Page 23 of The Right Guy
I crouched down. “I went to sort something out with Theo this morning, and then I went to lectures and visited the library after.” The lace in my tennis shoe knotted, becoming harder to release the more I tugged. I wrestled with it, all fingers and thumbs with nerves.
Ro lifted from the bed and joined me on the carpet, his shins tucked under him. Long fingers gathered the lace and he worked with it strategically. He didn’t speak untilthe knot was unraveled. “You and Theo are tight? Are you together?” His eyes left my shoes and loitered on my chest with a penetrating observation. I sat opposite him in my dorm room, recreating a scene from my dirty daydreams, with the minor drawback of his sister in the background.
Ro was here out of duty and worry for Kim, but I’d also heard he didn’t get back together with Fia. Apparently, they fell out again. He was available. I could happily run my fingers through his hair and enjoy another kiss. If that’s what Itrulywanted.
“We’re good friends. I met Theo at The Reef when I started uni. We hit it off immediately. Like—” I avoided the word soulmates, but that’s precisely what I was thinking.
He pulled my tennis shoes off, one by one. “He looks out for you, that's a good thing.”
“He’s the best.” I grinned helplessly.
Ro’s brow furrowed. “Do you have a crush on him?”
Where the hell did that come from? “I, eh.” I couldn’t answer the question because I did. I just didn’t want to say it out loud. “He’s my friend, that’s all.”
“I get it. He’s someone you can’t have.” Ro stood and kicked off his shoes. “My father always told me temptation is inevitable, and it’s my choice if I want it. If I welcome it into my life, then I should be man enough to accept the consequences.”
“Right.” I scratched my chin and crossed my legs like a little Buddha.
“Anyway, I’m tired. Can you take the first watch, and then we’ll swap?” Just at that moment, Kim grumbled and trailed her knees to her stomach.
“Sure.” I guess I’ll just sit here and watch the Huxleys sleep. That won’t be challenging or uncomfortable at all.
I heard him lay back my bed, sighing when his legs stretched out. Then silence.
My arms clung to my shins. I sat there, on the carpet, wondering how my life had taken such a nosedive.
“Ada.” His voice startled me. It was husky and deep and every essence of sexy Ro. “I’m sure the floor is hard and cold. Come and lie beside me.”
Wait! What? Me, lie beside Ro?Like right next to him, on a bed no less—with no space between our bodies. His defined muscles had taken the headlines in my dreams for a year, and now he was asking me to lie with him.
“I won’t bite. I promise.” His chuckle drifted between us and settled on my skin. The suggestion made me jumpy and needy. “Unless you you’re into thatsort ofthing?” he added with a quirk to his mouth.
“I’ll only fall asleep,” I responded, cautiously.
“You said you don’t sleep well?” he quizzed.
I recited a multitude of truths as my treacherous body heated up and my veins pulsated. Ro lay on the duvet, resting on his side with his cheek pressed into my feather pillow.He likes Fia. He always runs back to her. He’s not the right one for me. “It’s your bed, Ada. I won’t let you lie on the floor, and I’m not sharing a bed with Kimmie. I’ve got an exam on Monday, and I need proper rest.”
Oh, right? This was tactical and practical arrangement. Not sexual tension or a secret motive. He tapped the sheets with the palm of his hand and smiled. That damn smile sparked all sorts of wicked sensations inside my core. I loathed how my body reacted to him even though he was into Fia. This was purely unrequited lust. He was just being kind.
“Thanks for watching out for, Kim. Fuck knows what would have happened to her if you hadn’t found her when you did.” The heat of his breath warmed my cheek as I lay back, stiff as a board with my hands clasped close to my chest, so I didn’t accidentally brush against him.
“Tell me, Ada. What’s your story?”
“My story?”
“Yeah. What’s your deal?”
I looked up to the ceiling, blinking rapidly through semi-smudged lenses. “My family owns a design company that uses rare precious gems in one-off handmade jewelry pieces. Each piece is unique and fascinating, that’s why each design is worth so much. Allthe A-list celebrities have their names on a waiting list for individual designs. I’ll be taking take over the brand after Uni. That’s why I’m doing business studies.”
Hot air blasted from his nose. “Are you serious? Do you mean Rarity?”
I nodded.
“Your family owns Rarity? Why do you work at The Reef when you’re loaded?”
“I didn’t want everyone to identify with myparents'business. You wouldn’t understand.”
