Flirting Lessons

At a summer anniversary party for Noble Family Vineyards, a winery in Napa Valley, California, two women meet and set in motion a summer that will change both of their lives. Taylor Cameron, a queer winery employee who recently broke up with her girlfriend, notices Avery Jensen, a local event planner attending with her best friend Luke, Taylor's former coworker. Taylor finds Avery strikingly attractive but keeps her distance. Meanwhile, Taylor's best friend Erica arrives with her wife Sam and reveals she is five months pregnant, a pregnancy she kept secret after losing a baby the previous fall. Erica bets Taylor she cannot go the entire summer without sleeping with anyone. The stakes: If Erica wins, Taylor throws her baby shower; if Taylor wins, Erica owes her a spa day.

Avery, shaken after a former high school teacher calls her "well-behaved" and "reliable," drinks too much wine and confides in Taylor that she is tired of being boring. She wants hobbies, new friends, and to learn how to flirt, especially with women, whom she has been attracted to but never dated. Taylor volunteers to teach her, and they exchange phone numbers.

Their first lesson is a bookstore event for a queer romance author. In the car, Taylor offers foundational tips: make eye contact, smile, remember names, ask follow-up questions, and only flirt with people she genuinely finds attractive. At the bookstore, Avery mingles on her own and meets Beth, a woman who recently moved to Napa with her fiancée Greta and mentions a local community garden club. Over tacos afterward, Taylor challenges Avery's dismissal of small talk, arguing it builds trust and connection. Avery admits she fears rejection, and Taylor tells her that putting herself out there is hard but worth it.

Inspired by Beth's mention of the garden, Avery pushes past her anxiety and visits the community garden alone. James Kincaid, the Master Gardener who runs the club, assigns Avery and Beth a shared plot for the rest of the year. When Beth becomes upset about a disagreement with Greta over their wedding, Avery suggests a surprise wedding disguised as a party. Beth loves the idea, and a friendship between the two women begins to take root.

The flirting lessons continue weekly. Taylor takes Avery to a queer salsa dance class, where Avery discovers she picks up the steps quickly once she relaxes. On the drive home, Taylor gives Avery honest feedback: She tends to withdraw when someone compliments her, looking away or changing the subject, which signals disinterest even when she is interested. Avery acknowledges a deep fear that people will laugh at her if she shows she likes them. At a burlesque show at a lesbian bar, Avery insists on sitting in the front row and handles an audience participation segment with humor and poise, impressing Taylor. Privately, Avery admits to herself that she has a crush on Taylor but resolves to treat it as harmless.

Taylor brings Avery to trivia night with her friend group, including her close friend Callie. Avery excels at trivia and flirts naturally with the others. Taylor's friend Liz subtly warns Avery that Taylor breaks hearts; Avery acknowledges she already knows. Afterward, Avery confesses a moment of insecurity about whether Taylor truly wants her around her friends. Taylor reassures her firmly that they are real friends.

For the next lesson, Taylor devises a "flirting midterm": Avery must flirt directly with Taylor at a bar. What begins as an exercise quickly becomes genuine. They hold hands, their knees intertwine, and the conversation grows intimate. After they leave, they walk hand in hand through downtown Napa. Outside the Barrel, a winery bar run by Taylor's boss Margot, Avery touches Taylor's hair, and Taylor tells her, "Now is when you kiss me" (170). Their first kiss leads them back to Avery's apartment. Avery is nervous because she has never been with a woman, but Taylor reassures her, and they sleep together for the first time.

The next morning, Taylor tells Avery she is not looking for a relationship. Avery agrees readily and asks to continue the flirting lessons. Taylor is relieved but oddly unsettled by how easily Avery accepted. She tells Erica she lost the celibacy bet. Erica warns that Avery may develop real feelings, but Taylor dismisses the concern.

At the next lesson, a paint-your-own-pottery queer mixer, they clear the air about feeling awkward. Avery flirts comfortably with other attendees, and one woman asks her out. Later, at Avery's apartment, Taylor kisses her, and they end up in bed together a second time. The next morning, Taylor proposes they stop pretending: They like each other, they are sleeping together, so they are dating. Avery agrees but playfully negotiates "sex lessons" alongside the continued flirting lessons.

They settle into a relationship. At Taylor's apartment one evening, Taylor reveals a long-held dream of opening a wine bar in Napa Valley. Avery is genuinely enthusiastic and suggests Taylor talk to Margot, who would know exactly what steps to take. Both women open up about their insecurities: Avery admits she hides her emotions to avoid vulnerability; Taylor confesses she feels like a less capable adult than her friends. Their honesty deepens the bond between them. Taylor takes Avery back to the salsa class, this time as her dance partner. Dancing together becomes one of their most emotionally significant experiences, and Taylor's feelings deepen.

The baby shower, which Taylor, Avery, and Erica's new friend Sloane coplan at the winery, goes smoothly. Taylor gives a heartfelt toast. But while carrying gifts to the car, Taylor overhears her friends, including Erica, betting that her relationship with Avery will not outlast Erica's pregnancy. Liz predicts Taylor will get bored; Erica says Taylor is "no good at relationships" and bets against her. Callie and one other friend bet the relationship will last, and Sloane defends Taylor and Avery but does not place a bet. Taylor is devastated.

After the shower, Avery surprises Taylor with a spa day at Calistoga's hot springs and mud baths, the very prize Taylor would have won from Erica's original bet. On the drive, Taylor tells Avery about the overheard bet. Avery laughs and proposes a plan: They will stay together until at least three days after Erica has the baby, ensuring Sloane wins. Taylor is hurt that Avery treats their eventual breakup so casually. She asks what if she does not want to break up, but Avery misinterprets the question, assuming Taylor means they might break up sooner. The disconnect between them widens.

Taylor withdraws, skipping their regular Tuesday night for the first time all summer. Avery admits to Beth at the garden that she might want more than a casual relationship with Taylor but is scared of getting hurt. Beth tells her she has to talk to Taylor. Luke also presses Avery, asking if she has real feelings for Taylor. Avery admits she could but insists she will not let them grow because she does not want to be heartbroken.

Taylor confronts Erica in a raw, tearful conversation. Erica breaks down and explains she has been miserable, terrified throughout the pregnancy after her miscarriage, fighting with Sam, and jealous of Taylor's seemingly carefree life. Taylor confesses she felt Erica was replacing her with Sloane. They apologize. Then Erica asks how Taylor really feels about Avery. Taylor blurts out that she is falling in love with her. Erica tells her to go tell Avery.

Taylor plans to bring Avery back to the spot outside the Barrel where they first kissed. On the walk there, Avery stops and says she cannot wait any longer. She tells Taylor she does not want to break up and that her feelings are more than casual. Taylor responds: "I think I'm falling in love with you" (384). Avery echoes Taylor's words from the night of their first kiss: "Now is when you kiss me" (385).

In the epilogue, set on New Year's Eve, Taylor and Avery attend Beth and Greta's surprise wedding, the plan Avery suggested months earlier. Erica, Sam, and the baby are doing well. Taylor has been taking a business class to pursue her wine bar dream. At the rooftop party, Taylor asks Avery if she would want to do "this" sometime, with her. Taylor clarifies she is not proposing tonight, but when she does, it will be a surprise. Both say yes.