I’m still filling the sink with soap and water when I hear footsteps, and then Luke walks into the kitchen. He’s in his famous pajama bottoms, his chest firm and distracting. He yawns as he walks past Naomi, his hair in bed-induced disarray.
“Morning,” he says to both of us.
He’s holding a box of cereal, walking toward me to grab a clean bowl, when I do it—I throw myself in front of him and press my lips against his. He freezes for one second, and then he’s kissing me back, his tongue wreaking all sorts of havoc on my sanity. I loop my arms around his neck as we kiss for one breathless, frenzied second.
We stop when Naomi clears her throat.
I disentangle myself from Luke, but he just keeps looking at me.
“I’ll take Mel’s water to her,” Naomi says, coming around to grab the glass on the counter where I left it and then leaving the kitchen. If what she saw did anything to assuage her suspicions, I can’t tell.
Once she’s gone, Luke cocks his head. “Now who’s ambushing who?”
But he doesn’t look angry or like I made him do something he didn’t want to do. And he definitelydiddo something.
“She’s suspicious,” I hiss to Luke. “She’s going on about how she didn’t see us at Dynasty when she was there on Friday. Also, who’s Court?”
I fold my arms across my chest.
Luke looks surprised. “Court?” he repeats. “How do you—”
“Apparently you’ve been speaking to her at all hours of the day and night.” I try not to let it show how desperately I’m hoping he’ll refute the claims, that he’ll say Naomi misheard or something.Something.
He just pushes his hand through his hair and reaches around me for a cereal bowl.
I know I should drop it, but I can’t. “How are we supposed to seem like a couple when you’re having phone sex with some girl?”
Luke turns on me. “First of all, we werenothaving phone sex.” An embarrassing sensation that feels a little like relief washes over me. “Second, I’ll be more careful.” He takes a step toward me, so only I can hear. “And third, you’re welcome to fuck whoever you’d like. This is just for show, remember?”
His words make me feel like I’ve been slapped.
“You know, I liked you better when you weren’t a giant asshole.”
Luke narrows his eyes at me. “Did you?”
I can’t answer him, so I turn away and go back to washing dishes.
10
THEN
“When I finishkicking your ass,” Ro said, his eyes fixed on the tennis ball as it hit the edge of his racket frame over and over again, “what do you intend to reward me with? Lunch? A parade?”
His tennis racket was turned on its side, and he was essentially juggling the ball with it. It was a game we’d played since we were little, trying to see who could bounce the ball on the racket frame the longest.
I’d shown up at the club that day intent on hanging out with Rowan whether he liked it or not.
I ignored him and kept counting.
“One hundred thirty-nine. One hundred and forty. One hundred forty-one.Yes!” I cried as his ball spun away from him. “You’re at one hundred and forty-one.I’mone hundred and forty-nine and undefeated, baby! So close and yet so far.”
“My eyes got tired,” Ro complained as I did my victory dance around him.
“A W is a W,” I said, still flapping my arms around like a chicken.
“It’s because you distracted me,” Ro said, changing tactics and trying to blame his loss on me.
“I did not! Next time, maybedon’tget cocky and try to talk, mkay?” I danced directly in front of him until he shoved me out of his way so he could walk back to the clubhouse.
