“Is he coming?” I hear Liam ask.
Cole covers the phone to say something, then I hear. “Man, he’s pussy whipped already.”
“Tell him to fuck off,” I say.
“I will, then I’ll beat his ass at a game just to really piss him off.” He goes quiet for a second.
“What’s on your mind, Cole?”
“Just ah, you don’t think you’ll bolt after two weeks? You know as well as I do as soon as a girl gets serious, you’re gone.”
I fist my hair. It’s not quite like that. I leave before they can get serious and I hurt them. “We’re not trying to get serious here. We’re pretending, remember?”
“Still, I bet you can’t make it for the whole month, without her falling for you, and you hurting her by saying the wrong thing.”
“I’ll make it, and she’s the last person I want to hurt, Cole.” I lift my eyes to make sure she’s not at my door listening.
“You’ll take the bet then?”
“Sure, I’ll take it,” I say, since he keeps pushing the idea. “What are you putting up?”
“What do you want?” Cole asks. It shouldn’t piss me off that he thinks this bet is a sure thing for him. Two weeks is my record for a reason, but this is different. We’re not trying to build something, and she’s not going to fall for me, right?
Ah, but the real question is, are you going to fall for her?
Shit.
“How about your precious 69, Dodge Hemi Coronet,” I say. I grin. I can just picture the surprised look spreading across his face. I guess he didn’t expect me to put that on the table.
“Whoa, are you serious?”
“You want to bet, we bet big.”
“Fine then, my Dodge Hemi it is. What are you putting up if you don’t follow through?”
“I don’t date for a month.”
“Make it six.”
“Fine, six,” I say. I’ve got this with Kinsley. Yes, I like her and we’re having great sex, but I can’t fall for her, and no way is she going to fall for me. I can’t let her. I’ll only hurt her in the end like I do with everyone else.
“Six what?” Kinsley says, poking her head back into the room.
“Oh, nothing. Just a stupid bet Cole and I made.” I shove my phone into my back pocket. “Ready?”
She steps up to me and puts her hand on my chest. “Yes, but I’m dreading it.”
I put my arm around her and lead her outside, to my sports car in the driveway. Soon I’ll have Cole’s precious car next to it. I grin as I think about that.
“Something funny?”
“Nope, ah, I forgot to mention, everyone is going to the cottage on the weekend. Great spot on Watauga Beach. I have a cottage there.”
“Oh, how nice.”
“Do you want to come? It’s fun, with all the families and kids, and dogs.”
“It actually sounds like fun, but me taking two vacations in one month, or one year is pretty much unheard of.”