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Gia gasped, aghast. “How can you call it stupid? That thing is brilliant. In case you forgot, it was the 8-Ball that said it was decidedly so, when you wanted to know if you should ask Alison to the seventh-grade dance. And it said you could rely on your college major as a good choice. You should show a little more gratitude.”
She’d gotten the Magic 8-Ball for her fourth-grade birthday, consulting it on practically every decision she and her friends had made for the rest of that school year. After that, the habit stuck. Some kids had teddy bears for comfort; Gia had the Magic 8-Ball. When she was younger, it had counseled her through first loves, test stress, and a bunch of other shit that seemed terribly important when she was a tween.
Nowadays, she just pulled it out every now and again for a laugh, Gus jokingly referring to it as her schtick or party trick.
“Magic 8-Ball, huh,” Xander mused. “I remember when you used to carry that thing around with you all the time. You seriously still ask it questions?”
She nodded, feigning a solemn tone. “It is wise and all-knowing. I’m not sure where I’d be without it.”
Xander chuckled as he leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his light brown hair before taking a swig of his beer. He crossed one ankle over his knee, and Gia couldn’t help but notice his muscular thighs. For a man who spent a tremendous amount of time sitting behind a desk, Xander was in very good shape. But what she noticed more than his fit physique was the quiet confidence that exuded from him. He was comfortable in his own skin, and that was a huge turn-on. She’d bet her beloved VW Bug that Xander was shit-hot in bed.
For a moment, she found herself reflecting on last night’s fantasy. In it, Xander hadn’t just gone down on her. He’d also tied her to the bed, withholding her orgasm until she gave in to his demand that she call him “sir” while promising to be a good girl.
Damn Lacy and her penchant for oversharing about her sex life with Logan after a few glasses of wine. It was her beloved cousin who had sparked Gia’s desire to experience domination and submission in the bedroom nearly a year earlier. Ever since Lacy told her about some of the things she and her new boyfriend had done, Gia had become obsessed, reading countless erotic romance novels about BDSM and Daddy Doms.
A popular song came on, several people giving a cheer and quickly hopping up and rushing to dance.
“Alllllly…” Gus wiggled his eyebrows and Alison laughed.
“He loves this song,” Alison explained, standing and ready to hit the dance floor.
Gia and Xander observed as the couple made their way through the throng of gyrating bodies, moving in time with the upbeat dance number.
She watched them for a moment, toying with the idea of asking Xander if he wanted to dance, then dismissing it. He didn’t strike her as the bump-and-grind type.
“So…what prompted the breakup, if you don’t mind me asking?” Xander asked. “You and Mark dated for quite a while.”
“Four years. And honestly,” Gia replied with a grin, “we broke up because of a sitcom.”
Xander chuckled, assuming she was joking.
She wasn’t.
“Seriously?”
She nodded. “You ever watch Ted Lasso?”
Xander took a sip of beer. “Of course. It was conform and watch it, or be completely lost during all the water cooler conversations at work.”
“Well, I love it. I’ve watched all three seasons half a dozen times.”
Xander made a face like that was a bit over-the-top, but then he admitted, “I’ve seen most of the shows a couple of times. But I’m confused how Ted Lasso screwed up your relationship. Don’t tell me you dumped Mark because he didn’t like it.”
She shook her head. “No. It was nothing like that. There was this one show where Roy and Keeley go on a double date with Rebecca and some new man she’s seeing.”
“I remember that one.”
“There’s this line that Roy says after the date, when Rebecca is asking them what they thought of the guy. Keeley tells her he’s fine, but then Roy kind of loses it, says Rebecca deserves to feel like she’s been struck by lightning. That she should never settle for just fine.”
Xander leaned back, and she could tell he understood where she was going with this. “You were settling for fine with Mark.”
“No. Worse. I was settling for meh.”
Xander winced. “That’s not good.”
“Tell me about it. I spent years with Mark, working overtime to convince myself he was the man of my dreams, that I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him, but the truth was…I was settling. I’m twenty-six years old, Xander, and I’ve known for at least the last twenty of those how I want my life to play out,” she said, grinning at her exaggeration. “I want to live in Maris, want to work at the restaurant, and want to find what my sister, Jeannette, found.”
“Two men?” he joked.
