Page 26 of Force a Date

“Seriously?” Her voice goes up a pitch and I don’t know if she’s offended or intrigued. I really don’t care.

“I don’t discriminate.”

Liv bounces her leg that’s crossed over the other and hints that she’s contemplating a thought. “You are against me.”

“You’re a kid.”

“I’m an adult,” she retorts through her teeth and, geezus, she’s fucking adorable when she’s mad.

Adorable? When the fuck have I ever used that word.

“If I can serve this country?—”

“But you don’t serve,” I counter over the rim of my beer bottle. “And you’re scared of your mom. So, until you act like a grown-ass woman, don’t be lecturing me.”

Liv pushes her cheek out with her tongue then begins to shut down. I’ve said a bunch of shit to her lately. I’m sure she’s tired of it.

And who am I to fucking judge her?

“Move,” I state through her silence and trying to offer some help, I guess. “If you live with her, you should get out before one of you murders the other.”

“I don’t,” she deadpans.

“What’s up with her and you anyway?” Liv lifts her shoulders but doesn’t divulge in anything else. “Shouldn’t I know the dynamic while I’m forced to be your boyfriend?”

She snaps her neck back to me and glowers. “I didn’t force you to do anything. I just don’t fit the mold of what my mother wants me to be. I’ve always gone up against her without intentionally doing it. She wanted a mini-me and I wasn’t it.”

“You the oldest?”

“Youngest. Norah, my sister, is two years older and my brother is four. My mother thinks that my looks are the only things that are going to make me go places. Not the fact that I’m going to school and trying to make it out here on my own.”

“So you are in high school?”

Liv catches on to my teasing and looks heavenward, but a ghost of a smile plays off those lush lips of hers. “Go fuck yourself.”

“I can’t. We’re in the same room.”

“Then do it in the bathroom and I’ll plug my ears.”

“That’s really creepy, don’t you think?”

“Not as creepy as the sight of you at this bar lookin’ like you’re dating an eighteen-year-old.”

I flick the paper remnants of her straw at her and it hits her in the chest, to which she full-on laughs. “You’re a dick.”

“I wish I had one,” she retorts. “Then my mother would leave me alone.”

“What are you going to college for?”

“Honestly…” She steers her gaze back to me. “I think I want to be an astronomer.”

My eyes broaden because that was the last thing I thought she’d say. “Seriously?” She bobs her head and, damn, I’m blaming my growing cock on the fact that I’m buzzed and she’s beautiful. “So, you are a nerd?”

“Nah, it must’ve been Patrick who finger-fucked me in astrology class my junior year.” I can’t help but scowl at her, which makes her laugh harder like a fucking brat. “C’mon, I know you did stuff like that in high school.”

“I wouldn’t tell you if I did.”

Liv props her arm on the back of her chair. “Why? Do I need one of my parents to sign a permission slip to hear the contents of that story?”

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