Page 36 of Up All Night

My phone pinged, and I looked to see a text from an unknown number.

Unknown Number:Just so you know, it wasn’t a tie tonight. I won. I got seven women’s phone numbers tonight, including yours. *smiling devil emoji

Nofreakingway.

Had that whole morning meeting thing been a lie just to get my number? That little cheater.

Hurrying up the stairs to our apartment, I said a quick goodnight to Kate and my mom before getting ready for bed in record time because West had some explaining to do.

Shutting my bedroom door, I laid down on my stomach by the floor vent.

“West, you freaking cheater Vanderhall,” I called through the vent.

His chuckle reached my ears, and as much as I didn’t want to smile, I totally did.

“Is there even an early morning meeting that might happen?” I asked, curious to know if he had planned it.

“Nope,” his voice floated up. “You get to see me nice and early Monday morning.”

“You tricked me!” I exclaimed, but there was laughter in my voice.

“It was all in the name of winning the game,” he said. “Which you wanted to play, I might add. We both had to fib a little tonight to get what we wanted.” He paused, his voice turning more serious. “Unless you are, uh, planning to contact those guys.”

It was true. We had both done and said what we needed to in order to get phone numbers tonight.

When I didn’t respond immediately, he asked. “Or are you going to call them?”

I smiled at his question, happy at his curiosity. “I don’t think so,” I said, even though the answer was totally no. I hadn’t been remotely interested in any of them. But for some reason, I didn’t want West thinking of me as someone who didn’t have any options. I wanted to come across as someone who chose to be single, not that I was single because there was no one who wanted me.

“What about you? Are you going to call any of the girls you talked to tonight?” I tried to make my voice sound nonchalant, but I was just as curious to know his answer as he seemed to be about mine.

“We’ll see.” His answer was vague, and I ignored how my stomach tightened at those words.

“You seemed to really like that blonde girl you talked to first,” I hedged.

“Anna?”

“You talked to herforever.”

I slapped a hand over my mouth.Crap.Even I could hear the annoyance in my voice. I dropped my head in my hands. Why should I care how long he’d talked to a woman? I could only hope my irritation got lost in the vents.

“She was a talker.” I could hear the amusement in his voice, and I had a feeling he had definitely heard my tone. “I had a hard time getting away from her.”

So he had been trying to get away from her? I smiled. Why did that make me happy?

“I had one of those, too,” I said, hoping to redirect the conversation away from my weird feelings about him andAnna. “He was an accountant who really loved his job. Wanted to tell me every detail of his day-to-day work, including his lunch schedule. He always brings a roast beef sandwich on Mondays, on Tuesdays he packs grilled chicken, and then I feel bad admitting it, but I zoned out after that.”

West chuckled. “That riveting conversation doesn’t have you wanting to call him? At least to find out the rest of the week’s lunches?”

I laughed. “Not particularly.”

Although I couldn’t care less about Accountant Guy’s food schedule, it had me wondering if West had one. I wouldn’t put it past him to include his meals in his planner.

“What about you? Does Mr. Stick-to-a-Schedule have a set meal plan?” I played with some of the loose threads on the carpet, waiting for him to answer.

“Just because I like schedules and being productive doesn’t mean I plan out my food.” He sounded like he was smiling, but I couldn’t be sure. “I’m too much of a mood eater,” he added.

Continuing to tease him, I said, “But aren’t you always in the same mood—grumpy?”

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