“The heart wants what it wants,” Dorsey said. When Liza looked up at him, the bottom dropped out of his belly.

“What do you think, Lucia?” Park asked.

“Liza and I have been down this road before. We have a binding agreement. I won’t talk about Unsolved Mysteries and The First 48, and she won’t talk about her cartoons,” Chicho said, and Liza laughed.

“Yes, we called that the Treaty of Paris, I think,” Liza said.

“Do you all name your friend truces?” Park asked. “Dorsey, we have to do that.”

“What is your Magna Carta?” Dorsey asked.

“Don’t like the same boys,” they both said in unison.

Dorsey looked over to Colin. “Solid pact,” was all he said. Liza put her hand to her mouth like her wine might spill out.

A tiny droplet fell onto the fabric of her white shirt, spreading and staining just above the peak of her nipple. He couldn’t believe she actually hadn’t worn that bra. He could make out the sway of her breast easily in the snug shirt. Maybe he could get that wine stain out with his mouth? His balls tightened. He must have veins bulging out of the side of his neck.

Shit.

How long have I been staring at her nipples?

Liza’s speech was slowing down. Could she be as nervous as he?

He looked over at his glass and realized she had been drinking from both his and her own glasses. Perhaps the unflappable woman needed a little liquid courage tonight. Dorsey looked down at his hands, then surprised himself by grazing Liza’s thigh with his knuckles. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. She looked up at him, grabbed his wineglass, and finished the contents in one swallow, her eyes never leaving his.

The game is afoot.

SELF-CHECKOUT

What are the top things to do in Alexandria?” After a moment, Liza continued, “Wrong answers only.” Liza posed with her selfie stick in the senator’s bathroom. It was so luxe with its red cloth wallpaper, gold finishes, and Tuscan tile that Liza didn’t think she’d find a better spot to stream. Let her followers think she was joining them from a Roman bath.

“ ‘Oh lord . . . the men . . . Stay away, Liza girl,’ ” she read from the comments.

“Don’t worry about me and men tonight,” she replied to the comment. “You ever had the feeling that the room is full of gasoline and you have a match in your pocket?”

Oh, you gon’ burn it up tonight, Liza?

She laughed. “I want to do damage, DC family. Okay, I have one more post tonight, and you’ll never know where I’ll be. This WQUR live cast is, as always, brought to you by our friends at Pemberley Development. They put the trust in ‘trust fund kids.’ ”