The Rules of Dating(28)

“Note to self: figure out a way to get Billie to a steakhouse, just so I can witness this.”

“Make sure you pack wipes, then.”

After I finished my snack, I got up to discard the rubbish. Then I resumed folding. We were finally starting to make a dent. “I’m not gonna find any random women’s panties in this pile, am I?”

He shook his head. “No panties to be found in here unless they have Disney characters on them in toddler size three.” He grinned as he fished through socks for matching pairs. “On the subject of undergarments, though, I have to ask you a serious question.”

“Okay…” I said, shaking out one of Colby’s shirts to smooth the wrinkles.

“What’s with the corset thing?” he asked, his eyes dropping to my chest.

I looked down at my open plaid shirt. “Why do I wear them all the time?”

“Yeah.”

“I just think they’re flattering. They suck everything in in all the right places and push the right things out. It’s my signature style, I guess.” My brow lifted. “Why? Do you have a problem with them?”

He bit his bottom lip and nodded. “I do.”

“Really…”

“My problem is they make it really hard not to stare. Your corsets are becoming my weakness. Sort of like how you are becoming my weakness.” He lowered his voice. “But pretend you didn’t hear that, because this is supposed to be a boring undate of laundry folding and nothing more.”

Even doing the most mundane things with Colby felt like…more. Hardly boring. And now I was thinking about what he’d just said about my corsets. I shook my head to bring myself back to the task at hand. “There is definitely something even more enjoyable about folding someone else’s laundry.”

“Well, you have an open invitation to come over and do ours anytime. Just don’t stand outside for fifteen minutes first.”

I chuckled. “You’re not going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Do you know how many babies were born in this world in the time you stood at my door contemplating whether or not to come in?”

“Your neighbor must have thought I was a solicitor or something.”

“She didn’t know what to think.”

“I guess it’s nice to have neighbors who look out for you. You know, in case some crazy broad shows up at your door.” I shook out a towel. “What did you tell her?”

“Well, once I looked out the peephole and realized it was you, I walked over to the other side of the apartment so you wouldn’t hear me tell her the girl standing at my door was actually someone I have a very big crush on, and that you were the furthest thing from a crazy person. I told her you were probably just apprehensive about knocking because of what that might lead to—because it was so much more than just knocking on a door. It was a figurative knocking of sorts, knocking on a world of possibilities that are both scary and exciting.”

“You really told your neighbor all that?”

“No.” He winked. “I said, ‘Thank you for letting me know. I’ll take care of it.’”

I threw a pair of his underwear at his head. Then, I looked more closely. That particular pair of red briefs seemed awfully…small.

I snickered. “Aren’t those a little small for you?”

He bent his head back in laughter. “They’re a lot small for me.”

“Then why do you wear them?”

He lifted them up with both hands. “My mother brought this pack of underwear back from Brazil for me. She took a trip there last summer. She bought a men’s size medium-large, but they shrink to like an extra small after I dry them. So they’re basically disposable. I can’t wear them more than once. Now I’ll donate ’em or something. I think that might be the last one in the pack.”

“You had me scared there for a minute,” I teased.

His eyes widened. “Believe me, there’s nothing extra small about me. I feel the need to clarify that, since according to your boundaries, that’s not something I’ll ever be able to prove.”

The wicked smile he flashed made my insides quiver. This man had an unnerving effect on me. And with each moment that passed, it became harder and harder to pretend that didn’t mean anything.

“All kidding about my shrunken underwear aside, Billie, I don’t blame you for your hesitation with me. I hope you know that. I think if I were in your position, I might hesitate, too.” He threw the red boxers aside. “And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with being cautious. Especially when there are more than two people involved in the scenario. I get it. I really do.” His eyes lingered on mine, his expression serious. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, this has got to be the most boring evening you’ve ever had with a guy, huh?”

“Actually…this is the best undate I’ve ever had,” I told him.

His eyes sparkled. “Me, too. I like our undates.”

After another half hour, we finally got to the bottom of the pile. Everything was now folded nicely, and we put the stacks of categorized clothing back into the baskets he had out. There were now four of them filled with clothes.

I looked around the room. “Is that it? Nothing more to fold?”