Not Pretending Anymore(12)

It seemed my theatrical presentation had begun. I raised my hand to call the bartender and ordered a water. After sipping, I set it in front of me and waited for the perfect moment to go in for the kill.

Daisy excused herself and walked toward the bathroom. A minute later, I slid my arm in front of the glass and knocked it over my chest, pretending of course that it was an unfortunate accident.

Feigning shock, I said, “Oh no. I’m such a klutz!”

I looked down at myself. Jesus. The thin silk of my shirt was much more susceptible to the water than I’d anticipated. My first inclination was to be mortified—mostly at my own behavior.

Until…

Until Will’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as they wandered down my chest.

He rushed over and handed me a napkin. “Here you go, Molly.”

“Thank you,” I said, wiping myself down in sloppy strokes, because of course my intent wasn’t to actually do the job appropriately.

After Will stole one more peek, his eyes lifted and lingered on mine.

“It’s nice to see you out again with us. The past couple of times you’ve skipped.” He smiled.

Slowing the strokes over my chest, I said, “I’m surprised you were keeping track.”

“I’m always aware when you’re around—at work or otherwise.”

Holy shit . Is it really this easy? Declan is a freaking genius!

By the time Daisy returned from the bathroom, Will and I were already immersed in conversation. He spent the next half hour at my side. Then I remembered one of Declan’s earlier pieces of advice.

“The more disinterested you seem, the harder his dick will get.”

It was a risk, and it felt completely unnatural to push myself away when I had finally hooked him, but I said, “Excuse me.”

“Of course,” Will said, seeming caught off guard by my stopping the conversation.

I then proceeded to fetch myself another drink and mingle with some of my other co-workers. Daisy moved in on Will again, but oddly, I kept noticing his eyes veering in my direction. Okay, maybe it was the fact that my nipples were still protruding, but nevertheless, his attention begged to be on me , not on Daisy.

In another bold move, I downed the last of my drink. Then, loud enough for Will to hear, I announced, “Well, it’s been nice, peeps, but I have to leave.”

Will suddenly put his beer down, seeming disappointed. “Going so soon, Molly?”

“Yes. I have…plans.”

“A date?”

I paused. “Something like that.”

“Okay.” He nodded. Then he looked at me for a moment before leaning in to my ear. “Listen, I’d love to have coffee sometime. Maybe the next time our shifts collide?”

I acted cool. “Sure…maybe.”

Maybe?

As if.

Heck yeah!

“Good. Okay. Have a good night, Molly.”

“You, too,” I said before strutting out of there, feeling on top of the freaking world.

***

I couldn’t wait to get home and tell Declan his little plan had actually worked.

To my surprise, when I opened the door to my apartment, Declan was in the living room, but he wasn’t alone. A gorgeous woman with bright auburn hair was sitting on the armchair across from him. There were white papers splattered atop the coffee table.

Declan stood. “Oh, hey, roomie. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning to be home so early, but I took your advice tonight.”

Declan looked down at my still-braless chest. “I can see that.”

“Not just that. Although, it did work like a charm.” I crossed my arms over myself. “Anyway, what I meant was, I remembered what you said about seeming disinterested. I actually left early, told him I had other plans. He asked me to have coffee sometime on my way out. So both of your strategies worked.”

“I had no doubt.” He turned to the woman. “Sorry to be rude. I should’ve introduced you. This is my roommate, Molly. And Molly, this is Julia.” He turned to me and winked to make sure I knew she was the Julia. “Julia and I work together. We have a deadline for our client’s latest campaign, so she came by so we could brainstorm.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Julia said, holding out her hand but staring at my chest.

“Likewise.” I shook her hand and looked around, feeling awkward. “Well, don’t let me interrupt your work.”

“It’s no interruption,” she said.

“Yeah,” Declan said. “Pretty sure we were just wrapping up.”

When Julia looked down at my chest again, I said, “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m not wearing a bra.”

“It’s because of me,” Declan said.

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Don’t take that the wrong way,” I clarified. “Declan just gave me some advice that was a little daring but brilliant.”

I then told Julia about my crush on Will and my experience at happy hour.

“So, it’s all thanks to Declan that I now have an informal coffee date with Will.”

Julia looked between Declan and me. “Well, you two seem to be getting along really well for two people who just moved in together.”