Chapter 6
Six
Jack lay in bed flipping through the TV channels, but he couldn’t concentrate.
Even though Kayla had implored him to go about his normal routine, it seemed impossible.
He was hyperaware of her presence in his home and upstairs in the bedroom.
Jack couldn’t hear her moving around over the noise of the TV, but he imagined her getting ready for bed.
First, she’d take off her clothes … Wait, what?
He should not be thinking of Kayla naked.
I wouldn’t be if I hadn’t invited her here!
It was only partially true. Jack had pictured Kayla naked before, because, hello, she was a beautiful woman.
Striking was a better word. Whenever they were out together, he’d seen men eyeing her, and looking enviously at Jack.
It didn’t matter that they were just friends, as he was still proud to be seen with her.
He’d kept this to himself, though, because there was no way he was going to screw up their friendship.
Plus, they worked together and that complicated things.
Long ago, Jack had decided that it was best if he and Kayla stayed in the friend zone.
Just because she was living here and pretending to be his girlfriend didn’t mean anything had to change.
Needing a distraction, Jack settled on a nature documentary.
He watched lions roaming the African plains, when, suddenly, a male lion came upon a lioness.
The two circled each other, and the male growled.
Jack was riveted to the screen as the lions carried out their mating ritual.
When the male mounted the lioness, Jack groaned.
He turned off the TV in disgust—not at the lions, but himself for thinking dirty thoughts about Kayla.
It took him a while to settle down, but he must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, he was awakened by the floor creaking.
Jack popped open his eyes and peered into the semi-darkness.
The floor creaked again, and he realized he had company.
Jack stayed still and shifted his gaze to the dresser.
Kayla’s back was to him as she slowly slid open a drawer and rummaged through it.
What is she doing? He glanced at his alarm clock and saw it was only six in the morning. Then he remembered. Yoga class.
Kayla must have forgotten to take her exercise clothes out of his room last night.
Since he’d bragged about being a sound sleeper, he didn’t want to alert her that he was awake.
Instead, he lay there and watched her. Kayla’s hair was piled atop her head in a messy bun, exposing the back of her neck.
She had a pretty neck—slim and graceful.
She wore a gray T-shirt and baggy sweatpants, but there was no hiding her luscious curves.
Kayla closed the drawer and turned toward him.
Jack snapped his eyes shut before she caught him looking.
He waited, barely breathing, until she padded into the bathroom.
Once he was sure it was safe, he opened his eyes again.
She’d left the bathroom door ajar but hadn’t turned on the light.
She was bent over, rummaging around in the cabinet, when suddenly, it twitched.
Jack glanced down at his boxer/briefs. Not now!
There was a loud bang, and Kayla cursed.
He bolted upright, and the bed creaked. The bathroom light came on, illuminating the bedroom too.
Kayla reentered the bedroom, rubbing her right knee. “Oh. You’re up …” Her words trailed off, and her eyes went wide.
It took him a moment to react before he quickly covered his erection with his hands. Jack was up alright. “Good morning?”
Kayla averted her eyes. “Sorry I woke you up.”
“I was already awake,” he admitted.
She returned her gaze to him. “Were you up the entire time I was in here?”
He shook his head. “Yes. No. Maybe?”
“I was fumbling around in the dark, trying not to wake you, and you were awake the whole time!”
“I didn’t want to startle you.”
“I thought you were a sound sleeper!”
“I usually am, but I’m not used to someone creeping around my bedroom at six in the morning—on a Sunday!” he added. She wasn’t the only one allowed to be mad.
Kayla planted her hands on her curvy hips. “I wasn’t creeping around. You said I could come in if I forgot something, and I did.”
Annoyingly, arguing hadn’t dampened his arousal. Jack kept his hands in place, wishing his erection would go down.
In the meantime, Kayla’s gaze flicked over his bare chest. “Do you always wake up like that?” she asked, motioning to his lower half.
He shifted uncomfortably. “Like what?”
“You know …”
There was no use denying it. “Hard?”
She sucked in a breath. “Yeah. That.”
“Not always, but it has a mind of its own.”
Kayla chuckled. “I’ve heard that before.”
Of course she had. It was every man’s excuse. “Anyway, are you okay?”
“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before. Well, not yours, but you know what I mean.”
“I was talking about your knee,” he explained, as she was still rubbing it.
“Oh. I bumped it on the cabinet, but I’ll be fine.”
“Do you have everything you need now?” She was clutching her things against her chest, which was a good thing too, because he suspected she was braless under her pajama top.
“Yes. I’ll leave so you can go back to sleep.” Kayla moved toward the door.
Thinking it was safe, Jack uncovered himself, but at the last second, she turned around. He yanked the covers over his lower half. “Now what?” he muttered.
“I just wanted to say, see you later.”
“See you later,” Jack repeated.
Kayla went out the door and closed it behind her. Jack slapped his forehead. “Idiot!” He wasn’t sure what was more irritating, that he’d put himself in this position or his physical reaction to her.
He lay there a while longer, listening to her move around the kitchen until she left.
Then it struck him—he hadn’t given her a house key.
Jack whipped off the covers and ran out of the bedroom, anxious to catch her before she drove away.
He grabbed the spare key off the kitchen counter and swung open the front door.
Kayla was about to get into her car. “Wait!”
She jerked her head up, looking shocked to see him there.
Jack dangled the house key in the air, and she came up the walkway to the door. Her gaze skimmed down his body, and he remembered he was still in his underwear. At least, he wasn’t aroused anymore, and since she’d already seen him like this, he didn’t bother covering himself.
Jack handed her the key. “I meant to give you this last night. I might be going out, so you’ll need it to get back in.”
