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Could this day get any more humiliating? I zoom to the page I left off on.
"Wait..." Hayden leans over, his face twisting in horror. "You took notes for this?"
I raise a quizzical brow. "Yes. And?"
He scans over the words, even though they're upside down to him. When I flip the page, revealing two more, his face contorts in misery. "Gee, Juliana. When you texted me about establishing ground rules, I didn't think you'd write a book." He laughs, more to himself than at me. "Pen and paper. I couldn't think of a drier way to start a relationship."
"Fake relationship," I correct him quickly.
"Yeah, yeah." He waves his hand in the air. "You know what I mean."
"You see? This is why we need rules. You're already downplaying the seriousness of this arrangement." I flip through the rest of the pages. Specifically, five more. Seven in total. There would've been more, too, if it weren't for Mr. Show Up Unannounced here. "Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to reach ten."
With each flip, his grimace worsens, as if I'm some vindictive teacher assigning a massive project before winter break.
He whistles low. "Wow, how terribly misfortunate."
I shoot him a damning look.
Crossing his arms, he flicks his chin. "Let's get this show on the road, babe."
I huff a breath. "Fine, we'll start with that. Enough with the babe, babydoll, baby-whatever. It's unnecessary—"
His laugh roars across the busy café, the sound swallowed up by loud chatter. Apparently, my first rule is so hilarious, tears brim his eyes, as he slaps his palm down, rattling our table. "Oh! You did not just say that, Jules."
Steam shoots from my ears at his defiance. "What's. So. Funny?"
Eyes widening, he zips his lips, before another bark spews through them. "Oh my god, you're serious!" he sputters, slapping some more, until only a few chuckles linger.
"Yes. I am serious," I repeat, my jaw clenching.
"Who in their right mind is going to believe that I don't have pet names for my girlfriend?"
"They're not some dating prerequisite, so—"
"They are with me, baby girl." His voice lowers an octave, sparking a warmth right between my legs.
My breaths grow shallow. "Stop that."
"Stop what?" he murmurs, a tomcat toying with his prey. Beneath our cramped table, his knees graze my chair, and his thighs close in on the outer sides of mine, trapping my legs between his.
"Giving my girlfriend affection? Here's a little secret. What I call you should be the least of your concerns, because my favorite place to show off what's mine is in public..." He trails a fingertip up my bare arm, light and teasing, eliciting goosebumps and fanning the fire in my center. "...and I love to play with what's mine."
My legs squirm against the cage his built for mine, prompting a deep chuckle from his chest, as he tightens back against them.
"We don't want anyone thinking our relationship is anything but real now, would we?" Sweeping back down the length of my arm, his touch grows possessive, and I find myself drawing closer, leaning over the tabletop. "So, you better get used to my attention, baby." Lazily, he fiddles with the front of my apron, lightly tugging the drawstrings under my breasts. "Although, it seems you're already—"
I bolt backwards, my tailbone crashing against my chair, like a man freed from Medusa's seductive stare. My heart palpitates in powerful thumps, seeping the breath from my lungs. I look elsewhere, unable to meet his satisfied grin.
How am I so easy for him? He knows I still can't contend with him, even five years later.
If I take this deal, I'm doomed.
If? that little devil singsongs. Honey, you already did. You might as well buckle up and enjoy the ride. And by ride, I mean his—
My eyes dart between customers in the café's nooks and crannies, to the bustling streets outside, literally anywhere, desperately needing a distraction. But I come up with no such solace.
"I-I'm, uhm..."
