Read Online Licked (L.A. Liaisons Book 1) by Brooke Blaine - Free Book Online Page A

you think I meant?” he asked, his eyes smirking at me.
    There was no way my face wasn’t pinker than my pencil dress. Please, God. If that massive earthquake everyone keeps talking about is going to happen in my lifetime, can it be now? Can it just swallow me whole, right here, right now? Because fuck .  
    “Which would you like to try?” I asked, my lame attempt at changing the subject all I could think to do besides run away like a little girl.  
    His smile grew bigger. “Oh, I think you should tell me what you’d like me to try.”
    “Feel free to eeny meeny miny moe it if that helps.”
    “So you can’t give me a recommendation?”
    “Oh, I could. I was just about to switch out the specials from yesterday’s specials, so hmm… The Wanker is right up your alley.”
    “Ouch. You know,” he said, leaning in again as if telling me a secret, “I wouldn’t be so polite if we weren’t talking about ice cream.”  
    He couldn’t be serious. Flirting with me after that embarrassing denial? I wasn’t giving in to that discussion. Hell no. “All right, Stage Five Clinger it is.”
    “I’ll go with Ravaged Raw,” he said, pulling out his wallet, to which I held up my hand to stop him.  
    “And what size?”
    “Just a scoop is fine.”
    I nodded. “Sure thing. One Castrated Ball of Ravaged Raw for Mr. Morgan.” I held up the scooper like a weapon and gave an evil smile. I couldn’t stop myself from doing it every time someone ordered a one-scooper, even if they soon changed their minds.  
    “Wait—what? I don’t want a castrated ball.”
    “But you said just one scoop. One scoop, one ball. Unless you’d like a full set?”
    Hunter just shook his head at me. “You’re a sick, twisted woman.”
    “Thank you,” I said with a smile.  
    “What’s two scoops?”
    “Well, two scoops would be the full set of Love Balls.”
    “Yeah, let’s go with that,” he said, adjusting his jeans.  
    “Wise choice.”
    And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why it’s called the Castrated Ball. No one wants to order it, so it’s always an upsell. I can be a genius when I want to be. The rest of the time I’m just making a fool of myself in front of gorgeous guys.
    No—not gorgeous. Annoying.
    “So is this always what you wanted to do?” Hunter asked when I pushed his order across the table. “Open an ice cream shop?”
    I set about getting the front end ready for opening the shop as I answered his questions. “Yep. My grandparents owned one in Newport, and I always thought it was the coolest thing growing up. That, and I have an insatiable sweet tooth.”
    “That’d be my weakness too,” Hunter said with a wink. “Cam mentioned you were always into this style back in school.”
    “What, the retro thing?”
    He nodded. “And the outfits.”
    “Yeah, I wasn’t the most popular kid for it, but…” I shrugged. “I mean, you like what you like. Maybe it was growing up in my grandparents’ shop that rubbed off on me, but I was just obsessed with everything from the forties, fifties, and sixties. I thought the women were beautiful and the men were so debonair. So classic. I guess it just…stuck with me.”
    “I like that. The not caring what anyone else thinks.”
    “Oh, I cared. You think hearing whispers in the hallway doesn’t wear on your self-confidence when you’re fifteen? It totally does. I got so upset that I made my mom take me shopping for jeans. I wore those for about a week and went home crying every single day. It just wasn’t me. Wasn’t worth it.” I clamped my mouth shut. Okay, where had all that come from?
    Hunter’s eyes were pensive as he looked me over. “You’re different.”
    “So?”
    “Different looks good on you.”
    I bit down hard on my lip to keep from acknowledging his compliment with a smile. “Thank you.”
    He took another bite of his ice cream, and I busied myself with prepping the theme toppings for the day. But when a hard knock on the door sounded