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“Kind of a downer conversation after such a great start,” he said

“Agreed, but one that needs to be had, right?”

He sighed “Yeah,” he said, but he looked as if having this conversation wasn’t high on his priority list “Still a bummer”

“Can we be friends after this?” she asked

“We’re not friends,” he reminded her “We just met”

“And what better way to build a great friendship than letting our naked parts rub up against one another I had an anthropology instructor once tell me that everyone should use sex to defuse conflict, like the bonoboit out and, voilà, everyone is happy again”

“If only things were so easily resolved,” he said wryly, plainly not is platonic going forward

“You seem irritated,” she said “Are you mad?”

“No, notfroument”

“A cute,” she crooned with a laugh, and he broke a s involved with anyone until I have ree in my hot little hand You have no idea how it feels to be the one that everyone writes off I’s worse with my choices, but it still sucks”

“Your brother adores you,” Layton said with a mild frown “And he’s proud of you He’s told me so”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really The only thing he’s ever said that was re to do with that douche you were dating Erik didn’t like him”

No, Erik hadn’t thought ht about it, but she’d been too head over heels in love to see the warning signs “I wish I’d listened to them in the first place and dumped him,” she admitted

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself You know that saying, you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find Prince Char? Well, I think that’s applicable here”