Page 32 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
I ran a hand through my hair, swiped my tongue over my teeth to make sure they didn’t have food stuck in them, then opened my door.
“Spontaneous visits,” he said with a smile. “Another perk of living in the same building.”
I tried to play it cool, even though my heart was doing a happy dance inside. Okay, maybe I’d missed him the tiniest bit, and the fact that he hadn’t come to see me since our date had me feeling a little rejected—never fun, even if you aren’t planning on something serious with a guy.
He held out a DVD—Just Friends. “Tell me you’re up for a movie.”
Seems like he’s trying to tell me something with the movie title. Which is good.Telling myself that wasn’t enough to keep my nerves from bouncing up and down in my stomach. Or from noticing the way his gray T-shirt showed off his toned arms and made his eyes look a little more green than blue.
And now I’m totally staring at him, probably drooling.“Come on in.” I stepped aside and gestured to the couch. “Have a seat.”
I was glad I hadn’t changed into my pajamas yet. I had, however, worn a skirt today, and I didn’t want to sit all proper through an entire movie. “I’m just going to go change into something more comfortable.”
Until I said it aloud, I hadn’t realized how it was going to sound—like the line the girl delivers in the movie before coming out in lingerie. “And by comfortable, I mean jeans and a T-shirt.” Clarifying made me feel even stupider, but I couldn’t seem to stop. “I didn’t want you to think that I… I mean I’m not like… I’ll be right back.”
I hurried back to my room before I made it worse—although I didn’t think it could get much worse. It’s not like I thought I was some female Casanova or something, but usually I did okay with the guys.
I’m sure it’s just because it’s been a while. Relax and you’ll be fine.
I threw on a black tank top and a pair of jeans. My hair looked pretty flat, so I gathered it up into a messy bun.
I walked back into the kitchen and put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. “Last week you were unavoidable and this week I haven’t seen you around. Blue must be busy.”
“It’s been pretty hectic,” Jake said. “You should come in sometime. According to everybody there, you’re usually in a couple times a week.”
“Oh, well, I haven’t had client meetings this week, so…” I grabbed a bowl out of my cupboard. “Then today, my friend Stephanie—the one I was telling you about who’s getting married—had a centerpiece tragedy. But Tina’s going to whip up a few replacement vases, so crisis averted.”
I dumped the popcorn into the bowl and headed to the couch. Since he’d flashed theJust Friendsmovie at me, I wasn’t sure what to think. Sitting right next to him seemed desperate, sitting far away a snub.Okay, not the very end, but not too close, either. Safe middle ground.
Typical guy, he already had control of the remote. Drew had wired my system, and it took a specific combination to get it to work, so I was impressed Jake had already figured it out. He pressed play and the movie started up.
Jake looked at me. “Are you really going to sit all the way over there?”
Traitorous butterflies filled my tummy.Okay, so he’s still interested.
“I can’t even reach the popcorn.”
Oh, right. The popcorn.That effectively killed the butterflies.
But when I scooted over, Jake put his arm over my shoulders and barely touched the popcorn. I stuck the bowl on the coffee table, tucked my legs up, and settled in next to him. The movie was funny, and the romance in it was more on the believable side, which gave me that little heart tug I hadn’t felt in a while from a movie.
When the credits rolled up the screen, Jake leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. My breath caught in my throat, and before I could recover it, he kissed me. My lips automatically started moving against his, my heart beating wildly in my chest. He deepened the kiss, taking things slow yet demanding enough that tingly heat wound through my entire body. It had been a while since I’d gotten to first base, and I’d forgotten how nice it could be.
“I thought you were trying to send me a message with this movie,” I said.
“I was.” His lips hovered inches from mine. “I’m making sure to keep myself out of the friend zone.”
He closed the gap and kissed me again. Then I was pulling him closer, getting lost in the feel of his body against mine, his lips, his tongue. Part of me was screaming,Shut it down! This is a bad idea!
But that part kept getting overruled by the part of me that was enjoying kissing Jake.
Chapter Eleven
Stephanie parked her car in front of her parents’ house. The usually empty street was lined with a variety of cars and trucks. She’d spent most of the hour-long ride from Denver to Longmont on the phone with Anthony—there’d been some miscommunication about if and when his uncle and four kids were coming down for the wedding.
Once she got off the phone, she pressed me for more information on Jake, since I’d filled her in on our impromptu Thursday-night hangout.
A crease formed between her eyebrows. “So you had a nice time, kissed, and then you haven’t seen him since?”
