At this, his entire being perked up like a dog who has just heard the front door open.
“So that’s a yes?” He grinned. “That’s great! Wow, okay. We could…I don’t know, we could go bowling?”
Lucky shook her head.
“No sports. No organized fun of any kind. Next.”
Riley frowned.
“Right. No fun. Okay.”
“Organized fun,” corrected Lucky. “I’m not a monster. I don’t hate fun. I just hate it being forced upon me.”
Riley gulped seriously.
“Totally,” he said. “Me too.”
Lucky swallowed her smile. This seemed patently untrue since Riley’s personality so far was like every activity from a child’s birthday party rolled into one. But she appreciated his effort.
“I know!” he exclaimed. “We could go dancing. I’m a great dancer.”
Now, Lucky could not contain her smile.
“You’re not meant to say that about yourself,” she said.
“But I am. Seriously. I’ve had a lot of practice. I was part of the Kentucky Fried Hotties dance troupe back home.”
Before she could stop herself, Lucky snorted through her nose.
“The what?”
“Kentucky Fried Hotties. We’d dance at, like, ladies’ bachelorette parties. Sometimes birthdays too.”
Lucky put a hand to his chest to steady herself.
“Wait a minute, you were a stripper?”
Riley grinned.
“I prefer adult entertainer, but yeah.”
“Okay, I’m going to need to hear more.”
Riley grinned, clearly delighted to have caught her attention so fully.
“I did gymnastics until college, but then I got injured and lost my scholarship, so I joined the dance troupe for a few years. It was great money, honestly. One of the bachelorettes ended up being a model scout, so that’s how I came out here.”
Lucky took a small step back and regarded him more thoughtfully. One thing she should never underestimate, she thought, was a person’s capacity to surprise her.
“Before I say yes,” she said seriously, “I’m going to need to see these famous Kentucky Fried moves.”
Without hesitation, Riley lifted up his shirt and did a body roll that rippled from his head down to his chest and stomach, the muscles of his abs contracting rhythmically. He finished it with a liquid rotation of his hips. Lucky couldn’t help herself, she squealed with delight like any bachelorette. Riley beamed.
“You should see me on a pole,” he said.
Lucky shrieked again.
“You cannot do that on a pole!”
“Oh man, after gymnastics, I can do anything upside down. Only problem is, the nerve endings in your legs die.” He patted the back of his knees. “Like here? I can’t feel a thing.”
Lucky stepped toward him and reached down so her face was at the height of his chest. She pinched the tender skin behind his right knee, and in doing so pressed her cheek to his torso.
“Can you feel that?” she asked, pulling the taut skin hidden behind his kneecap.
Riley looked over her head and tried to stifle his laugh.
“No, ma’am.”
Lucky dropped to all fours. The bathroom floor was not exactly clean, but she didn’t care. She was partially under the sink, its old iron pipes clanging softly. She twisted her head around so she could see the back of his leg and gently bit the skin behind his knee.
“What about this?” she asked, her teeth still holding his flesh.
He laughed lightly.
“That,” he said, “I can feel.”
Riley stayed very still, a willing prey in Lucky’s wide wolf jaw.
