Page 28 of No Interest in Love

“So how does it work?” I ask, interrupting whatever he was saying.

He furrows his brow and takes his eyes off the road long enough to give me a weird look. “Uh…well, however we want. Whatever feels good. It’s not like we’re assigned positions or anything, just like with straight people.”

“Whoa…no.” A laugh builds up in my throat. “No, no, no. I meant how do you decide who proposes?”

“Oh!” He barks out a laugh too. “Okay, yeah, I don’t know. Shane and I talked very minimally about it when it became legal. I think we’re just going to go with whoever beats the other to it.”

“You think you’re gonna pop it out first?”

“If I ever get the guts. See, there’s all this pressure that comes with popping the question. Where to do it, if it’s romantic enough, and then there’s always that doubt that rests in the back of your head that no matter how sure you are about your relationship, about how they feel about you, there’s still that possibility that they’ll say no. And where do you go from there? Are you over? Are you back to where you were? What now? So it’s like you reach a fork in the road, and down one path is a forever commitment and down the other is facing single life again. And sometimes I’d rather just not make the decision and just sit there at the fork because it’s comfortable there.”

He’s an analogy genius. He’s a romantic sap still, but I see what he’s getting at. I’m at a fork too. Every time I think about putting more of myself out there, I remember that I left my heart somewhere in my high school hallway. Letting people get close just seems like a bad idea, so no way in hell do I want to go down that road. Too rocky. But the road I want that seems like sunshine and roses has a price for admission. Can’t land a shit-ton of women until I get some cash and a job. So I’m just sitting at the fork for as long as I can.

“You don’t think you’ll ever worry about this?” he asks, and I blink my eyes open, just now realizing I’m drifting.

“Huh?”

“Proposing.” His eyes flick to Shay so quick I’m not sure if I imagined it or not.

“No,” I answer with a small chuckle. “I won’t have to worry about it.”

“What if you meet the right person?” Yeah, he’s definitely looking at Shay.

“I won’t.”

“What makes you sure?”

“Because I’m not going to mess with anyone who’s not looking for just what I’m looking for.”

“Which is one night.”

“Not necessarily.” I shift again so I don’t drift away. “Just no commitment.” Like Carletta. Then after her, who knows? If I hit it big, I could get a reputation like hers too. Then the women will know what to expect with Jason Sterne.

“Have you found any takers?”

I cover up my yawn, eyes refusing to stay open any longer. “Not recently. But I have before.” Okay, only twice before. And both times it wasn’tmyidea. When Chantal told me we were just gonna hit it during shooting, I was all in for that plan. But when Theresa asked…well, it didn’t work out.

After I ended it with Penny, I made a promise in my drunken state on Liz’s lap to let future women know my intentions. Seemed like a good idea, especially since I was hit up for an offer. But it came from the most unlikely of places.

Landon had just proposed to Liz, and Liz’s maid of honor, Theresa, put together a big engagement party for them. As one of Landon’s best friends and groomsmen, I was obligated to go even though I knew Penny would be there. I wasn’t too thrilled about it, but after taking one look around the club at all the buzzed women covered in neon paint, I thought maybe it would be a good idea.

I was there for hours, getting hosed and dancing with random girls who felt good—even made out with a few. I was planning on heading home with a green-painted, sexy-as-hell brunette, preparing my it’s-only-for-tonight speech, when Liz came up to me, her hands wrapped around Theresa’s forearms. She shoved her into the seat across from me at the table I was occupying.

“Promise me you’ll make sure she gets home okay?”

“Beth Ann…” I groaned, calling Liz by the nickname I’d given her. She was cock-blocking me with responsibility.

“Please?” She batted her eyes and I took a quick glance at Landon waiting for her by the door. He looked pretty damn happy, and I knew pissing off his fiancée would be against bro code, so I nodded at Liz and then shook my head at Theresa, who hiccupped.

“Thank you!” Liz hugged me and scurried out to celebrate with Landon. At the time, I thought they were going toreallycelebrate, but I found out much later that they weren’t having sex at all during their engagement. Lunatics.

“You look hot tonight,” Theresa said, leaning forward on the table. “How do you look hot with paint in your hair?”

“I pull off anything,” I responded, then found my brunette stalking off with another guy. Damn it.

“Marriage is stupid, you know,” Theresa said. She was twirling her straw around in her empty glass, blinking and trying to focus on…well, anything.

“Aren’t you throwing this party?” I asked with a laugh.

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