This bad boy’s proven to be an irresistably good lay; maybe it’s because he’s an admitted asshole whose self-awareness is more endearing than loathsome. But I have a hunch that it’s more than that. Both my sexual and intellectual match, he’s hardly intimidated by my self-proclaimed bad reputation. That’s not only a rarity nowadays, but a turn-on.

As such, there are things I let slide with Josh that no one else would get away with. For example, text messaging me at three in the morning expecting booty call services. But I find it impossible to refuse his company if only because I can’t wait to hear the lines he’ll use this time.

“So what are you doing here?” I asked him two weekends ago. “I have a big crush on you,” he slyly responded. It’s retorts like these that make it difficult for me to turn him down. I can’t quite call him charming but I can’t accuse him of sleaziness either. He’s somewhere in between — smooth and smug with a smirk to match. Our banter and foreplay is like one elaborate inside joke. He knows how to handle me so that I never feel like I’m giving in or letting him win. I know that even though I can drive, I prefer handing him the keys and enjoying the ride.

The first time we hooked up was after our second meeting, when I pegged him as a potential candidate for a friend. Since he was just a degree removed from someone do-able, Josh was unfathomable as a hookup and never even made it onto my own radar. He might as well have been gay, which is probably why I let myself act so flirtatious around him. I leaned into him while I laughed, returned his mischievious glances, and whispered comebacks with my cheek against his. As we drank, danced, and partied among mutual friends, it didn’t occur to me that this attractive, smart-mouthed stranger could end up in my own bed.

Behind his shoulders, I saw Leslie mouthing a distinct “NO” when she noticed our shameless behavior. Around me, my pals were raising their eyebrows in a similarly disapproving fashion. They were mistaken, I thought. As rash as I am, my associations simply ruled him out as sex material, which was precisely why I let myself put on a show. Even I had better judgment than to act on that sort of impulse. Besides, I already had plans in mind for setting him up with someone. Josh, however, had different plans …

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