A Good Little Girl Like You (A Sample)

Those boys were well versed in romance languages, but

knew nothing about romance. The only thing they offered

her was a basic introduction to sex. The professor did the

rest. He taught her how to kiss right and how to make love.

And all of them taught her one very important lesson: men

could be dishonest and manipulative. They could actually

be comfortably married and still carry on an affair with a

student thirty years younger than themselves. Rebecca

thought at the time that the professor was deeply in love

with his top student. But the opposite was true. She was the

only one who had fallen in love. He simply had a mistress

for a year and a half.

O.E. is not the professor. Well, he certainly didn't look

much like the professor and seemed much more honest.

But he did have the professor's smooth talk. She squinted at

him. "Excuse me? I didn't know we were ready to make out.

I am impressed. You're pretty sure of yourself."

"Yes, I am. Completely sure. Of both of us." His smile

warmed. "Look, Rebecca. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm

attracted to you. You have a pretty face and a nice body. And

I know you're attracted to me, too. I can see it in your smile.

"Forgive me for being direct, but I can't stand the whole

'dating' routine. So I figured I'd release some of the usual

tension by bringing up that rarely mentioned thing: the

question of the kiss at the end of the evening. Will I make

the first move? Will you? Will we stand there in awkward

silence as our faces draw closer, wondering who will finally

dive in for that kiss? And then, of course, the big question

-will the kiss be any good?" He shook his head and

frowned. "So many questions, so much uncertainty." His

eyes bored into hers again, and she slid away from him on

the wall, trying to make sure he wouldn't take the kiss too

soon. At least he was honest-the professor would never

have been this direct.

O.E. pressed his case. "You're a businesswoman, so let's

get down to business. Let's have that kiss, right now. I'll give

you the best kiss you've ever had in your life. If you don't

agree, I'll leave you alone. But if you do agree that it's a kiss

like no other, you have to go out to dinner with me on

Monday. How's that?"

Sounds wonderful. But she couldn't seem too eager, so

she laughed lightly. "Oscar Ezzo!" She said his name

didactically like a scolding parent, but her head swam as