Free Come On Over by Mika Fox

it's almost physically palpable. "And your
smooth-ass lines that make a lady all wet with excitement."
    Annie
chokes on a surprised laugh in the middle of a sip and disguises it as a cough.
Dominic slaps her back with his hand helpfully.
    "Don't
be like that," Snapback says, undeterred, still smiling and apparently
oblivious to his own cringeworthy performance. He
eyes Jemma up and down again, for good measure. "A fine girl like you is
too pretty to be mad."
    Dominic
might actually throw up.
    "Well,
gee," Jemma says. "There goes my life's ambition."
    The
guy laughs, as though she just made a charming joke.
    "Well,
it's your lucky day," he says. "'Cause I've got a thing for chocolate
and girls with―"
    Jemma
holds up her finger, cutting him off, her patience clearly having run out.
    "Okay,
before you even think of describing
me or my skin as chocolate, or cocoa , or mocha, or some shit," she says, "just keep in mind that I
am not above causing bodily harm, even to a skinny white dude such as
yourself."
    She
gestures at him up and down, and the guy shrinks where he stands, while silence
falls over the table. All it takes is another pointed eyebrow raise from Jemma,
before he just nods awkwardly and presses his lips together, hunching his
shoulders slightly as he turns around and wanders off in defeat. Jemma sighs,
while Annie and Shanti do their best not to giggle too loudly.
    "Damn,
girl," Shanti says, holding out her hand across the table for a fist bump,
which Jemma reciprocates with a smile. "That was harsh."
    Jemma
shrugs.
    "The
sooner they learn that comparing people to food isn't romantic," she says,
"the better off we'll all be."
    Dominic
laughs under his breath, bringing his coffee mug up to his lips for another
sip, and he glances at Killian, across from him. What he sees makes him stop
dead; Killian is smiling. It's different from the little smirk he saw
yesterday, genuine, albeit amused and dry, and Dominic just stares at it for a
moment longer than is perhaps entirely appropriate. Thankfully, Killian is
looking over at Jemma at the moment, so he doesn't notice Dominic ogling
him―but god , that smile might
be one of the best things Dominic has ever seen.
    "I
hear that," Annie says, snapping Dominic out of his thoughts. "I
mean, blatant douchebaggery aside, can you imagine if
a guy complimented me on my mayonnaise,
creamy skin ?" She says it in a low, husky voice that's a perfect
parody of seductive, then shudders. "I don't know how you deal with
it."
    There's
a murmur of agreement around the table as she sips her chai latte, only interrupted by the appearance of Isaac, who glances after the guy
who just left.
    "He
didn't give you any trouble, did he?" he asks, some apprehension in his
voice.
    "Nothing
we can't handle," Jemma says, and Isaac nods, relieved.
    "Sorry
about it, though," he says, scratching at the back of his head in an
awkward gesture. "It's just Brody, he tends to hit on every girl who walks
in here. He thinks he's smooth."
    The
girls all laugh in agreement, and Dominic smiles. Then his eyes fall on Shanti,
who's tilting her head a little bit as she watches their waiter, and his smile
widens.
    "I
don't know, man," he says, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
"I feel like there should be some kind of compensation for the emotional
distress."
    "Oh
yeah?" Isaac asks flatly, his entire demeanor changing to much more casual
as he talks to his friend. "Like what?"
    "Like,
at least one hot beverage, or something," Dominic says lightly. Then he
pointedly leans over toward Shanti, straining to gaze into the cup in front of
her. "Hey, you look like you're running a bit low. Anything you'd
like?"
    Everyone
turns to Shanti, who looks like she was just caught very much off-guard. She
opens her mouth and closes it, glancing up at Isaac, before looking back at
Dominic.
    "Uh―"
she says, and Jemma comes to the rescue.
    "She'll
have another cappuccino," she says, looking up at Isaac, who looks
thoroughly