Page 81 of Let's Kiss and Tell

I scoff. “I have no problem with that word.”

“Then say it,” she says, but I don’t comply. “I seriously don’t understand.” She adjusts in her seat. “You talk openly about the murder cases you’re writing about. How is that any less offensive or inappropriate?”

I unfortunately don’t have a rebuttal.

“Oh my god…” She’s full-blown smiling now. “Youareuncomfortable!”

“I amnotuncomfortable,” I say. “Maybe I just don’t want to be talking about women’s breasts in public.”

“You can say breasts but you can’t say tit?” Lucy raises aneyebrow, and I still don’t have a comeback. She then grabs her laptop with one hand, takes my hand in the other, and stands up. “Come on.”

“What are you doing?” I follow her.

“We’re going to my car.” She swiftly walks down the block and around the corner, my hand still in her grip.

We approach her white Jeep, and although I amthoroughlyconfused, I do what she says when she tells me to get inside.

“I only have like twenty minutes left on my meter—”

“We’re not going anywhere,” she says, and once we’re both inside she turns to me. “Say tit.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“Say tit.”

I’m on the verge of laughing in her face, but she’s so fucking serious, I don’t think that would go over well.

“Why?” I ask.

“After college, when I started writing sex stories and had to pitch them to my editor, it was always really awkward for me,” she starts. “Writing about all these topics was no problem.Sayingthem to someone else felt weird. It was uncomfortable having to say certain things out loud.”

“Lucy, I’m not uncomf—”

“So, what I would do,” she continues, “is sit by myself and say words that I wouldn’t normally. I desensitized myself…and it helped!”

What she’s saying weirdly makes a ton of sense.

“I don’t see how this is helpful for me.”

“You’re writing a story about sex work.” She puts out her hand to make a point. “How can you conduct these interviews if you can’t even talk about sex comfortably?”

I raise an eyebrow. “So you’re going to make me sit here and say a bunch of words?”

“Unless you go outside and saytitsandcum guzzlerwithout breaking a sweat, then yes. And trust me, it does wonders for the bedroom.”

I frown. “How?”

“Women love dirty talk,” she says in a way that makes the hairs on my arms stand. “Ready?”

One of these days, I’m going to have a backbone when it comes to this woman.

“Fine.” I sigh and lift my glasses to pinch the bridge of my nose. “But I think we need to say for the record that whatever is said in this car cannot and will not be used against me?”

“I promise.” Lucy laughs.

“Okay.” I crack my neck. “Tits…. Happy?”

There’s a slight twitch at the corner of Lucy’s mouth. She’s far from finished.