He says, “Uh, what the hell? I mean, I’m not complaining—trust me—but what the hell?”
“I know—I probably shouldn’t have kissed you like that, but I had a good reason.”
He leans back against the wall and shrugs. “It’s the dimple, right?” he jokes, smiling.
“It’s a hell of a dimple,” I admit, “but that’s not why I couldn’t hold back. Listen, this is going to sound shitty, but just stick with me, ok?” He nods and I keep going. “My ex out there, Chaz, he—”
“Your ex’s name is Chaz?” Will asks, interrupting. “I’m not trying to be an asshole, but that should have been your first clue he’s a douchecanoe.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s a family name.”
“A family of douches,” he quips, and I can’t help cracking a smile.
“Anyway,” I continue, “Chaz is…a little persistent, so he’s been trying to get a hold of me, and even though I made it completely clear that we’re over, I thought maybe he needed a visual of just how over we actually are.”
“And that’s why you kissed me?”
“That’s why I kissed you.”
“How bad was it?” he asks, shifting his weight, and that’s when I realize this nervousness isn’t all for show. What he said earlier sort of clicks into place.
“It wasn’t bad at all,” I tell him. “You were there—was it bad for you?”
“No, it wasn’t, but I was kinda caught off guard. And I froze a little. And I know you’re supposed to move, but not too much. And I know there’s no biting—”
“Biting? Um, I’m pretty sure that’s an only-on-request kind of thing.”
“Yeah, I know that now,” he mumbles. “But back to our kiss…” He’s rubbing his neck with the back of his hand.
This guy. It’s the earnestness for me. The absolute honesty—he’s so damn open about it all. There’s no pretense with Will Franconetti. Sure, that means he’s a mess sometimes, and maybe a little awkward, but it’s genuine. And genuine is one of the many things Chaz Ashman is not. Maybe it’s that honesty that makes me reach my hand out and press a finger to his lips, effectively silencing him.
“I’m in,” I say. “I’ll be your dating coach.”
“For real?”
I nod. “Yep. For real, in real life. You said three dates, right?”
“Yeah, three should work. Unless I’m a total mess—which I promise not to be. And I’ll be completely sober, I swear.”
“That’s a good start,” I joke. “And you want the basics, right? What to talk about on a date? What to do? Maybe another kissing tutorial?”
“Yes, that. Exactly that,” he says.
“Perfect. Then we have a deal.”
Will’s grinning ear-to-ear now. “So, we’ll keep this between us, right? The fact that I need lessons? I mean, I’m not embarrassed about being a virgin or anything, but I really don’t want to tell the guys I’m so bad at dating that I need a personal trainer, you know?”
I have a feeling that cat’s out of the bag, but I bite my tongue. “No worries. We can keep it quiet. It’ll be our secret. And after three lessons, you won’t need to hide anything. The girls will be flocking to you, begging for dates.”
“Yeah, ok,” he laughs. “But seriously, thank you. I feel like you should be getting something out of this. You know, besides getting to spend extra time in my company,” he says with a smirk.
“Oh, I’m definitely getting something out of it,” I say, pointing past the doorway and into the coffee shop. “We are gonna walk back out there together, stroll right on past Chaz, and leave together, while he watches. It doesn’t look like any of your teammates are here, but if anyone spots us, just tell them you were helping me steer clear of an unwelcome customer. Got it?”
“Let’s do this,” he tells me, reaching his hand out. I take it because this is going to work out great. I’ll give him a few tips, and he’ll help me show Chaz that I have moved on. Easy-peasey.
19
Will
