“What do you want to do now?” she asks.

“What were you doing before I arrived?”

“Just watching TV.”

“Well, we could do that together.”

“Uh, we can, but I was watching bad reality TV.”

“That’s okay.” I’m likely going to be watching Charlene and not the TV, so the content is basically irrelevant.

I follow her to the living room, which is cozy, like the rest of her house. It looks like she was sitting on the couch, curled up with a blanket. I drop down at the end that’s blanket free and adjust the pillow behind me.

Charlene folds the blanket and drapes it neatly over the back of the couch, then takes a seat on the other end. She fidgets. Picks up her half-consumed hot chocolate and takes a sip while she unmutes the TV.

I glance at the screen. “What is this?”

“Teen Baby Daddy. I told you I was watching bad reality TV.”

“Wow. So this is really a show?”

“I can change it.” She reaches for the remote, her cheeks flushing.

I cover her hand with mine. “No. Don’t do that. It’s fine.”

“Sometimes I like to watch reality TV because it reminds me how easy my life is in comparison. But we can do something else if you want.” She sets her hot chocolate on the side table and shifts closer. She looks shy and uncertain as she leans in, brushing her lips over the edge of my jaw. “Thank you, for the flowers and the chocolate. That was a nice surprise.”

I have to fight with my body not to turn my head, slip my fingers in her hair and taste her mouth. I imagine she’s sweet like chocolate right now. I remind myself that I have another purpose for being here that isn’t supposed to be about sex. If it’s offered, I don’t want to say no, though, especially since I’m going to be away for a few days and all I’ll have is my hand to keep me company.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay after last night and your afternoon with the girls.”

She sits back, putting distance between us again. I don’t like it. Maybe I should’ve sat in the middle of the couch, then she’d have to sit next to me. “Oh. Right, of course. Do you want to know what I told them?”

“Only if you want to tell me.” I pick up the nail polish sitting on the coffee table and tap the end of her single, painted toe. “Don’t you usually go to the spa for this?”

“I was going to make an appointment for when you’re away.”

“Would you like me to make one for you?” I shift and set her foot in my lap. “I could arrange to have Violet join you.”

“You don’t have to go to the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble. You could have a whole day at the spa if you’d like.” I run my thumb along her instep. “In the meantime, I could paint these for you while you get your TV fix.” I wiggle her big toe.

“Just as long as this isn’t the beginning of a foot fetish, have at it,” she says.

“I think you know all of my fetishes by now.” I start to unscrew the cap but Charlene stops me.

“You have to shake it first.”

“Like real paint.”

“Exactly.”

Charlene’s feet are delicate, much like the rest of her. I definitely don’t have a foot fetish, but I can appreciate that even her feet are pretty. While Charlene indulges in brain candy, I focus on the task of painting her toenails. It isn’t exactly easy. I have to use a Q-Tip dipped in polish remover a couple of times when I mess up, since Charlene’s toes are small, and my hands are not.

“I think Miller has a foot fetish,” Charlene says as I finish the first coat. She’s informed me already that they’ll require two, which is fine with me. I’m touching her, and I’d like to continue doing so in a way that doesn’t make it seem like I’m here just for sex.

“How do you know that?”

Charlene arches an eyebrow. “Sunny mentioned that he likes to paint her toenails.”

“I’m painting your toenails, and I don’t have a foot fetish.”

“She also told us he likes to kiss her toes, and her face went completely red when she said that, so I have a feeling he might like to do more than that.”

“You girls certainly like to share.”

Her eyes stay fixed on her mug. “I keep it pretty vague. Violet always draws her own conclusions.”

I wonder how much harm I’ve done her in asking to maintain such a high level of privacy. In doing so, I’m responsible, in part, for creating some of the distance in this relationship. My own secrets don’t make it any better.

“And that’s how you managed today?” I ask.

“No one made a big deal out of it. Except Violet and her Area 51 fears, but those are kind of justified, so . . .”