quiet ones.”
“What?” I laugh.
“I bet you’re the kinkiest person at this table,” he jokes, and I let out a loud laugh.
I wish he was right.
* * *
A couple hours later,we’re in the parking lot saying our goodbyes. Emerson walks me to my car, like he does every week, and as I pull my keys out of my purse, he lets out a laugh.
“Garrett has some crazy ideas,” he says.
“He does,” I reply, thinking nothing of it.
“This one could actually work, though. Don’t you think?”
As we reach my car, I stare up at him. “No, I don’t think it would.”
His face falls. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t know a single woman who would feel comfortable giving away that information without it feeling exploitative. The minute we admit we’re the least bit kinky, men take it as a personal invitation to overstep.”
“What if we vetted our members? Put safety protocols in place. Made it more welcoming to women.”
I tilt my head and shrug. “I don’t know. I guess I’m not the best person to ask. I’m not as…sex-driven as you guys are.”
“Well, I wouldn’t do it without you,” he replies, and my lips tighten into a thin smile at that. I believe him, and I don’t know what Emerson sees in me that no one else does, but my world would be a better place if more men could have an ounce of the respect he does.
“Then, I guess it’s a good thing it’s just a crazy idea,” I joke as I unlock my car and pull open the driver’s side door.
“It doesn’t have to be,” he adds, and I pause. Slowly, I turn toward him with a bad feeling in my gut.
“You’re not serious.”
“Maggie, let’s be honest. The company we work for has three monthsat best. I don’t want to just move on to another shitty entertainment company that doesn’t have new ideas. I’m ready forourideas. I think the four of us can do something amazing.”
I squint at him. “You’ve been collecting us for a business, haven’t you? This whole time I thought we were friends,” I joke. He laughs with a devilish smile.
“You love me,” he says with a cheesy smile.
“No, I don’t,” I reply, tossing my purse in the passenger seat. After I climb in and start my car, Emerson leans over, staring at me with a shameless grin.
“Say you’ll help me. I’m serious, Maggie. I think this could be amazing, and I can’t do it without you.”
The fight in me dissipates as I let out a sigh. What are my choices? I know he’s right about the company going under; it’s already happening. And if I don’t move on with Emerson, then I’ll be forced to go back into event planning or working for some asshole who thinks I’m nothing more than his secretary, programmed to take orders and get coffee. I refuse to go back to that.
Looking up at him with a stern expression, I relent. “Fine, but we have to make it inviting for women. Not like some shady hookup app.”
He slaps my car with a smile. “Of course. Whatever you say.”
“It has to be a no-judgment zone foreveryone. And safety is the top priority.”
“I agree,” he replies with a serious expression.
“I don’t know how you’re going to keep members safe without a physical location to let them meet at, though.”
