The Seduction Game

“Twenty,” Kate replied, thinking of the tees.

Meg gave the shop owner a shove on the back. Probably she was trying to be sneaky about it, but Kate saw it due to the fact that Lacy toppled forward a little. “Didn’t you say it was reduced to twenty?” Meg asked. Well “asked” might have been the wrong word. More like prompted.

“I did,” Lacy agreed, steadying herself against the wall.

Damn her. The net was closing in fast and Kate tried desperately for a way out. “I’d rather have the tees,” she said quickly. “And maybe I could get some shorts to go with them?”

“I’m not going to sell you any tees,” Lacy said. “Shorts, yes, but not today. Next time. Now, get changed. I’ll go ring it up.”

The other woman disappeared from view, leaving Kate alone with Meg. Kate glared at her friend as she reached around her to close the curtain. “You so put her up to that.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Meg said airily. “It was reduced.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Turn around,” Meg said. “Lemme help you get this off.”

Kate turned, and though she wanted to rally at her friend’s manipulations, she couldn’t. Meg was looking out for her, as always. Sure, she might not be the most subtle about it, but that was just Meg. No need to use a feather when an entire bird would do.

“I love this material. It feels so cool.”

“Do you think Will—” Kate began, but Meg cut her off as she pulled the dress over her head.

“He’ll think you’re gorgeous in this dress,” Meg said as soon as Kate was free. “I bet he thinks it no matter what you wear because you are gorgeous, babe.”

“Then why do I need it?”

“Because it will make you feel pretty,” Meg said. “And that’s a good thing. You’ll be geeky gorgeous.”

“But it’s not me at all,” Kate whispered.

“Then why did you pick it up?” Meg asked.

She shrugged, unable to explain what had prompted her to pick up the dress in a way that didn’t make her sound like a complete dork. “Because it caught my eye. Because it’s pretty and because…”

“What?”

“Because I wanted to look like a grown-up,” Kate finally admitted.

Meg paused as she folded the dress. After a moment she placed a hand on Kate’s shoulder and caught her eye. “You do look like a grown-up.”

“I don’t,” Kate argued. “Neither of us do.”

Meg looked down at her own outfit, a crop top over a pair of denim dungarees. Her hips were visible and Kate could see the inkings running along them. “Well, I guess it depends what your definition of a grown-up is.”

“I was thinking of…”

“What?”

Kate crossed her arms over her belly, embarrassment giving her a prod. Part of her didn’t want to admit to Meg what she was thinking where Will was concerned, and yet Meg was her very best friend. Who else would she possibly admit it to?

“I was thinking about the women Will has dated in the past,” she said in a rush. “How they probably looked.”

“Boring,” Meg said quickly.

“Not nerds, that’s for sure. Not like me.”

“You’re a very attractive nerd.”

“Uh-huh,” Kate said with a laugh. “The line of men can vouch for that.”

Meg sighed, and when she spoke there was a serious tone to her voice that Kate seldom heard. “There would be a line if you’d let there be, Katie. You’ve spent so long wrapped up in your own little world that you’ve let the actual world pass you by.”

Kate paused, Meg’s words echoing in her mind. Was there any truth to them? For sure, Kate had been insulating herself for the past few years. She could admit that. But she’d been so heartbroken after her parents’ deaths, and then finishing her college degree had taken every bit of energy she had. Then she’d spent so long trying to get K.I.T. off the ground…the years had slipped away…

“I only say this because you’re venturing past that now,” Meg added. “And I think it’s because at last you’re ready. I want this to work out for you. I want you to have fun. To be wild. To enjoy the experience.”

“Dating Will, though,” Kate said slowly. “It feels like…”

“What?”

Like she was out of her depth. Like she was caught up in something she didn’t even understand. “A little surreal,” Kate said after a moment. “Like it doesn’t make sense.”

“It’d probably feel like that with anyone,” Meg said, shaking her head, her many, many little braids bouncing as she did so. “It’s because you’re just getting back in the saddle.”

“I don’t think so,” Kate whispered as she grabbed her tee. “The whole Will thing…it feels different from the dates I had in college.”

Meg frowned. “Explain.”

Kate pulled her tee on, struggling a little with both it and her thoughts. After a moment she voiced the one that most bothered her. The one she’d wrestled with late last night as she Googled his name over and over. “He is so out of my league.”

“He is not!”

Kate groaned. She’d found a couple of articles on Will using an obscure search engine and a line or two of her own code. Business awards… charity donations…he lived in an entirely different world.

“Meggie,” she said slowly. “The man is a millionaire. And he’s painfully hot. Even I can see how hot he is.”

“So what,” Meg demanded. “He’s just a man. A man with feelings like any other. And don’t think they don’t have feelings, Katie. All this media bullshit about how men are all stoic and shit is lies.” She rolled her eyes. “They feel just as much as we do. They can get their hearts broken just as easily.”

“Will Thornton? Brokenhearted by me?” Kate snorted. “I doubt it. It’s never going to get that far.”

“What do you mean?”

Kate shrugged. “He wants to date me. Wants to sleep with me. But it’s not like we’re going to end up in a real relationship, is it? He moves in a completely different world. If not for The Risings we would never have crossed paths.”

“You don’t know what will happen,” Meg argued. “No one ever does when they start dating someone. It might be the start of a flaming affair that burns itself out as fast as it arrives. Or it could turn into something longer lasting. The only way to know is to go with the flow.”

“I’m scared,” Kate said softly, shivering a little from the admission. “A flaming affair terrifies me.”

“Because of the sex thing?” Meg whispered.

Kate stepped into her jeans and buttoned them back up. “Because it’s a big step. And then there’s The Risings to consider. How much of that is influencing Will?”

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Meg said. “But if it doesn’t feel right, or you think Will’s motivation is wrong, then you don’t have to do it. The moment things feel weird you can simply leave. Dating someone doesn’t give them any rights. You explore together or not at all.”

“But I think I want to,” Kate admitted. “Even with The Risings between us, even though we’re so different. Even though I know he is out of my league. He makes me feel things that I’ve never felt before. When I’m near him it’s like there’s a switch that has been turned on.”