Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Reid

Why? Why was I entertaining this ridiculous idea? This wasn’t going to happen. No way was I agreeing to this.

Except I was absolutely agreeing to this. She looked so earnest and adorable and I couldn’t say no when she begged me. Sweet girls had always been my downfall. Case in point: her sister.

But there was a softness to Sophie that Kaylee hadn’t had. Since Kaylee had been the older sister, she’d been more of a go-getter. More aggressive.

Sophie wasn’t like that. I’d remembered that she was an anxious kid and I guess that had followed her into adulthood. That was rough. Cade had ADHD and it sometimes caused her to have anxiety about social situations. She was more outgoing than Sophie, though. I’d paid attention and noticed that she didn’t have anyone over to her place that I had seen.

She was bright, though. And funny. There was just something about her that made you want to step closer. At least she had that effect on me.

Which was how I found myself listening as she laid out this outlandish plan for me to “teach” her my sapphic skills. Like I was some kind of expert. She was right that I’d seen a lot of people at Sapph. I’d heard a lot of bad lines, seen a lot of people strike out and fail. I’d seen more than a few successful seductions too.

Sophie kept talking and all I could do was stare at her face. Now that I’d been around her more, I could fully separate her from Kaylee. The similarities hadn’t completely faded, but I could see her now as Sophie, and not just as an imitation of Kaylee.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? I figured since you don’t really like me, it’s easy to keep things very platonic. You know, mentor and mentee.”

I held my hand up to stop her before she kept going.

“I don’t hate you, Sophie,” I said. Her eyes went wide. “I know things were rough when we first saw each other, but I’m working on that. You don’t deserve to be permanently tied to what your sister did.” That was the truth.

She bit her lip and nodded. The urge to reach out and pull that lip out of her mouth was strong. I clenched my hands behind my back instead.

“How is Kaylee?” I asked and my tone sounded fake in my own ears, but I was making an attempt.

Sophie gave me a look of surprise. “Do you really want to know? Or are you just trying to be polite?”

I snorted. “The second thing.”

Sophie nodded. “I figured. We don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to. Ever. And I haven’t told her that you’re here. That we live so close to each other.”

That was surprising. I assumed she would have.

“You can tell her. I don’t care.” I knew I sounded defensive, but I didn’t care. I was allowed to be defensive about this.

She sighed. “I don’t want to get into all that.” Her eyes snapped to mine. “So. When are you free? I work part time, but I think we can figure out when we can hang out together. Do you want to do it at my place or here?”

We were doing this. I was going to teach my ex’s little sister how to pick up women. This was the plot of a very bad movie, but Sophie had begged me, and I was weak.

“Do I get snacks if we do it at your place?” I asked.

“Absolutely. What do you want? I’ll get whatever it is. Thank you for doing this, Reid. I know you don’t have to, but I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.”

Well, fuck. Now I wanted to give her a hug and I wasn’t a hugger. What was this woman doing to me?

“I do like cupcakes,” I said. “That was just a bad day for me.”

“Oh,” she said, smiling. “Good. Cupcakes it is. What kind?”

“Chocolate. I really like chocolate.”

“That works. You still want the peaches?”

I moved toward the bowl to stop her from taking them back.

“Yeah, I still want the peaches. I’ll bring the bowl back next time we see each other.”

She pulled her phone out and fiddled with it. Wordlessly, I put my hand out and she unlocked it and gave it to me.

I typed in my number and then gave it back to her. I’d put myself in as Jedi Master Reid to keep up with the Star Wars theme.

She let out a little giggle and then sent me a message. I put her in my phone as Padawan Sophie.

“Yeah, just let me know when you’re free and, um, we’ll do this.” I couldn’t for the life of me remember exactly what she’d told me these lessons would entail, but I’d figure that out later.

“Sounds good,” I said, and she scurried to the door as if she wanted to escape. Friday night must still be hanging over her head. I was doing my best to act like it had never happened and I didn’t remember any part of it in too-vivid detail.

“Thanks, Reid,” she said before she left.

“You’re welcome,” I said to the closed door.

The peaches were absolutely delicious, and I ate two of them over the sink in the minutes after she left before I looked up peach cobbler recipes online. I only had a handful of the ingredients that I needed, and Sunday was normally when I shopped for groceries, so I added what I was missing to my list and headed out.

While I was going down the aisles and bopping my head to the music, a new message popped up.

Do you prefer chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting? Or something else?

It was from Padawan Sophie.

I hadn’t expected her to send me a message right away, but maybe it was easier for her to talk to me this way than in person.

All chocolate, all the time I told her. I liked all forms of the substance. Milk, dark, white, you name it, I loved it and would shove it in my mouth. Give it to me, right now.

Cade used to be the one always bringing chocolate for me, but now she was living in her mansion with Eloise, so I had to go to her if I wanted the good stuff.

There had definitely been a chocolate deficit in my life, and it was a good thing that Sophie was going to try and fill it. I guess I could give her some dating advice in exchange.

The whole idea of me letting her “practice” her skills on me was strange and interesting, I had to admit. Would this practice get physical? Would it involve kissing or anything else? Lines would have to be drawn, definitely.

I was waiting in a terrible checkout line when I sent her a message.

Have you ever kissed a woman? I sent it before I could ask myself if that was an appropriate question. If I was going to teach her, I at least had to know what she was working with. Something told me we were starting from zero. There was an innocence to Sophie that was both annoying and charming. Annoying in how charming it was.

Those three little dots flashed across my phone and then disappeared. Flashed and disappeared. Sophie didn’t know how to respond to what I’d said.

It’s okay if you haven’t. I just wanted to know what your experience level was. As your teacher.

The checkout line finally moved, and I didn’t get to read her answer until I was pushing my cart through the parking lot to my car.

No. I haven’t. I’ve kissed guys, though. I feel like that doesn’t count because I hated it.

Aw. Poor Sophie. That sucked.

I’m sorry about that. Don’t worry. We’ll get you some good kisses.

I shouldn’t be promising her anything. I wasn’t some kind of dating expert. I definitely wasn’t an expert on women by any means either.

I don’t even know if I’m ready for that. I have to be honest with you Reid, I’m scared. All of this terrifies me.

Yeah, I could tell. She was like a baby deer abandoned in the woods, stumbling around with shaky legs and wide eyes.

It’s going to be okay. I promise. Fuck, I did not need to be making any more promises.

Scoffing at myself, I threw my phone on the passenger seat and loaded my groceries into the car.

This was going to be a complete disaster.