Chapter 5
Five
Kayla dipped a piece of chicken into the savory orange sauce and popped it into her mouth. She licked the corners of her lips and looked over and saw Jack staring at her. “What’s up?”
“You really enjoy your food,” he commented.
“You’ve said that before.”
“We’ve eaten a lot of meals together.”
“True story. Speaking of stories, what story are we going to tell your parents about us?”
“They already know we work together. What else do they need to know?”
Kayla frowned. “We have to have a story. Every couple does.”
Jack picked up his egg roll. “I’m open to suggestions.”
“Okay. So we met at work.”
“I already told them that.”
“At first we didn’t like each other.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “That’s not true.”
“It’s a story, Jack. Just follow along.”
He chuckled. “Continue.”
“I thought you were fastidious, rigid, and bossy.”
Jack narrowed his eyes at her. “Is that part true?”
“Sort of. Anyway, you thought I was—”
“Always late, messy, and a bit too lax.”
“Lax?” she huffed.
Jack laughed. “So late and messy are okay?”
“Anyway, over time, we discovered some things we really liked about each other.”
“Such as?” Jack prompted.
“You’re a great listener, and you have a nice smile. You can talk to anybody, and people gravitate to you.”
“Why thank you,” he said, flashing his nice smile.
“Your turn,” Kayla said.
“You radiate positivity and have a great sense of humor. You brighten any room you walk into.”
Kayla tilted her head. “Aw. Do you really mean that?”
“Yes. If only you could be on time …”
She frowned. “Whatever, bossy!”
“Okay. So we started liking each other. Then what happened?”
“You asked me out.”
“Where did we go?”
“To dinner, of course.”
“Of course. Then what?”
“Then we went back to your place.”
Jack shook his head. “My parents are old-fashioned. We have to keep the story PG-13.”
Kayla gaped at him. “We’re living together, Jack. Do they think we’re sleeping in separate bedrooms?”
“That part is true,” he said dryly.
She sighed and continued the story. “Fine. We came back to your place for dessert. You made chocolate chip brownies—my favorite.”
“That was sweet of me.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “We talked for hours about everything.”
“Everything?”
“We shared stories of our childhoods to the present.”
“Did we kiss?” Jack asked with a straight face.
“I thought this was supposed to be PG-13,” she countered.
“A kiss is acceptable. Even my parents kissed on their first date.”
“I suppose we might have kissed.”
Jack frowned. “Why wouldn’t we have?”
Kayla shrugged. “I don’t know. One of us was feeling shy.”
“Ha!” Jack said. “We’re not in junior high school. We definitely kissed, and we did a lot more than that.”
Kayla pretended to be offended. “That’s awfully presumptuous of you.”
“Tell me you haven’t kissed a guy on the first date or slept with him, for that matter.”
Kayla averted her eyes to the pile of rice on her plate.
“See, I was right!” Jack declared.
She lifted her head and met his gaze. “I have never slept with a guy on the first date.”
Jack eyed her for a long moment. “Never?”
“Never,” she affirmed.
“How come?”
Kayla wrinkled her eyebrows. “Because, unlike you, I prefer to get to know someone before I sleep with them.”
“Are you calling me a man whore?”
“No, but your dating methods are a little lax, to borrow your word.”
Jack shifted uncomfortably.
Kayla shoved a spoonful of rice into her mouth to prevent herself from saying more. Over the past two years, Jack had shared many stories about his active sex life, and Kayla knew he wasn’t into long-term relationships. As his friend, she didn’t pass judgment on him, but as his girlfriend …
“I’m not going to sleep with anyone while you’re living here,” he stated emphatically.
“You already said that.”
“I’m not sure you believe me.”
“Can you really hold out that long?”
“It’s only six weeks. I’m not going to shrivel up and die.”
Kayla chuckled at the vision of Jack wilting like a flower from lack of sex.
“Anyway, my mom is so excited I have a girlfriend she might not even ask about our story,” Jack said. Then he picked up his empty plate and carried it to the sink.
While his back was turned, Kayla eyed him curiously. Had she offended him? The stiff set of his shoulders indicated she might have. She brought her dish to the sink.
“Just set it down, and I’ll take care of it,” Jack said without looking at her.
Kayla didn’t argue. While he took care of the dishes, she wiped off the table and stored the leftovers in the refrigerator. After they finished cleaning up, they eyed each other with uncertainty.
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Kayla said.
“I don’t want you to think badly of me.”
“I don’t. Your love—sex—life is none of my business.”
“It is for the next six weeks.”
“That goes both ways. I had an opportunity the other day, but I turned it down.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “What happened?”
“I ran into another pharmaceutical rep at an appointment, and he took my bag out of the car for me.”
“Is that all?”
“I could tell he was interested, but I blew him off.” Kayla left out the part where she’d referred to Jack as her boyfriend.
