Page 34 of Unforgettable

“I’m not,” I quip defensively. As my brain proceeds to thinkbut are you sure?“We’re friends, remember? We made that clear.”

“Mhmm,” he hums. “And pigs fly and all that mumbo jumbo.”

“Don’t confuse me,” I bite out. “Sex isn’t on the table.”

He returns his headphones to his head and proceeds to ignore me as I rush around our apartment getting ready.

By six, I’m waiting just outside when Oz’s car pulls up. It’s an older Subaru, sturdy enough to be roadworthy, but not flashy enough to be a priority. It’s perfect for him, really, but also proof his passion lies more in where the car can take him than the way the vehicle itself looks.

He smiles when he pulls up to the curb and I climb in without waiting for an invitation. There is a split second where I almost lean in to kiss him. Both the idea and execution of it feeling so natural.

“Hi,” I say, almost squeaking.

“Hey. Thanks for getting ready so quickly.”

I stretch the seatbelt over my body, buckling myself in as he pulls away from the curb. “Not a problem. Since I didn’t have to worry about us having sex it didn’t take that long.” I throw my hand over my mouth, my cheeks burning.

“Is that so?” He chuckles.

“I’m so sorry. Murph said a few things and they got stuck in my head and I totally didn’t mean to blurt that out.”

“What did Murph say?”

Refusing to talk, I shake my head, but he still looks at me, waiting expectantly.

Huffing, I throw my hands up in resignation. “He just asked if I planned to have sex with you, and I said no. Because we said no sex. Friendsonly.”

When the silence stretches uncomfortably, I glance over to find his gaze flickering between me and the road ahead, and the corner of his mouth turns upward into a smirk. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Do you want to have sex with me?” he asks.

“What?” Baffled, I turn in the seat, my back now against the door. “I thought we already went through this.”

“We did, but…”

Rubbing my clammy hands up and down my thighs, I try not to acknowledge the way my heart is pounding at the slight insinuation that the rules have changed.

“Oz,” I caution.

He exhales a loud, dramatic breath while I stop breathing, not knowing what to expect. “I actually have a proposition for you.”

“You do?”

“I really wanted to do this face-to-face, maybe over some food,” he muses.

“Do what?”

“I need a date for my sister’s wedding.”

“W-w-what?” I stutter, rendered pretty much speechless.

“My sister is getting married in seven weeks, and I need a date.”

“Oh. For the wedding? Okay.” I look back at him. “And you want to take me?”

“Actually, I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend,” he says. “My boyfriend who my family wants to meetbeforethe wedding.”

“Wait.” I put my hand up between us. “What did I miss? How did we go from no sex, to me thinking you wanted sex, to fake boyfriends?”

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