Page 65 of The Fake Dating Plan

“Gosh. It was a lie, okay!”

I practically ran away from his apartment not because I wanted to leave, but because I was too embarrassed to stay. But it seems like I was the only one feeling the embarrassment. He was okay with being caught with his sister and his ex-girlfriend while making out with his other ex-girlfriend. I wasn’t. I came up with Laura’s sickness so I could escape. Except he followed me here, and I didn’t know how to further this ruse.

“A lie?” I watched as comprehension slowly dawned on him. The crinkles on his forehead disappearing and his mouth curving up into a big smile. Then he burst out in laughter.

“You were embarrassed!” he said between bouts of laughter.

“How could I not be? The situation was downright mortifying.”

“I mean, it was only Francie.”

“And your ex-girlfriend.”

“Is that why you ran away? I will admit Gia was a bit of a surprise, but it was nothing.”

“Do you constantly have sex in front of your exes?”

“We hadn’t gotten there yet if I recall correctly.” His eyes brightened.

“Doesn’t matter. Being caught naked wasn’t on my holiday agenda.”

“We weren—” He stopped when he saw the scowl on my face and raised his hands in mock surrender. “Next time I’ll make sure my sister and her friends aren’t around before we get to doing anything naughty.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away from me to dart his gaze around the apartment. It was a loft that still showed some of its factory roots through the bare red brick walls and black steel piping. He began strolling around, his gaze scanning the place. “Just realized this is the first time I’ve been here,” he said as he wandered to the bedrooms.

“And it will be the last.” I darted over to stop him as he was about to open Laura’s bedroom. “Now that you’ve driven me here, you can go. That’s not mine.”

His hand fell from the doorknob. “Which one’s yours?”

There were only two other doors. My bedroom and the bathroom. He pointed to a door behind him. “This one?”

The bastard was right.

“No.”

He smirked. “It’s the one.” He said, going in. “Looks lovely. Very you.”

I followed him into the room. It looked cleaner than I remembered. I silently thanked Laura for tidying it up. “Thank you, now get out.”

“I don’t know.” He went over to the bed and threw himself there. “Since you’ve said we’re all alone here, I think I’ll stay.”

I sighed. What was I going to do with him? I had to admit; he looked like he belonged there. On my bed. It would be easy to just lie next to him and… I banished those thoughts away. He needed to go. I already had more than enough of Axel Reid. Too much would be an overdose.

“You know, as amazing as you look standing over there,” he said with his arms against the back of his head, “I’m sure you’d look even better lying here next to me.” He pats the bed for emphasis.

He looked so tempting. Like a Greek god brought to modern times. What was wrong with succumbing to the temptation? Nothing. He pats the bed again and smiled when I put one foot in front of the other. He positively grinned when I threw myself next to him. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled me into him and held me close, with my head on his chest and his arms wrapped around me. His arms felt warm, cozy, and safe. There was something comforting about being held to his solid frame that made me snuggle even closer.

“I thought you wanted to be with me in other ways,” I said to him.

“All in good time. I’ve always wanted to do this.”

I looked up at his face. His eyes were closed, but he had not fallen asleep. “Do what?”

“Hold you like this.”

“And you’ve never done it before.”

“Not after you and I broke up, no.”

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