“Did you get the guy’s name?”
“What for? How would I explain that I’m taken for the next six weeks?”
Jack chuckled. “True. I’m sorry for putting you in this position, Kay.”
She liked it when he shortened her name. It sounded intimate somehow. “No problem, but you owe me big time!”
He nodded. “For the next six weeks, all your meals are on me.”
“I was thinking about something on a grander scale.”
“Like what?”
“I’ll let you know when I think of it.”
Jack smiled widely, and it was like being embraced in a warm hug. Kayla glanced down at her watch. “Well, I guess it’s time to get ready for bed.”
“Already? It’s only nine o’clock.”
“I have a seven o’clock yoga class tomorrow morning.”
“You do yoga?”
“You should know this about your girlfriend,” she teased.
“I guess I still have a lot to learn about you.”
“Ditto. Luckily, we have the next six weeks to really get to know each other. Anyway, I’ll grab some things out of your bedroom and go upstairs.”
“I’ll help you,” Jack offered.
In his bedroom, Kayla opened a drawer and took out her pajamas. She’d brought her most conservative pairs, because Jack didn’t need to see her in the silky camis and shorts she sometimes wore to bed.
“What do you need me to do?” Jack asked.
“You can grab my pillow and Squishmallow.”
He chuckled as she went into the bathroom and collected her toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, night cream, and a headband. When she returned to the bedroom, Jack was standing beside the bed, holding her book. “Oh, good. I need that too,” she said.
Jack eyed her with amusement. “Erotic short stories?”
“Hey. I’m not dating right now, so it’s the best I can do.”
“Does reading this make you—?”
“Horny?”
Jack cleared his throat. “Yeah.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“You should probably put this away when my parents come over,” he suggested.
“Really? I thought I’d leave it on the coffee table in the living room.”
“Very funny,” Jack said. “Do you have everything?”
She glanced around the room. “I think so.”
“If you forgot something, just come in and get it. I’m a sound sleeper, and I won’t even know you’re here.”
“So, I could draw a mustache on you, and you wouldn’t know it?”
“I don’t think I’d look good in a mustache,” he replied.
“We’ll see,” she teased.
Upstairs, there were two small bedrooms and a shared bathroom between them. Jack used one of the bedrooms as an office, so he led Kayla into the other one.
“I rarely have overnight guests, so it’s kind of sparse,” Jack explained.
At least not any that sleep in here. “It’s fine,” she said.
Jack set her pillows and book on the twin-sized bed. “At least you’ll have your own bathroom. The tub is small, but you’re welcome to use my jacuzzi tub instead.”
Suddenly, the reality of the situation struck her. It didn’t matter that they were good friends as he was still a man, and she was living with him. She couldn’t imagine feeling comfortable enough to bathe in his tub and lounge around in her pajamas.
“This TV is smaller than the one downstairs, but it works good and you have Netflix,” he said, sounding like a salesperson.
Kayla chuckled. “It’s fine, Jack. I have everything I need. What will you do now?”
“I’ll probably get in bed and watch TV until I fall asleep.”
“Do you ever read before bed?” Kayla was curious about his routine.
“Sometimes, but nothing like your book. That would only keep me awake.”
She laughed. “Or it will give you sexy dreams. You’re welcome to borrow it sometime.”
“I’d rather have sex than read about it,” he said.
Kayla blushed. Talking about sex in the privacy of his house and bedroom felt uncomfortably intimate.
Jack scratched the back of his head, his nervous tell. “Anyway, I’ll let you get ready for bed.” At the bedroom door, he turned around. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“After yoga,” she reminded him.
“Right.”
“You don’t have to hang around here for me. Do whatever you normally do on the weekend.” Kayla sounded like a broken record, but she couldn’t help it. Jack had invited her here, but that didn’t mean they had to be attached at the hip. At least, not until his parents arrived.
Jack nodded. “Goodnight, Kayla.”
“Goodnight,” she said.
He went out the door and closed it softly behind him.
Kayla let out a big breath. She hadn’t realized how tense she was until now.
Relax. It’s just Jack, your work friend.
The pep talk didn’t work, and her thoughts took a dark turn.
What if we end up hating each other? This was a stupid idea.
Why did I agree with this? Because I have a crush on him.
No! Don’t go there! She shook her head, even though it was true.
Kayla had been attracted to Jack since they’d first met, but she’d squashed it down and buried it in the back of her mind.
She hadn’t shared her secret with anyone, for one simple reason.
Kayla liked Jack way too much to jeopardize their friendship.
A crush was just a crush, easily masked and contained.
It didn’t matter that they’d be roommates for the next six weeks.
She would keep a tight lid on her feelings, as always.
As long as she kept it to herself, nothing bad would happen, right?