He rolled his eyes but continued. “Like how willing the other person is to learn and adapt. Do they only like to lead and dominate? Can they be soft and playful as well as hard and fast? Can they read their partner? Sense the pace the other person wants to move at? Are they generous? Does it feel like something they’re just checking off a list that gets them to the main course, or do they really enjoy it? Linger over it? Would they kiss for hours and hours and do nothing else if that’s all the other person wanted?”

Della swallowed. Oh yeah. He’d really warmed up to the topic. So had she. She was too young for a hot flash, but damn if her whole body wasn’t humming with heat. “Would you?” she asked.

“What?” His throat bobbed, and his whiskey-colored eyes went all smoky.

“Just kiss.” The restaurant noise faded as the space around them shrank right down.

“This isn’t about me.”

“I know, but…would you?”

He nodded slowly. “Of course.”

Della’s toes curled in her boots. How would that be? Kissing Tucker. For hours and hours. Learning the contours of his mouth and how he tasted. Learning what he liked and the sounds he made when he was turned on. Her breathing roughened. Fine tendrils of sensation looped low in her belly and tied in knots.

“Here you are, sir.”

Della blinked as the waiter plonked a beer down between them, slicing through the charged space like a machete. Tucker thanked him and took a slug of his drink, turning to face the street as Della cleared her throat. They may have been interrupted, but they weren’t done here yet.

“So, what you’re saying is, I should be a mermaid?”

It took Tucker a beat or two to answer. He turned his head slightly to regard her with those solemn whiskey eyes. “What I’m saying is, it’s okay to explore at your own pace. And if a guy doesn’t like it, then kick him to the curb.”

The fact Della got to be in charge of this stuff now was mind-blowing, considering she’d had zero agency when she’d been married. And she was eager to experiment with this newfound freedom, although she knew she was going to need to take it slow. And even if she hadn’t, Selena had certainly reiterated it many times.

Tinder seemed ripe with opportunities to experiment, and she did want to put herself out there, but would anyone be willing to ease into the intimacy a little? Everywhere she looked, it seemed most people skipped straight to the sex part. Even in Winona’s books, her characters got down to business pretty damn fast.

It made her feel like a bit of a…freak.

“You really think there are guys out there who are okay with a woman saying I just want to kiss for now?”