It was eleven o’clock Saturday morning after a long trip out of town. That meant Duke had probably been up for six hours and would be by soon to pick up Cubby and take Ari out to lunch. Ari sat in the middle of her bed with Cubby doing his damnedest to curl around her hips. The book Libby had helped her pick out sat open a few inches in front of her folded legs.

How to Seduce a Man Without Looking Desperate

Well, the title pretty much said it all. She wanted to seduce Duke without looking like she was trying to seduce him. She skipped the part about finding the man to focus on; after all, she already had that. The second section was on flirting. Some of the suggestions the book offered made Ari realized she was doing the exact opposite.

The first suggestion was already out the window. It said to leave him with a little mystery. That was too late considering Ari and Duke had known each other since they were little kids. Number two held possibilities. “Casual touches such as touching his arm and leaning into his body space to get the time. Find a way to ‘accidentally’ brush your leg or arm against his. Put on a sexy perfume then ask him what he thinks. For those more timid, place it on your wrist or the inside of your elbow; for those more daring, dab some on your neck or behind the ears. Don’t go for anything too audacious such as behind the knee.”

 

Much to Cubby’s dismay Ari got up and walked to her vanity. Her parents had recently sent her some packages from their retirement world travel extravaganza. One of the gifts was a vial of scented oil from China. It was a sweet spicy floral. It was very different from the vanilla scent she’d worn since she was sixteen and Ari figured now might as well be the time for something new. She popped off the stopper of the decorative glass bottle and touched the bottom of it to her wrists. She swiped her wrists against the insides of her elbows and then touched the stopper to her neck. On her skin the perfume wasn’t as strong and seemed even more pleasant a scent than in the bottle.

 

Retrieving the book she went to her chest of drawers. The book suggested clothing, while it should fit the environment, that didn’t mean it couldn’t be sexy. Clothes that followed the body, that were neither snug nor voluminous, were best. They showed off curves without being trashy. Since they would probably go somewhere casual for lunch, shorts and a tee were good. Ari pulled out a pair of faded pink denim shorts that ended a few inches below her butt and had a little give but weren’t saggy. The top was a sleeveless V-neck, empire-waist cream cotton shirt with small yellow and pink dots in a haphazard pattern. After choosing a coordinating nail color she painted her nails and toenails, waiting for Duke to arrive.