Page 53 of Reeling in Love

“Um, you can sleep on the bed and I’ll take the couch,” Gabs says, shutting the door and loosening his tie.

“No, of course not. It’s your room. Plus, I don’t think you’ll fit on your tiny couch. I’ll be comfortable enough there. Don’t worry.”

“So, when did Kevin move in with Carla?”

“About two weeks ago, I guess. She never mentioned it on our calls. When I told her she should’ve told me, she snapped and said I never told her about us. Us! As if there’s anything to tell. Sometimes I really don’t believe her.”

“How did she know?”

“Instagram! I’ve been posting about us all week from both our accounts. I thought if we’re doing it, we should do it right. Do things as if it was true. Truth be damned.”

“Um. Right. I’m still learning. After that one viral video, I haven’t had as much success.”

“That was luck. But you’ll get the hang of it. Sophia’s fairly active,” I say, in as casual a manner as possible. I’m dying to know when he kissed her and if it was any good. Was it better than ours? It better not be.

“Really? But that’s not surprising. She’ll do anything if it’s good for her business.”

“You seem to have gotten quite pally with her outside when I was talking to Carla. She kissing you and stuff? Seems that you like kissing her a lot.”

He’s removing his shirt and gives me a sideways glance from the other corner of the room, a tiny smile playing on his lips.

“Is that the green monster I see lurking under the beautiful skin of my girlfriend?”

My girlfriend! Those two words and the way he says it makes my heart pump a thousand liters of blood a minute. This is what he does to all the women he dates, who fawn all over him and I hate the way my innards feel like they’re sliding around inside my body when he aims these words at me.

“Why will I be jealous? As if I care. I just… y’know, if we’re doing this, it has to be done right. And if you enjoy kissing her and being with her, we don’t really need to do this. Poor girl, she probably doesn’t even know your mom wants you both to marry.”

“Oh, she knows.”

“What? And she still met you? She’s okay with it?”

“Yeah. What can I say? Seems I’m quite a catch. Women all over the world want to be with me, marry me without even knowing me.”

I hate her!

“Wait till they know the real you. Trust me, they’ll all run away like Paula did, breaking table lamps and God knows what else on their way out.”

He chuckles and struts to me, a T-shirt in his hand, his chest bare and his abs on full display. I plop down on the couch, my hands resting along the edges, pretending to not give a shit about him or his abs, trying to quieten my heartbeat, which seems to be drumming away to glory.

He stops right in front of me and bends down, his mouth near my right ear, barely touching it. I feel his breath on my ear and my neck and it sends a tingle down my spine. Then he whispers, “I’m glad they all ran away because none of them was the right woman for me.”

My breathing has quickened and I can still feel his warm breath on my neck as he takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.

Can anyone come by just a guy breathing down their neck? I guess I can and for fear of that happening I pull back a little.

“And who is the right one for you? Sophia? The one who thinks you’re a great kisser? When did you kiss her, by the way? On your first dinner date?”

Our gazes remain locked as he sits down beside me.

“Is that what she said?”

“No. She said you’re a great kisser. So….”

“Well, I must be really good for her to remember the kiss after all these years. Remember I told you about a girl I’d kissed when I’d gone to Paris for granddad’s funeral?”

“During the service? That one? The one that was your imagination?”

“Well, I always told you it was real, but you wouldn’t believe me. Sophia was the one. I got to know that recently.”

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