Page 34 of Pretend

“One,” Eric said, finishing off his beer as he watched Morgan’s eyes narrow dangerously on him.

“Fine. Four,” Morgan said as she paused in her attempt to intimidate him to push her glasses back up her nose.

“Three,” Eric said, getting up to place his empty bottle on the kitchen counter.

“Five,” came the reply that had him turning around to grab a Coke out of the fridge to hide his smile.

So. Fucking. Adorable.

“And if I let you have five skips?” Eric asked as he closed the refrigerator door and focused on the woman watching his every move.

“I’ll let you live,” Morgan said, gesturing for him to get on with it.

“That’s very generous of you,” Eric said, opening his Coke as his eyes flickered to Morgan’s lips, only to force himself to look away, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to think straight if he thought about just how good it felt when she kissed him today.

He wanted to kiss her again.

“I know,” Morgan said, nodding as she once again gestured for him to start talking.

“Five, it is,” Eric said as he sat back down while he debated where to start. “What are you hiding?” he asked, deciding to start from there.

“Many things,” Morgan drawled, making his lips twitch as she gestured for him to hand over the Coke. “You need to be specific with your questions and no lying.”

“Fair enough,” Eric said, handing over his Coke. “Why did you do shots with the asshole?” he asked, watching as her expression turned panicked before she managed to pull it back.

Clearing her throat, Morgan said, “You already asked me that question.”

“And you never answered it,” he pointed out.

Nodding, Morgan said, “Skip,” as she took a sip of Coke.

“Interesting,” Eric murmured as he thought about that before asking, “Why did you lie about having a migraine that night?”

“I believe it’s my turn to ask a question,” Morgan said as he gestured for her to hand the Coke back over.

“What do you want to know?” Eric asked, taking a sip as he watched her.

“Why did you give Baker House to Uncle Jared?” came the question that he debated skipping, but…

Fuck it.

“Because I wanted this house,” Eric said as he watched her closely.

“You love Baker House,” Morgan said, sighing heavily as she reached over and stole the soda out of his hand.

“I love you more,” he admitted quietly, watching her go still.

“Why are you toying with me?” she asked hollowly.

“Why did you lie about having a migraine that night?” he asked, ignoring her question and asked one of his own.

“Because I didn’t want to go,” Morgan said, only to follow that up with, “Tell me why you’re toying with me, Eric.”

“I’m not,” he promised her as something occurred to him. “Were you planning on coming to the wedding?”

“No,” Morgan said, taking him by surprise as she finished off his soda and placed it on the table.

“Why not?”

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