Gideon smirked a little and then he leaned in a little more, until his lips just barely brushed against hers. "I suck at platonic. Always have."
And look where it'd gotten him this time? He shunted that thought off before it could remind him of all the things he wasn't thinking about. Some part of him thought he should feel bad, that he was using Essery to get over the sting of Heath's betrayal, but Gideon wasn't that deep a thinker, and it wasn't like he didn't like Essery, he was quiet fond of her.
"Luckily, I have other life skills that I'm not quite so bad at," he said silkily.