Love or Lust (LOL): Part 3

He won’t tell me what his plans were. Not even a hint.

And I refuse to make him a margarita until he does.

Instead, we’re having a staring contest. One neither of us is winning because neither of us wants to give in.

“Fine,” he finally relents. “You make the margaritas—and don’t skimp on the tequila—and I’ll tell you what we were supposed to be doing tonight.”

Nodding, I start filling the blender with ice. When Milo doesn’t say anything else, I hold the bottle of tequila perched over the blender cup but don’t pour.

“We were going to go on a moonlit horseback ride. I know you love horses, but the damn rain started. I even had the chef pack a picnic for us. Happy now?”

“No. Now I’m sad,” I say as I pour a heavy-handed amount of tequila over the ice, the smell bringing back memories of the shots we did the other night. Maybe margaritas were a bad idea.

“Me too. I had the perfect plan, and the damn weather had to ruin it.”

“It would have been fun,” I say before flipping the switch, the blender coming to life, drowning out Milo’s words. When I see him waving at me out of the corner of my eye, I kill the blade.

“Wanna have a picnic indoors instead?” he asks, a bright smile on his face, the first I’ve seen since he walked through my front door almost an hour ago.

I shrug my shoulders, and then Milo picks up his phone and begins tapping the screen feverishly. The phone dings as I’m salting the rim of the margarita glasses, and when I hand Milo one, filled to the brim with the potent drink, he’s smiling ear to ear.

“Our goodie basket will be here in a few minutes.”

“It’s being delivered?”

“I wasn’t about to run to the stables and back in this storm. Plus, Claudia needs to earn her paycheck from time to time.”

I can’t help but laugh and picture the look on Claudia’s face when she finds out she has to run out in this crappy weather. It brings joy to my heart. And when she finally arrives, looking like someone pushed her into the pool fully clothed, I laugh in her face.

Hard.

She doesn’t find the humor in it at all as she shoves the basket in Milo’s hands and walks away without a word.

“Why do I feel like there’s bad blood between you two?” Milo asks, setting the basket on the rug in front of the TV and slowly unpacking the contents. Cheese. Wine. Crackers. The perfect spread for a date under the stars.

“Probably because there is. She’s been nothing but bitch to me for a while now, and I’m done putting up with her shit.”

“At least it’s almost over.”

“I’m counting down the days,” I retort seriously.

“Well, stop counting for a few hours and let’s enjoy our time together.”

The thing I love most about Milo is he’s aware of where we stand and accepts it. He knows I’m not interested in him, and instead of being hurt by the simple facts or fighting against it, he’s okay with it. He still wants to be my friend. Still enjoys spending time with me and doesn’t make things awkward.

“This was your idea of a perfect date for us? Why?”

“Well, we were told tonight was supposed to be about the girls. To show how well we know them. I know you enjoyed riding to the creek, and I saw and heard about the night where you snuck out and had an unscheduled date under the stars, so I wanted to give you that.”

“Jace told you?” I ask, astonished.

“Seriously?” Milo seems amused at my surprise. “The guy never stopped talking about you. From day one, you were it for him. We all knew we didn’t have a shot with you if you ever started to feel the same. And once you did, the only person who refused to give up was Lennon, though I think he has now. I think he finally gets it.”

“Gets what?”

How much does Milo know? I didn’t realize he and Jace were that close. Were all the guys close? I mean, the girls were, some of us. At least, we were at some point in the competition. Courtney and I felt close at first until she turned on me. Same with Teegan. I think the only person I never felt close with was Natasha and that was probably because she was more interested in the lust part of the game than anyone else.

“That it’s been you two against the rest of us from the get-go.”