Page 44 of The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco

Shenker had the absolute unmitigated gall to shrug. As if the question wasn’t even worth answering. Which is when her temper really snapped.

Slamming a hand against the door, right beside his face, she waved around her little plastic bundle. “Do you know what I have in here?” she asked. “I have a needle. A big fucking needle. And if I put that needle in your eye, it will hurt. A lot. Along with some other unpleasant effects. And you know what, Shenker? I wish I could. I really fucking wish I could stab you right now, more than I’ve ever wanted to stab anyone in my life. And let me tell you, that’s saying something, because I have quite the temper.”

He shifted, his jaw set, his expression a woeful attempt to appear unconcerned. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.

“Get the fuck out of my way,” she whispered, and stepped back.

Without a word, Shenker practically folded himself in half to avoid blocking her path. Aria slammed out of the bathroom and marched down the hall, muttering furiously under her breath.

As she neared the kitchen, Nik appeared, his eyes settling on her with relief. “Hey,” he smiled. “Where’d you go?”

She grabbed him by the hand and kept walking, pulling him deeper into the house.

“Okaaaay,” he laughed. “We’re going somewhere. Cool.”

She didn’t laugh along. “You said,” Aria began quietly, “that you wanted the opposite of casual.”

“Uh… yeah,” he said, his confusion clear. “I did. I do. But you didn’t seem big on the commitment thing, so—”

“Neither did you,” she pointed out.

“Didn’t I?” he asked, his voice a little too mild.

Aria stopped in her tracks, turning to face him. She had no idea what was going on here, not anymore—but she knew one thing with absolute certainty, the kind of certainty she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

She trusted Nik. She cared about him. And she would fuck up anyone who messed with him.

Which meant she should probably put on her big girl knickers and say this.

“I want to be with you. For real.” Her words were barely a whisper, because although the room they were in seemed empty, anyone might be close by.

But she knew he’d heard her, because his face lit up like a Christmas tree—which was not exactly the reaction she’d expected. She didn’t know what she’d expected, actually. Something potentially devastating, bad enough that her palms were still sweating even as she saw the happiness in his eyes.

“You do?” he asked, a bit loudly. And then, again, his voice a whisper, “You do? You do. Aria don’t fuck with me—”

“Oh, come on. I’m serious. Of course, I’m serious.”

He grabbed her, ignoring her shrieked warning about the needle she still held and his brand-new tattoo. “Mine,” he murmured against her lips, wrapping an arm around her. “You’re mine. You’re with me. For real.”

“I mean, I thought we could… date,” she said awkwardly. “I’ll be honest, my relationships are always fucked up. I don’t know what we’re supposed to do, at this point.”

“Well, I’ve never had a relationship,” Nik said, “but I’ve been thinking about this a lot.”

He had? She should probably wonder about that fact, but he was saying lots of lovely things, and their lips were very close. She really had no time for thinking. She was extremely busy.

“You’re mine,” Nik repeated, “and I’m yours, and we’re going to do exactly what we’ve been doing, and it’s going to be great. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Do you trust me?”

She only hesitated for a heartbeat. That barely meant anything, all things considered. “Yes.”

Maybe he’d felt that slight pause. Maybe he hadn’t. Regardless, when he kissed her, she didn’t sense a single reservation from him.

Not one.

Chapter 9

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