t mention of me being with Raya.
"Um... Kade?" she starts, probably ready to point out all the eyes concentrated on us.
"Yeah," I mutter, feigning interest in the TV. "You ready to spill?" I ask, stopping her from asking questions.
Why did she just tense up?
"What do you mean?" she asks in a hoarse rasp.
"I mean about you. How'd you end up here?"
She relaxes beside me, but I don't acknowledge it.
"I've lived beside you since the semester started, and you're just now curious?"
She really has a chip on her shoulder about something.
"You lived beside me, now you're living with me. Yes, now I'm curious."
I free my grin that usually works on charming women, while staring at the TV, only viewing her from my peripheral, and she reacts by wadding her hands in her lap. At least she's not completely immune to my charm. I was starting to worry. She looks away, hesitating to answer, and further proving I'm getting to her a little.
I'm not going to do anything with her, but as long as she bats those lashes that way in front of people, they'll buy my lies. If she continues acting as though she'd like to throttle me, they'll start questioning us.
This fake relationship could work out for me, too. Now I won't have to make so many excuses as to why I won't date. They never listen to the fact I don't have time. I just don't need that drama later on in life—should we end up in business together—but it's not like I can tell them that. Which I really don't have time either, so that's actually not a lie.
"I grew up in Utah, wanted a good education and a fresh start, made good grades, got great scholarships, and came here. End of story."
My grin grows as I turn to face her, because that's the quickest I've ever heard a woman explain anything, especially her life story. Definitely intrigued.
"I doubt that. There's no way that's the whole story. Why did you need a fresh start?"
Something painful seems to tear her away from the moment as her mouth twitches from a suppressed frown. I tilt my head as I study her, even more intrigued than I already was.
"I just wanted to branch out... spread my wings. How about you?"
She's deflecting. Obviously she doesn't want to share any real reasons as to why she came out here. It's not like she owes me anything, considering we barely know each other.
"Simple," I say with a shrug. "My family lives nearby. I didn't want to branch out. My Granddad doesn't have a lot of time left. I wanted to be near to him."
I try not to show any emotion, but just the mention of Granddad not being here for much longer makes me my stomach roll. He's the only one who ever listens to me.
Mom always sides with Dad because she trusts him completely. Dad never listens because he feels he knows best. As much as I love my cousins, they're more like friends you see on occasion.
Granddad is the one who has always kept me together, and without him, I'd be a mess like most twenty-one-year-olds with too much money. But because he needs me, my life is on track, and in another year, I'll be in charge of making sure the world knows what an incredible wine he makes.
I notice some of the guys staring and whispering, so for good measure, I slip my arm behind Raya's back, making sure to keep it on the booth so it seems like a harmless thing. She doesn't have to know the truth about my lies. It'll only put me back on her bad side. Really don't need that.
"So, do you have a boyfriend? I'd like to know when to make myself scarce. I definitely don't want to hear crazy sounds in the middle of the night."
I'm smiling and making it sound joking, but she'd better say no. I'd hate to have to help her break up with someone, and I would. For the sake of making it look like we're together, of course. Not for any other reason. I don't think. Nope. No other reason.
A bitter snort slips out, but her eyes widen as though she hadn't meant to do that.
"No. No crazy sex sounds will be waking you in the middle of the night."
Great. My pants tighten almost instantly the second she mentions sex. I'm a teenager again. Fucking perfect.
As I smile, not really meaning to, her eyes become transfixed on my lips, making my pants a hell of a lot tighter. Why, oh why did we make zippers?