Page 10 of About That Rule

CHAPTER4

WEEKENDS WERE NOT going to be a good time if they continued having repeats of last night. Samantha had a whole new appreciation for the movie Groundhog’s Day. She declined three invites to go out, including one from Becca, but they were all the same: drinks somewhere then dancing at a club. These were plans she always indulged in because she loved the party scene and toeing the line of being outrageous. She used to fill the night drinking with her friends, flirting with eligible men, and sometimes, if the mood was right, going home with someone.

It wasn’t like she could do that now, though, given she wasn’t legally considered single anymore.

She wondered how Nate was handling it. They hadn’t talked since they’d established the rules to survive their ninety-day stint as being a couple. It was time to give her husband a call. She figured he was probably out since it was a Saturday night, but she planned to leave him a funny voicemail over their oxymoron situation of the century.

“Hey,” he answered gruffly.

“Oh, you answered.” She sat back in surprise.

“Why did you call if you didn’t want me to answer?”

Valid point, but she had prepared a song to leave as a voicemail. It was her one of her ways of coping. If she couldn’t have fun, she could annoy others with song—which typically ended up with her being entertained.

“I thought you’d be out.” Like she should have been, she thought grimly. “It’s midnight in New York. Isn’t that the equivalent of time to party?”

“It is when you can fuck someone.” Nate sounded like someone had peed in his Cheerios.

She curled up on the couch in her living room. “We agreed anything with clothes on was okay to do with someone else.”

He grunted. “I have no desire to make out with someone and leave.”

So, Nate wasn’t into kissing. Which was a bummer. He had sexy lips. Kissing lips. Lips she definitely wouldn’t have minded putting hers on.

“Someone didn’t have fun playing spin the bottle when they were in high school,” she joked. It was her attempt to lighten the mood. No matter what, Nate was her friend, and he deserved some cheering up.

Finally, he chuckled. “I actually never played. Didn’t need to.”

“My cocky friend is back.” She clapped so he could hear. “And everyone should have to play spin the bottle at some point in their life. We should play when I visit next weekend.”

There was a pause, and Samantha was quick to realize what had him speechless: the idea of them kissing and actually remembering it. She had to backtrack. That had not been her intension.

“Ew, we’re not playing spin the bottle just the two of us! This isn’t about you and me kissing. Gross. You should throw a small party at your apartment. I’ll be the hostess with the mostest and suggest the game,” she clarified. Even though the image of them kissing didn’t seem too bad.

“Fine, but I’m trying not to be angry you think kissing me would be gross.”

“I guess we’ll find out because we need to capture some pictures of us being a couple.”

“The pictures have to include kissing?” Nate asked, as if the idea had never crossed his mind. How lucky for him since she was now thinking about it multiple times a day.

She wouldn’t admit it to him, but ever since they’d gotten hitched, she’d spent way too much time daydreaming about Nate and his kissy lips.

“Sure do.” Samantha was matter of fact about it. She grabbed a pillow and tucked it behind her head. “We need to prove to the judge we tried.”

“Should we make another rule or something?” Nate continued with his questions, sounding unsure about this whole kissing thing.

No need for him to get all grumpy.

It wasn’t like they were going to make out, just a kiss here or there. Adding a rule would make it uptight and boring. She couldn’t handle any more boring in her life. “No way. We don’t get to have sex for three months, the least we can do is enjoy kissing each other instead of making it manufactured. There’s no way it would get out of control, you know? And you better watch out, Nate—I’ll be the best damn kiss you ever had.” It was as if her voice had a mind of its own, flirting with him in a sultry tone.

“Challenge accepted,” he responded, flirting right back. His voice was sexy, deep, and seductive. What was worse was how much she liked it. “I promise you, after we kiss, you’ll compare every other man to me.”

He didn’t say goodbye, just hung up. Whether he’d meant to do it or not, she wasn’t sure, but the rest of her night, all she thought about was Nate and whether he could live up to his words of being that good of a kisser.

“YOU’RE PLAYING LIKEshit,” Nate’s friend Todd passed the ball to him aggressively.

He was playing basketball with his friends, and his game was off, but he hadn’t been expecting to get called out over it.