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“You’re right. I was thinking of telling them how we made a vow to skinny dip and eat wedding cake for our one year anniversary.”
Pearl rolled her eyes, arms folded. “I’m going back to the room and I’m ordering room service.”
“Our second date already. Things are moving so fast,” I said, jogging to catch up with her.
Our food was spread out on the foot of the bed. She’d ordered salad, a baked potato, a chocolate and strawberry milkshake, and a slice of chocolate cake. I had a cheeseburger and fries. When I tried to sit cross legged beside her on the bed, she’d kicked me off and pointed to the chair, so I was sitting backwards in my chair in front of the bed. Pearl still had on the green dress but she’d kicked off her shoes and let her hair down. I was munching on my burger and trying to decide which version I liked better. The done-up, prim and proper version of Pearl I’d seen at dinner? Or maybe the frumpy, ready to bite your head off version I’d seen after her day of travel. Of course, the nauseated, dressed for work version was a strong contender.
Maybe the problem was I liked all the versions of her, because each one came with the patented Pearl sass and fire. Call me a masochist, but I enjoyed how spunky she was. I also liked how just beneath that fire, there was a delicate edge to her. It was almost like she was lashing out when I got too close because she was afraid of letting me see how fragile she was beneath the angry exterior.
She was staring at the bed with a strawberry milkshake in one hand, legs crossed, and hunched over like she was all alone on a Thursday night in her hotel room. Except the glare. That glare made me certain she knew I was still in the room, even if it was aimed at her food.
I popped a fry into my mouth, chewing and considering that idea. “Am I really that bad?” I asked.
“Yes.” No hesitation. She didn’t even look up at me when she spoke.
“You realize you’re no picnic either, right? Always glaring. Always grumpy and mad. Would it kill you to have a little fun?”
She finally raised her eyes to mine. “Fun? Is that what you call this? My job is on the line, thanks to you.”
I took the fry in my hand and carefully laid it to rest on my plate. This was the sort of conversation that you put the fries down for. I could feel it. “Par-don?” I asked.
“You dragged the bosses deeper into this. You made it more real back there. We could’ve just downplayed it and sounded boring. Now they’re all probably invested in us. What are they going to think if they find out it’s all fake? What’s my sister going to think if I ruin her wedding by dragging some elaborate fake relationship into everything?”
“The only way they find that out is if one of us screws up. And it’s not going to be me. So are you planning to screw this up for us, Pearl?”
“I don’t know what I’m planning.”
“I think we’ve gotten off to a bad start. That’s all. How about we get to know eachother better.”
She didn’t answer right away. The only response was the sound of her slurping up her milkshake through the big, red and white swirly straw. She’d moved on from the half-finished strawberry to the chocolate one. “I don’t want to get to know you. We both swore off relationships, remember? But maybe that kind of thing was just lip service to you, because from where I’m sitting, it seems like you’re trying to seduce me or something. Always looking so–” She made a frustrated sound and waved the bite of cake on her fork around randomly. “Like that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “How is it that I look, Pearl?”
“Oh shut up,” she popped the cake in her mouth, speaking around the mouthful. “You know exactly how you look. You’ve seen mirrors before. Don’t tell me your ego’s so hungry you need me to say it.”
I raised my palms. “Okay, well, would it make matters any better if I said I find you distractingly pretty?”
“What? No. That would only make things worse.”
“Worse how?”
“Because then I’d definitely think you were trying to seduce me or get in my pants or something.”
I laughed. “I’m not allowed to acknowledge I find you attractive without it being a ploy to fuck you?”
She swallowed with a gulp, cheeks tinting red. “So you don’t want to sleep with me, then? What’s wrong with me?”
I threw my head back, biting back a smile. “Sorry. Do you want me to say I want to fuck you? Because I’m just trying to make sure I don’t get chewed out for taking this the wrong way.”
