Elijah rolled his eyes. “I still don’t like you.”
“The feeling is absolutely, one hundred percent mutual.”
“But you’re also a little bit all right too,” he said without looking at me.
“Eh, you’re growing on me.”
He chuckled, and okay, I liked the sound of it, like a soft melody that relaxed me.
“So…ground rules. We hang out. We flirt. We try and make your bestie jealous, which I don’t think will be hard to do. I’m better-looking than he is, and like I said, he was definitely uncomfortable when I mentioned we went out to dinner.”
It surprised me when he didn’t counter my better-looking-than-he-is comment.
“If he and Tight Ass get serious, we stop. If they become exclusive, we stop. If I feel there’s a chance of hurting either of them, we stop. Technically, the ball is still in Danny’s court. We’re only showing him what he’s missing, and I might give you some pointers on proper flirting and shit like that.”
“Hey, fucker! I can flirt.”
“Yeah, whatever you say.”
“Remind me again why I’m doing this?”
“Because I’m good? And you want Danny?”
He took another sip, paused. “Do you think it’ll work?”
My chest seized at the question. Because I didn’t think it would work, or because I didn’t want it to? And if not, figuring out why in the hell not was high on my priority list. “I don’t know. But hey, we’ll have fun in the process, right?”
As I waited for Elijah to reply, I found myself wondering about him. He asked who I was, but I didn’t really know him either. What made him tick? What was his full history with Danny? In life? Not that I should care about those things. We were…well, it wasn’t like we were friends, and I honestly didn’t even know what we were doing, but apparently we were doing it.
“Does wanting to kill each other equal having fun? Because I’m positive that’s what’s going to happen.”
There was a lightness in my chest that hit me out of nowhere, almost making me lose my breath. I ignored it. “I’m sure you’re right.”
“I almost feel bad,” Elijah said, making me frown.
“Why?”
“Because you’re so gorgeous and according to you such a good lay, and I’ll be robbing the men and women of Atlanta of the chance to be with you.”
Nooooo. I hadn’t even thought about that.
“I mean, Danny will never believe I’m seeing you if he runs into you out with someone else at a bar or something.”
“Okay, well, that was fun while it lasted. I’ve changed my mind.”
“But, Shaw! You’re so good at what you do! You’re the only person who can help me!” The sarcasm was thick, complete with sweeping arm gestures, which again, cute.
“You do realize how unfair you’re being to all those people who want to sleep with me, right?”
“So like, no one?” he teased.
“Take it back!” I countered, and we laughed together. “Well…we could always…”
“No! Nope. No way. You’re crazy if you think I’m sleeping with you.”
“Methinks thou doth protest a bit much, hmmm? But you do have to do one thing,” I told him.
“And what’s that?”
“Promise not to fall in love with me. I’m not a fan of breaking hearts.”
Elijah choked on his coffee, coughing and stuttering and then…laughing. Not a simple little giggle either. I’m talking full-fledged, laugh-out-loud, rolling-on-the-floor-emoji laughter. “I had no idea you were so funny.”
I pulled a few paper towels off the roll and handed them over. He swiped at the coffee on his chin.
“I think you’ll be the one to fall for me. Isn’t that how the story goes? The confident guy falls for the one who doesn’t grovel at his feet?”
“Pfft. Yeah right.”
“Yeah right about me too.”
“Famous last words! Also, I’m tired, go home.”
Elijah shook his head, but it was obvious he wasn’t really upset with me.
I walked him to the door. In the hallway, he stopped and looked at me. “What are we doing, Shaw?”
I didn’t know why, but in that moment it was strange to hear him say my name. Maybe because he hadn’t used it a lot? And when he did, it was with sarcasm or frustration. “I don’t know, but if you’re in, I’m in.”
He gave me a sweet, almost shy smile that made me feel…strange. That was the only word I could think of.
“I’m in,” he replied.
I nodded, then closed the door, needing some space between us.
What were we doing, indeed.
CHAPTER TEN
Elijah
My brain wouldn’t slow down enough for me to get much sleep. Every time I tried, I thought about Danny and Garrett. And about Shaw. I couldn’t quit obsessing about his message to Rural, his willingness to help me, and the fact that I’d agreed to do this with him.
It wasn’t me. I didn’t do things like this, but on the other hand, I figured most people didn’t do shit like this. Who decided to fake-date their neighbor whom they’d anonymously emailed for advice on scoring their best friend?