The Roommate Agreement(51)

It backfired.

She laughed instead of giving in. “There are hungry wolves who could look more innocent than that!”

“Come on. It’ll be fun. I swear.”

“You’re paying all night,” she warned me, since her parents didn’t usually charge us when we were all together.

“Your dad already knows. He’s opened a tab and whatever you want is on me.”

She studied me for a second. “I’m not okay with this.”

“You will be by the time we’re done.” My lips tugged to one side. “I promise. You’ll laugh your ass off the entire time.”

“I don’t think I trust you, Jay Cooper.”

“You don’t have to trust me. You just have to pretend you do.” My tiny smile became a full-fledged grin, and though she fought her own smile, she eventually broke.

“Screw you!” She laughed, bending over to pick up the mop. “If my parents say anything—”

“They won’t.” I figured I was safe to come out from behind the island and approached her. She looked beautiful without her makeup, and I cupped her chin with my right hand. “Your parents’ bar, eight-fifteen. Got it?”

She thrust the mop at me. “Got it. Finish this, would you? I have a hot date to get ready for.”

She turned on her heel, stalking off toward the bathroom, and I laughed as I watched her go.

Maybe this wouldn’t be the disaster I was afraid it would be.

Because let’s be honest—it wasn’t my best idea. Taking her to her parents’ bar could go one of two ways, and if I hadn’t caught her dad earlier and told him I was taking her out—much to his delight—I wouldn’t be daring this so soon.

Fact was, I wanted her.

I wanted this date to happen as soon as possible. I wanted her as soon as possible—I wanted to redefine the parameters of our relationship, to go further than stupid make-out sessions.

I wanted more.

I wanted her. I wanted to be hers, even if she had yelled at me before I left because I’d left a pan soaking in the sink and it’d turned the water grimy and I hadn’t emptied it out.

It was worth it.

Fuck, it had to be worth it.

? ? ?

Shelby was already sitting at the bar when I got there. She was talking to h? ? ?er dad with her back to me, so I slid onto a stool at the empty table Tom had reserved for us. He caught my eye, and I couldn’t believe I was pulling this off.

All right, so I was a little ahead of myself here. I’d only walked in and sat down. I still had to pull off the whole ‘strangers’ thing I’d suggested, something that seemed cuter on paper than in real life.

How did you explain yourself to the person who knew everything about you?

One of the servers brought a beer over to my table and I thanked him, just watching Shelby. She’d hidden in her room before I’d left, and now I saw why.

I’d never actually seen her on a date before. I usually saw her in yesterday’s sweatpants and a tank top with crumbs all over it. That was her uniform, so seeing her like this was different.

Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, perfectly straight, and her body was hugged by a black dress that had a slit at her knee.

I almost didn’t want to see her from the front. I didn’t think I could take it if she looked this good from the back.

I nodded to her dad when he caught my eye again. He leaned over the bar, pointing in my direction. Shelby turned her head, frowning at me.

I grinned.

She turned back to her dad for a brief second, then grabbed her wine glass and walked over to join me at the table.

I was right. I couldn’t cope with how beautiful she looked. Her dress had a high neckline that left her arms totally bare, and she wore black high heels that made my eyebrows raise when I stood to greet her.

Touching her hip, I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Hi. I’m Jay.”

“Oh, my God.” She laughed. “Are we really doing the stranger thing?”

“Yes.” My lips twitched. “Hey—you’re wearing high heels. Anything is possible.”

She stuck her tongue in her cheek before she smiled and rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“It’s part of my charm.”

“Did you have my dad keep me busy at the bar just to do this?”

I shook my head with a serious look on my face and pulled out her chair. “No. As a complete stranger, I’ve never met the man at the bar before.”

Shelby covered her pink lips with her hand as she sat down. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m writing a book about aliens with three penises for a client.”

“Oh, you’re a writer?”

She looked like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It took her a minute before she sagged, smiling, even though it was clearly against her will. “All right. I’ll play along. Even though this is totally stupid.”

The grin on my face was so wide it was going to split my cheeks. “Let’s start again. Hi. I’m Jay.”

She took a deep breath, and the expression that flashed across her face told me she couldn’t believe she was doing this. “I’m Shelby. It’s nice to meet you, Jay.”

She was right. This was ridiculous. But shit, we’d started it now, so we were going to see it through.