8. Claire
8
CLAIRE
N o sooner do I finish my second cocktail than a third comes across the bar. I’m feeling a little too light and amused and unbothered about, well, anything, so I take it, with a chuckle. “I’m going to regret this tomorrow, aren’t I?”
“Hangovers are mostly due to dehydration. The secret is to drink as many glasses of water as alcohol. You need four, so far.”
“I suppose you are a future doctor,” says Lily.
“I mostly know because of being a former teenager, but sure.”
Lily’s about to respond when the guy she’d done her best to escapes calls her surname from the room entrance. He’s surrounded by a bunch of beefy, looming guys like him, some in letter jackets, others in casual shirts. “Yo, Trueman, is that really you?”
“Damn, who knew you hid those tits under your clothes…do you take nudes, too?”
Lily rushes toward them, shouting about privacy and assholes and bullies. I follow after her at first, but Keller holds me back, hand clamped on my wrist. “Leave her to it. She enjoys it.”
I frown at him. “She doesn’t seem to be enjoying herself.”
"Doesn’t she?” he smirks. “It’s basically that pair’s idea of foreplay. If they aren’t fucking yet, they will soon.”
I redirect my gaze toward these two, trying to see Keller’s point of view.
Lily is acting…weird, from what I’ve seen of her so far. She is remarkably chill, fun, easygoing with everyone else, but with that Cross, she’s high-strung, stressed, angry, and…
Oh. She’s blushing. He’s smiling at her.
“ Oh ,” I say out loud, stunned I didn’t catch that vibe myself.
“Yes. Better leave them to it. Besides, I wanted to talk to you.”
I wet my lips, feeling oh so awkward. “What about?”
My brain, slower than usual, only now seems to register the fact that we’re alone, at a corner of the bar. Though there are several students converging around Luke, they leave plenty of room, reluctant to crowd Keller.
I really should have followed Lily.
“Several things.”
That smile again. The one that never reaches his eyes and makes my entire body tense.
“For starters, my sister, Lisa, wondered if you’d consider babysitting Octavia occasionally. My niece really took a shine to you.”
“Oh!” I’m thoroughly taken aback. “Sure. I mean, so long as it doesn’t interfere with my classes; I won’t really know until Monday, but I’d love to. I used to babysit growing up. I have references.”
“Lisa will be delighted to hear that,” Keller assures me.
My unease has disappeared. Of course he wants me to babysit. He wouldn’t think of me that way . Guys like Keller are into glamorous, famous, rich top models.
“And secondly, I’d very much like to kiss you.”
I blink. I heard him wrong. I must have. “Sorry, what?”
He doesn’t repeat himself, those blue eyes glistening now.
“I have a boyfriend,” I remind him.
“Mm. So I heard. But you look positively delicious tonight, and he isn’t here. Someone ought to appreciate it.”
“A girl has the right to look nice without being objectified.” I bristle. “I’m sorry, but I’d never cheat on my boyfriend.”
And I am. Sorry, that is. Because I like chatting with him, and I’d hate for him to ignore me. I don’t really know anyone else in town, except my roommate.
He laughs a little. “Care to make a wager? You're going to kiss me of your own volition in the next five minutes. If you don't, I'll leave you alone. If you do, you have to give me your number.”
“That's…” I try to find the right word, my tipsy mind not coming up with anything strong enough at first. “Absurd.”
“So you take the wager?”
He’s fucking cocky about it, like he knows he’ll win.
I wave him off carelessly. “Sure, whatever.”
Keller leans in. “Kiss me, and I'll pay for your grandma's knee replacement. The whole thing, including her recovery. She'll be told it's covered by an anonymous donor.”
My mouth falls open in actual shock. I don’t think I understand what’s going on at first, each awful seconds making the entire situation clearer.
I never told anyone here about my grandma’s knees. How does he know she needs a replacement? Or that we can’t afford it? How, how, how…
I make myself spell it out.
“How did you learn she needs surgery?” I ask, my voice low.
There’s only one answer. He doesn’t bother to voice it.
“You have ten seconds to decide.”
He’s been looking into me. Intrusively. Learning intimate details he should absolutely not have access to.
This isn’t…normal. Or good. Or safe.
“Seven.”
“Keller,” I say, forcing myself to talk and think clearly.
He doesn’t so much as blink. “Six.”
“That's insane. You can't just—” I start.
Her entire surgery. Paid for. She’s needed it for over a year. The risks. The pain.
I know my grandmother would hate this bargain.
But it doesn’t matter.
“Four.”
Keller can afford that sort of expense, and then some. It won’t even be a blip in his fortune. And it would be such a comfort for the woman who selflessly raised me. I’d hate myself if I let this opportunity slip.
If I kiss him and he goes back on his word, I can hate him with all my heart body and soul. And if I kiss him and he does what he promises, I can hate him anyway for making me do it…although, the relief it would bring us would make it hard. At the very least, I’d be able to keep my distance, stay away from him.
“Two.”
I never had any choice. And it’s just a little kiss. It doesn’t have to mean anything.
I cross the space between us, lifting myself onto my toes to reach his mouth.