Page 55 of Matched By My Rival
Luckily, I had a single dorm room or that would have beenreallyawkward for my roommate.
Cooper and Trace stood in the center of the front yard, handing out assignments to the volunteers who were arriving. It was strange to think that I hadn’t been here since before Simon and I hooked up. I had no idea what to expect. Would he pretend to hate me for the benefit of everyone else, or give me one of those devastating smiles that made me want to drop to my knees and beg? Whatever he did, I’d play along. But I couldn’t deny that I wanted a smile—something to tell me that he wanted this as much as I did.
Because some days, it seemed as if I were obsessed, and I didn’t want to be alone in that.
The two-story house stood regal and stately, looking incredibly different than my first day on site. It was a bright spot of color in an otherwise drab, aging neighborhood. Its owner, too, was brighter—smiling as he stepped out onto the porch to wave to the crew.
“Parker, why don’t you work on the north side of the house today?” Cooper said when I checked in with him. “We’re just touching up trim, and then we’ll be finished! Afterward, we’ll get a round of drinks to celebrate, thanks to my sugar daddy here,” he said, nudging Trace playfully.
Trace gave him a mock scowl. “I knew you were after my modest middle-class income.”
They laughed together in that way couples had when they were sharing private jokes, and it made my heart thump hard and my gaze search the yard for Simon. Could we ever have that kind of closeness?
Online, we meshed so well. But in person, our time since ceasing hostilities had been too limited to really see how we’d click as a couple. Not that we were arealcouple. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe we could just forget all the negative history between us.
But the thought of privacy with Simon still made my heart flutter like a schoolboy with a crush.
It’d been a long time since I’d felt anything like that.
Intimacy with anyone was highly unusual for me. I’d barely managed a few one-off hookups with men since starting college—and my relationships with women had been short-lived as well. Football had taken up so much time and energy that I’d been satisfied with nothing but casual sex for a while. But the more I couldn’t indulge my attractions to men, the less satisfaction I took in dating women. It felt as if I were only going through the motions.
Until BiCuriousStud.
He’d given me the one thing I’d wanted deep down. A real connection.
That he turned out to be Simon, who I already had amazing physical chemistry with, was just icing on the cake. It was the daily messaging, the flirty banter, and the joking around, and the bitching about our days that had really hooked me.
Even when we weren’t telling each other anything about ourselves, we were kind of revealing everything that was important. Our personalities complemented one another. I never would have believed it possible if we hadn’t connected online first. Simon hid so much of himself from people, but online he’d let his guard down and allowed himself to be seen. I didn’t know if he’d ever allow himself to be so vulnerable in person.
Simon stood with a few of the guys on the south side of the house. Opposite from where Cooper had directed me. I knew that was probably at Simon’s request from the days when he’d hated the sight of me.
I took the long way around the house so that I could pass by him. I paused to speak. “You don’t have to keep avoiding me here, you know.”
He turned and smiled. “Hey. I’m not avoiding you.”
Score 1 for Parker’s fragile ego.
“Right. Well, I’ll be on the other side of the house. WhereCooperwants me to work.”
His lips quirked in an almost smile. “Well, he’s the boss.”
“Uh-huh.” The other two guys Simon had been chatting with had already turned away to get started on their work. They paid us little attention. “If that’s how you want to play it…”
Simon nudged me a few more feet away from the crew. “It’s not about playing, okay? I can’t work with you.”
I bit down on my lower lip, unsure how to respond. Hestilldidn’t want to work with me? After everything?
Simon lifted a finger, pointing. “See? That right there. How can I concentrate on working when you’re doing that?”
“What?”
Simon took a quick look around, then used his thumb to pull my lip from between my teeth. “That,” he murmured. “I can’t be expected to use tools around you. Someone will get hurt.”
I smiled slowly, feeling a flush of pleasure work its way up my body. Maybe Simon wasn’t ready to fall on his knees and confess love to me. But knowing that Simon wanted me to distraction? Nowthatwas still pretty damn good—and an excuse for avoiding me that I would happily accept.
“Well, we can’t have that. It might ruin our plans for later.”
Simon gave me a searing look. “No, we really can’t risk it.”
