Page 94 of Power Play

“You kiss her.”

“That part is recreational.”

Easton laughed while Briggs lifted both hands.

“You’re dating her with cowardly vocabulary.”

“I’m not scared of calling it something.”

“What are you scared of?”

The answer came easily.

“Her feeling like she has to say yes because she thinks that’s what I want.”

Briggs went quiet, and Cade nodded once.

“That I understand.”

I looked at him.

“Then give her enough information to choose.”

That sat better than anything else.

My phone buzzed again.

Charm: I checked Brown’s assignment. He actually assigned Tennyson. You manifested this.

I smiled while answering.

Ryan: You’ll survive.

Charm: That sounded disturbingly confident.

Ryan: Somebody has to be confident about you.

The typing bubble appeared, vanished, then returned.

Charm: You are becoming a problem.

I leaned back in the booth.

Ryan: You like problems.

Charm: I like one problem. Unfortunately.

Briggs leaned halfway across the table trying to see the screen, and I angled the phone away.

“Back up.”

“That smile is criminal.”

“Mind your fucking business.”

Cade checked the time. “You tutoring her today?”

“Yeah.”