Page 31 of The Fallacy of True Love
“You’re not going to believe this,” I blurted out the moment she picked up.
“You took my suggestion and did Lonzo?”
“What?” I almost shouted but caught myself. Lowering my voice for Inang’s sake, I said, “No.”
“Oh.”
“He’s renting the extra room here.” The beer should have relaxed me, but thinking about my new housemate had my muscles tightening. Wasn’t it enough that I’d been forced to interact with him multiple times today? Now I had to live with him too?
Lady Karma was not on my side.
“Oh.” The amusement in her voice had me scowling. “Wait, why’s he staying there?”
“According to him, not everyone from Manila is rich,” I muttered, pacing beside my bed.
“Well, that’s true. You should know that since you lived there.”
Still, of all the guesthouses he could have picked, why did he have to go for this one?
“He’s just there for one night, right?” Nikki pressed. “It’s not like he’s moving in permanently.”
The mere idea had me grinding my teeth. “Oh God, definitely not.”
“Did you ask if he’s single?”
“Don’t care.” Although based on how he’d reacted when I brought up his girlfriend, it seemed things weren’t all well on that front.
Nikki hummed. “You should ask. Cause if he is, it’s the perfect setup. You’re in the same house, so no need for the walk of shame. And he’s leaving tomorrow, which is what you prefer—not to mention he looks damn good. Honestly, Cam, you hit the jackpot with him.”
“You’re forgetting the other fact—that he’s annoying.”
“Not if you keep his mouth shut.”
An image of his stupid mouth on my skin flashed in my head—his lips kissing the curve of my neck before trailing down to suck?—
I cleared my throat. “If only I had duct tape.” My imagination conjured up Alonzo with tape across his mouth and his hands bound to my bed frame.
I wasn’t sure which version I preferred.
Nikki’s laughter mocked me. “I bet you could improvise.”
“Shut up.” Beneath my bra, my breasts grew heavy. I took another drink and said, “I thought I was the bad influence in our group.”
“I didn’t realize how fun it would be. Unfortunately for you, Eric’s not here to be the good cop.”
Something told me he wouldn’t argue with her.
“Cam, you saw how he lifted my daughter, right? He didn’t even break a sweat. He can definitely pin you up against the wall and?—”
I hung up on her. That was the only appropriate response after she’d given me three visuals to get worked up over. Dropping into my chair, I drank my beer and tried to push all thoughts of Alonzo out of my mind.
Sure, he had the type of forearms I liked, strong with those veins running up top. His biceps were well-defined too, though one of them was currently battered. And yes, I’d gotten a good view of his abs…not to mention what was outlined beneath his boxer briefs.
He was still a fake—a so-called nice guy who turned into an ass when he didn’t get his way. More than that, he reminded me of the place I wanted to forget. The people too.
I slipped off my bra from under my shirt and opened my laptop. Since my brain was running a million miles a minute, I might as well put it to work doing something productive.
Like getting myself more jobs.
