Page 69 of Meet Hate Love
The list of petty, vindictive shit could have wrapped around the circumference of the Earth at least three times. So why did I think Kate kept inviting Blake to her parties? Because she was the definition of a jealous asshole. “You should go because I don’t think she expects you to.”
Her blue gaze met mine, then narrowed in thought as she took a bite of pizza. “You’re right. I should be the bigger, pettier person and go.”
I didn’t even want Jimbo laying eyes on her as she strutted into Bon Apple Tea with her thick, dark hair falling over one shoulder in a sexy-ass wave, wearing one of her colorful little sundresses. Those things hugged her curves so well it would make any man’s dick hard. Then I worried that the idiot dickhead would suddenly realize he’d screwed up.
The vision of him tapping a spoon on his champagne glass as he moved to the front of the stuffy tearoom to confess his undying love for Blake surfaced. I’d evidently let Blake force-feed me one too many romance movies over the past few days. Still, she was my girl, and I didn’t want anyone to have the slightest inclination she could be theirs. More than that, though, I didn’t want anyone, especially not her family, to make her feel uncomfortable. “I’ll go with you,” I said, dusting pizza crust dust from my hands.
“Why would you subject yourself to that kind of torture?”
Because, as insane as it sounded, nothing had ever felt so natural, so right as us being together did. I mean, come on. We were sitting in bed, naked, and devouring left-over pizza.
What was more natural between two people than that?
* * *
The rain continuedto come down, and Blake had forced me to watch another romance movie.Failure to Launch. A movie she said had scared her away from dolphin experiences for life.
The end credits rolled as the two main characters sailed out to sea on a sailboat that must have cost at least three-hundred thousand dollars.
Blake shoved off my chest, propping herself up in bed. “It was good, right?”
Had I laughed? Yes. Did I think the reason Blake liked it was that she identified with the main character, who had a knack for being bitten by typically docile creatures? Like dolphins and a chipmunk. Also, yes. “It was good. But you realize it’s unrealistic.”
She half-rolled her eyes before snatching the remote from the comforter. “I realize you’re a pessimist. I guess you think falling in love with someone that fast is unrealistic.”
I didn’t. Because I was pretty sure I had fallen in love that fast with her. It was everything else, from the animal biting to the sailboat. “No, I think there is no way whatever his name was—”
“Tripp.”
“Stupid name,” I said, and she scoffed. “But yes, Tripp. There’s no way that Tripp could have afforded that sailboat. He didn’t even work.”
“He was a yacht broker.”
My alarm went off to remind me to do a Live Feed for my Wanderlust account. “He had a job?” I asked, shoving off the bed to grab my shirt.
“Yes, how did you miss that?”
“Maybe I got stuck on the dolphin almost drowning him…”
“It was good.”
I tugged my T-shirt over my head, unrolling it down my stomach. “It was okay.”
“You laughed. Which means it made you feel good. And that’s the whole point of a romantic comedy.” She changed the channel. “They aren’t supposed to make sense. Their only job is to make you smile.”
I smoothed a hand over my shirt before leaning over the bed to give her a kiss. “If it made you happy, I’m happy.”
I took my phone from the nightstand and went to stand by the window before clicking on the option to “Go Live.”
“Hey, Vagabonders! Vance here. We’ve been in Rome for three days, and as you can see—” I flipped the camera around to the monsoon coming down outside the hotel window. “All it’s done since we’ve arrived in Rome is rain.”
A sad emoji floated up from the bottom of the screen, followed by another.
“At least I can say the delivery pizza here in Italy is—” I made a chef’s kiss gesture—“amazing. We’re headed to Pisa in the morning via train, then off to Florence, where the weather is supposed to be much better. I’ll snap some good photos for you guys there.”
A message bubble popped on the screen.
TammiLuvsToTravel: Have you been sharing a room with the girl you don’t like? Has it been terrible?