Kayla slipped the key into her purse and nervously glanced around. “Aren’t you afraid someone is going to see you?”
He chuckled. “Nobody goes out this early on a Sunday morning.” His neighbors on the right were an elderly couple who rarely left their condo. A young married couple lived to the left, and he’d never seen them before noon on the weekend.
“Thanks for the key.” Kayla turned and strode back down the walkway.
“Be careful driving,” he called.
“I will, honey,” she tossed over her shoulder.
Jack stood in the doorway until she got into her car and drove away. Then he heard someone loudly clearing his throat. He turned to the right and saw Ralph, his elderly neighbor, staring at him. “Morning,” Jack said, giving him a friendly wave.
Ralph raised one hairy gray eyebrow. “Morning.” He reached down and scooped a newspaper off the porch. Then he went inside without another word.
People still get a newspaper. Go figure. Jack went inside and locked the door behind him. This was the most eventful Sunday morning he’d had in a long time, and now he was wide awake.
Go about your normal routine, Kayla had insisted.
Typically, on a Sunday, he’d lounge around, drinking coffee, and scrolling through the newsfeed on his phone.
Today, he was too restless for that. Padding back into his bedroom, Jack picked up his phone from the nightstand.
He brought up the messaging thread with Ryan, and typed, Go for a run?
His friend was an early riser, and sure enough, Jack’s phone pinged back right away.
Is this Jack, or did someone hijack your phone?
Jack chuckled. It’s me. I woke up early today.
Obviously. Where and when?
Rochester Park in half an hour?
See you then.
Jack put on his running clothes and went into the kitchen. He made a cup of coffee and toasted a bagel. Half an hour later, he arrived at the park.
The men greeted each other in the parking lot.
“This is a surprise,” Ryan said as they shook hands.
The two ran together a couple of times per week, but it was usually after work. Jack shrugged. “Like I said, I woke up early.”
The men stretched before taking off down the path that threaded through the park. For a while, they didn’t speak, letting their bodies acclimate to the crisp morning air.
“So, what’s new?” Ryan asked.
Jack had already planned on telling him, and now was as good a time as any. In a few days, his parents would arrive, and Ryan usually stopped by to see them when they were in town. He didn’t want Ryan to be shocked when he found Kayla there, too.
“You remember Kayla, right?” Jack began.
Ryan grinned. “Your hot coworker.” Jack had introduced Ryan and Kayla at his July fourth party, and he obviously remembered her.
“My coworker, yes,” Jack said, pointedly.
“What about her? Are you two finally mixing business with pleasure?” Ryan teased.
A young woman approached them, and the men moved off the path to let her run by. After she passed them, Ryan turned his head and ogled her backside. Jack might have done the same thing, but he thought of Kayla and averted his eyes.
“Continue,” Ryan said, resuming their conversation.
Jack took a deep breath, but not because he was winded from running. If Ryan had been surprised he was up this early, wait until he heard the rest of it. “Kayla sort of moved in with me,” he said in a rush.
Ryan came to a halt in the middle of the path. “What did you just say?”
“Kayla moved in with me,” Jack repeated, jogging in place. “Let’s keep moving.”
Ryan eyed him quizzically before they took off again. “Since when?”
“Since yesterday.”
“Are you two dating now?”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that even mean?”
Jack sighed. “You’re going to think this is weird.”
“I already think it’s weird.”
“My parents are coming to visit in a few days.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“They wanted to stay at my place for six weeks.”
“So?”
“So, that would have seriously cramped my lifestyle.”
Ryan chuckled. “You didn’t want them seeing a parade of women coming and going from your place?”
Jack shook his head. “My mom has been on my case about settling down.”
“Does she still think you’re gay?”
“She did until I told her Kayla was moving in.”
“Ah. Very clever.”
Jack nodded, glad his friend understood.
“But also devious,” Ryan added.
Jack felt a twinge of guilt. “It’s only for six weeks.” He’d been saying that a lot, hoping it would make him feel less guilty.
“And Kayla agreed with this?”
“Yes. She’s been annoyed with her roommate and was thinking about moving out, anyway. This will be an interim solution until she finds her own place.”
Ryan eyed him intently.
“What?”
“Let me get this straight. You two are going to dupe your parents into believing you’ll get married and give them grandkids someday.”
“That about sums it up,” Jack said.
A young couple jogged toward them, smiling and laughing at a private joke. Seeing them all starry-eyed, Jack wondered how he was going to pull this off—acting like he was in love.
“This sounds like the makings of a bad romantic comedy. Not that I’ve ever seen one,” Ryan said dryly.
“It was an impulsive decision,” Jack admitted. “But as much as I love my parents, I didn’t want them staying with me for six weeks and badgering me about settling down. If they see me with Kayla, they’ll back off.”
“What happens after six weeks?” Ryan asked.
“Kayla and I will go our separate ways, and everything returns to normal.” At least, he hoped so.
“How will you explain it to your parents?”
“I’ll say we broke up, but plan on remaining friends.”
“Ha!” Ryan scoffed. “That’s what all the celebrities say when they break up, and then they end up trash talking each other on social media.”
“Is it so bad to give my parents hope?”
“It’s false hope,” Ryan pointed out.
“Maybe not.”
Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Do you think you and Kayla will actually fall in love and live happily after?”
“No, but pretending to have a girlfriend might make me want to have the real thing with someone else.”
“Why not her?”
Jack shook his head. “It can’t be her. We’re good friends, and we work together. This is just a practice relationship.”
At the back of the park, they turned and retraced their steps. Jack was sweating, and breathing hard, but he felt clear-headed and energized. Meeting Ryan for a run had been a smart choice. Hopefully, asking Kayla to move in with him would turn out to be a wise decision too.