Page 40 of We Never Kissed

“Oh…” I could have sworn I saw him hide a smirk. In gray sweatpants, his chest and hair still damp, he flew across the room, grabbed the phone, and flopped onto the bed. “Let’s just do this thing, huh?” He patted the space next to him.

“Do what?” I climbed onto the bed next to him.

Alex pulled up his contacts list and then handed me the phone. “Go ahead. Look all you want. Ask me anything. I am an open book.” He leaned over and pointed to my name, grinning. “See, you’re right on top.”

“That’s because my name starts withA.” I scrolled up a little. “But what about this Allison?”

He reached over and deleted her. “Gone.”

I laughed and then scrolled more. “Do I even want to know what the ratio of business to pleasure is?”

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter.” He put one arm behind his head, and his muscle bulged deliciously. “This is goingto make me sound like an ass, but most of the women in that phone were just me killing time.”

“Come on…” I elbowed him lightly.

“I’m serious. You don’t have to believe me, but a lot of times I was just distracting myself, waiting for the universe to deliver you to my doorstep. And that’s exactly what happened.”

I turned to him, mouth agape, and then pinched his side. “Oh my gosh. So if I didn’t come home, you never would’ve come after me?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I didn’t think I was good enough for you, Ava. I didn’t want to hurt you, and I knew your parents wouldn’t want us together.”

Still holding the phone, I turned on my side to face him. “You don’t know that. They love you, and besides they didn’t like Mark at first either. And then they ended up loving him.”

Alex turned then. “That’s because Sammy and I told your parents that he cheated on his taxes, and that instead of adopting a puppy, he bought one from a puppy mill for three grand.”

When he smiled proudly, I pushed against his chest. “Oh, my God. You did not.”

“Ask your brother.”

Flabbergasted, I turned my attention back to thephone, setting it on the bed between us. I scrolled to a few other women’s names: Bri, Cat, Erica. He deleted two of the three. Then I scrolled until I got to Jessica and then stared at Alex pointedly.

“I honestly don’t know what her deal is. She flirts with everyone, and she’s the kind of person to use sex to get what she wants. I’m sorry I still have to put up with her until I close the deal with her dad. I could delete her, but it won’t matter.”

I pursed my mouth. “Fine.” I scrolled more and stopped when I saw Lauren. “That’s the girl from the bar. She’s beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss over my neck.

“Are you going to delete her?” Not that I expected him to, but when he was so freely offering…

“Honestly, I don’t want to.” His gaze held mine. “She’s a good person, and she’s cool to be around, and I’d like to have her as a friend.”

“You went on a date with her, and she kissed you right in front of me.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t know we were together, and she went in there to explain it to you… We went on one date, and I talked about you the whole time.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s what she said.” Shedid seem like a genuine person. I was just about to tell him I didn’t expect him to rid all women from his life when he started laughing. “What?”

“You don’t get to be jealous of my female friends.”

“Why not?” I asked merely out of curiosity.

“Because you have Gunnar, and I’m just supposed to be cool with that. So, I get to keep Lauren.” He smiled proudly like we were trading players in some fantasy football league.

Yes, it irked me that he was right, and I was a little jealous, but I didn’t have a leg to stand on. “Can’t argue with that.” I handed his phone back.

“But we only got to L.”

“We don’t have time and besides, I trust you.” Of course I didn’t say I was worried I’d have to pull up my contacts, and I couldn’t remember if I’d saved one for his mom, Maggie. “And I’m sorry you have to wait around for me while I’m in my office, but it shouldn’t take long.”

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