*Kenneth

Kenneth grunted and tried to maneuver her off his chest without touching anything he shouldn't touch according to the company policy.

The bulge in his pants was an uncomfortable reminder that he needed this date on Friday to be a resounding success. A shout it from the rooftops kind of success. A the next round is on me, everybody, success.

Amanda was classy, blonde, into cosplay, and had a Masters in geology. Score one for science. The stars had aligned when Kenneth swiped for her profile, and he planned on being the one. Or at least the one for one night. He'd start with one night and take it from there.

His body's reaction to Reese's soft body was purely physiological. Understandable, too. With her wavy black hair in a bob, smoky eyes, and dark lips which had the same silky smoothness as her blouse, she had a sultry, flapper-era allure. Any physical reaction on his part to her curves was solely appreciation of her natural attributes. That was all. Dating her was not in the equation, not even in his wildest dreams. He willed his erection to be reasonable. To behave.

She wouldn't see him as anything but a geek from the development floor. That was his life. Fine. So long as she accepted the contract.

Reese growled at him in warning.

He froze. She must have noticed his erection.

"Don't talk about me and my you know what," she said, pointing a threatening finger.

"What?" he asked. Wait. That meant she hadn't noticed his erection, which wasn't calming down. It was...sexy being growled at. His brain backtracked to his last comment. "Your hourly rates?"

"Yes, and my after-hours activities. Just tell me about you."

Kenneth leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and took a deep breath. It was strange to have to bare his soul to a woman in order to get help baring the rest of him to another. "I need your help. I suppose you could say I haven't been the best at the 'dating game.' In fact, I royally suck. When I turned twenty-eight almost a year ago, I decided it was time. I would get—I would go on a date and maybe more with a woman within the year."

"That's great. A concrete, measurable goal. Where are you so far?"

"I signed up for four dating websites, analyzed the competition, and converted the compiled information on why some men are successful and others not into graphs. Then I created a database with all the potentially interesting women for me on a sliding scale and went on one date."

"How long did that take you?"

"Two and a half hours."

"Whoa. You did all that in two and half hours?"

"Oh, you mean the analyzing," he said. The confusion in her expression cleared. "That took me eleven months. I went on my first date in five years a couple of weeks ago."

Her expression was not reassuring. Not in the least. "And the date? How was it?"

"A failure. On all fronts. Would you like to read the report I wrote?"

"Maybe later." She stepped back, hand on her hip, and scrutinized him from toe to head. That non-reassuring expression was getting down-right scary.

"Is this"—she waved at him—"what you wore?"

"No, I had brown slacks and a different tie."

She tucked her hair behind her ear, still studying him. "You want to know how to seduce women, correct? But I give advice on how to seduce women in order to have meaningful relationships. Is that what you want?"

"The more meaningful, the merrier. I'm all about meaning." A relationship with a sexy woman who enjoyed spending her days and nights with him? Hell yes. "You'll teach me, then? I hate to sound desperate, but I'll get on my knees if necessary."

The corner of her mouth tilted up but quickly squashed. Kenneth liked that. He wanted to make her smile again. He wanted to do other things even more, and he would definitely go down on his knees. But she was talking, so he had to pay attention.

"Describe the perfect woman," Reese said.

"For starters, someone who has similar tastes and hobbies as me. Can spot the flaws in Breaking Bad, is into cosplay, can spend a weekend doing RPGs, wants to visit the CERN in Geneva, you know. The basics."

She waved a hand in dismissal. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but keep going. I can do some research later on RPG's and AI."

Kenneth scratched his jaw. What kind of person thought RPG's had anything to do with AI? Reese was one of those non-tech, non-sci-fi people he had trouble understanding.

And yet, his cock stirred and pressed at his zipper every time she moved.

"Also, she has to be attractive and find me attractive, which is the tricky part," Kenneth said. "That's where you come in. My early analysis of successful men on the dating sites was clear. I needed to work out more. I've been lifting weights and jogging for ten months, and I thought it paid off. But..." He couldn't describe out loud his date's eyes glazing over during the dinner conversation or her twitching nose when he leaned in for a kiss.

Her nose had actually twitched. The thought of kissing him must have been practically unbearable. He had kicked into reverse and said goodnight without it.

The story of his life.

Until now and Reese Wallace.

*** But will she help him? AHHHH! ***