Skinny Dipping (The Au Pairs 2)

"Don't worry about it, baby," Jacqui said, when he sat back down. "We'll get you out of that T-shirt soon enough."

213

eliza does the relationship math

IT WASN'T THAT HE DIDN'T INTRODUCE HER TO HIS

best friend from prep school--Matt Hooper, whom he'd mentioned a couple of times. He certainly did. He'd said, "Hey, Matt, this is Eliza." And Eliza had smiled up at Matt, and Matt had said, "Yo," and taken a seat. That was it. He didn't give her the special

once-over or the subtle nod that said, So, you're my buddy's girl. Eliza was just Eliza. Just some chick sitting next to Ryan at a club.

They'd been hooking up for more than a month now, and while she didn't expect Ryan to introduce her as his girlfriend ... she wasn't not his girlfriend either. When they'd first gotten together, she'd still thought of Ryan as Mara's boyfriend. But since Mara was so obviously Garrett's new girlfriend, that made Ryan ... her boyfriend? Eliza mentally calculated what Ryan had done for her--picked her up from the club so she wouldn't have to drive, called her every evening, never made plans to see her on the weekend because it was already assumed that he would, of

214

course, see her on the weekend. He'd even given her that necklace before they left Palm Beach. Maybe Eliza was crazy, but it sure sounded like girlfriend status to her.

And if she was his girlfriend, why didn't he say so? Why didn't he tell his friends about her? Why didn't any of them realize that she wasn't merely Ryan's date for the evening, or Ryan's friend, but the girl he went home with every night? Suddenly, Eliza stopped feeling confused, and started feeling incredibly ... dissed.

"Ryan, can I talk to you for a second?" Eliza asked.

"Sure, babe," Ryan nodded, smiling.

"I mean, just the two of us?" she clarified.

Eliza led him to a corner of the club. "What exactly do you think we're doing?"

"Having a drink?" Ryan shrugged, still smiling warmly at her.

"No, I me

an . . . the two of us . . . you know."

"Oh." Ryan's face went blank for a second; then he realized that Eliza was looking at him intently. "Well, the way I see it"-- Ryan waggled his eyebrows, obviously trying to make light of the situation--"we're like friends ..."

Uh-huh.

"... with benefits. You know . . ." He shrugged his shoulders and tried a winning smile.

"Benefits? What kind of benefits?" Eliza demanded. She knew the term, but she was angry enough to demand that he give her his explanation of it.

215

"You know . . . we're friends who like . . . hook up and stuff." Ryan grinned. "C'mon, let me get you another drink."

Where the hell did Ryan Perry get off being so casual about them? "So that's all I am? A hookup? A booty call?" Eliza spat.

"E, don't be that way," Ryan said, putting his arms around her to calm her down. "C'mon, it's not what you think. Don't be mad. You knew what we were doing, right?"

"Fuck you, Ryan!" Eliza blinked back tears. She wasn't cheap, but that's exactly how she felt like right now.

"Eliza . . . wait. . . Eliza!" Ryan stammered. "C'mon ..."

Several heads turned in their direction, watching the lovers' spat that was obvious to all. If any of Ryan's friends had thought Eliza and Ryan were just friends, then the sight of her throwing her drink in his face made it quite clear that they were anything but.

216

love is blind, but maybe