Not Pretending Anymore by Ward, Penelope (big ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“Yeah. He’ll be heading back to California, where he’s from. He’s only here on a temporary, six-month assignment for work.”

Wow. Somehow thinking about Declan leaving had a much greater effect on me than it had when he’d first moved in. That was really going to suck when the time came.

We stayed for about a half hour more before I went to the kitchen to thank Kayla for dinner and hugged my dad goodbye. All in all, the visit went better than I ever could have anticipated. I made plans with Dad to visit again next week on my own. This would hopefully be the beginning of a fresh start to our relationship.

Once Declan and I got back in the car, I turned to him. “I have a funny story for you.”

“Whatcha got?”

“That whole time, my dad thought you were gay.”

He’d just been about to start the ignition but paused. “Say what?”

“Yes.”

A perplexed look crossed his face. “Do I seem gay to you? You’d tell me, right? Do I give off vibes?”

“No.” I laughed. “He thought you were gay because he couldn’t understand how you and I get along so well, how you could say all those nice things about me, how we could be living together, but not be together. So, he just assumed.”

“Well, damn,” Declan said as he started the car. “No wonder he was so nice to me. He didn’t see me as a threat. Did you tell him I’m not gay?”

“Of course. I told him you were infatuated with someone else.”

He scrunched his face as if I’d somehow offended him. “Infatuated? I don’t think that’s the right word exactly. I mean, I really like Julia. A lot. But infatuation is a bit much. That makes it sound creepy.”

“When I first met you, you told me you were in love with her. You’re not even with her, and she has a boyfriend. If that’s not infatuation, I don’t know what is.”

“I might’ve exaggerated a little. I was also trying to weasel my way into your apartment and would’ve said anything to peg myself as someone who wouldn’t be interested in sex with you. I should have just told you I was gay.”

I winked. “Apparently my father would have believed it.”

CHAPTER 8

Declan

The following night, Julia and I were working together in my living room. Once again we’d taken position together on the floor, using the coffee table as a makeshift desk. Wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but she seemed to be sitting closer to me than usual.

The plan was for Molly to come out at some point and flirt with me. It wasn’t going to be anything too crazy, just something to ruffle Julia’s feathers.

But the plan hadn’t been going according to schedule because Molly was taking her sweet-ass time. I didn’t know what the fuck she was doing in her room—masturbating to her Hulu show or what—but she hadn’t made an appearance yet.

I looked up from typing on my laptop to notice Julia looking at me. Caught in the act, she turned away. Perfect. Now if only Molly could get her act together so we could stir the pot.

“You said your roommate is home, right?”

“Yeah. You wouldn’t know it though, would ya? She’s pretty quiet.”

“True. I don’t hear a peep. You think she’s not happy that I’m here? Are we disturbing her?”

“No. I don’t think so. I think she might have fallen asleep.”

That was the only explanation that made sense.

I pretended to need something from the fridge, and instead texted Molly on the down-low.

Declan: Are you coming out sometime tonight?

The three dots moved around as she typed.

Molly: I’m having some technical difficulties.

Declan: What are you talking about?

Molly: I was trying out these new lashes, and I got glue stuck in my left eye. I can hardly open it.

Declan: What made you decide to do that tonight?

Molly: I wanted to sex it up…for our performance.

Declan: So you glued your eye shut? The one-eyed look is so damn sexy, Mollz. Truly.

Molly: Shut up. This is all your fault.

The funniest visual of Molly walking out of her room with a patch covering one eye popped into my head. But that quickly morphed into her wearing a wench’s costume—with one of those cinched-waist things that laced up and covered her rib cage. It would stop just below the swell of her breasts, making her tits practically spill over from her top.

I’d been staring at my phone, lost in some ridiculous fantasy, and hadn’t heard Julia walk into the kitchen.

“Who are you texting over there?” she asked. “You have the dirtiest smirk on your face.”

Shit. “I, uh, my sister.” I closed my eyes, silently cursing myself and my dumbass answer. Great, now she probably thinks I’m freaking creepy. “She was, uh…” I attempted to iron out the wrinkles. “She’s trying to fix me up with one of her friends.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, with four sisters, it’s a pretty common occurrence.”

“Are you…going to go out with the woman?”

I shook my head. “I learned my lesson a long time ago. Keep your love life as far away from your sisters as possible. The last time I let one of them set me up, I wound up on a date with a woman who loved cats.”

“So? Are you allergic or something?”

“No. But she picked me up in her car, and when I got in, I realized just how much she loved her cats. Six of them were in the backseat.”

“She brought her cats on your date?”

I nodded. “Said they got lonely at home, liked to go for car rides, and were a good judge of character.”

“That’s a little bizarre. Did the cats approve of your character, at least?”

“One leaped into the front seat while we were on our way to the restaurant and threw up all over my pants.”

Julia laughed. “Oh my God. You mean they weren’t even in carrying cages? What did you do?”

“She drove me back home so I could