"Keira, I wasn't trying to upset you. Rory is a good guy."
"But he's super fucked up, right? Isn't that what you said?"
"I shouldn't have said that before."
"It doesn't make it untrue." I swallowed hard. "Do you think he still loves her?"
Connor laughed. "No. I don't think he ever loved her. He just liked the idea of her."
Because she was out of his league? I felt a pit forming in my stomach. "Do you think he's settling for me?"
"You're not the type of girl someone settles for, Keira. You're a reacher."
"A reacher?"
"Yeah. A girl that someone reaches for." He smiled at me.
I was overthinking this. Rory wanted to be my boyfriend or he wouldn't have asked. And yes, he liked being in control in bed, but I liked that about him. And last night he wasn't being dominant. He had made love to me. Twice. There was definitely a difference there. We were more than whatever it was he and his horrible ex were. And he hated her for more reasons than her just cheating on him and lying to him. He'd forgive me for the article. He had to. Besides, he and his friends definitely weren't going to sit around in a circle reading boring articles all morning. Everything was fine. I still had time to figure out the best way to tell him.
"So I'm assuming if you're asking these questions that last night went pretty well?"
"It did. Thank you for encouraging me not to run away."
"Well, that's what friends are for." He lifted up his cup.
I tapped my cup against his. "You're a really good friend, Connor."
"I still don't know how I wound up in the friend zone in this situation."
"Because you're the nice one."
"I hate being the nice one."
I laughed.
"Wow, you really are comfortable around my friends," Rory said as he walked out of his room. He was wearing athletic shorts and no shirt. It was hard not to drool over his abs. Rory looked down at the t-shirt that I was wearing. "And that looks a lot better on you by the way."
I could feel my face turning red. "Sorry, I didn't realize anyone was coming over. I need like a schedule or something to keep track of all this stuff." I stood up. I needed to go to my room to change, but I also didn't want to leave the newspaper unattended.
"I send email memos," Jackson said as he got up off the couch and walked back over to us. "Are you two done with your top secret conversation yet?"
Rory lowered his eyebrows slightly.
"Yeah, we're done talking about you, Jackson," Connor said.
Jackson laughed. "I'm flattered."
"Maybe you can put me on that email list?" I asked Jackson, hoping to change the subject.
"Well, that depends. It's only for committed members of the group." He glanced at Rory and then back at me. And then he looked at Connor.
Connor gave him a dirty look. I hoped that Rory didn't see it.
I stayed silent. It wasn't my place to tell Rory's friends that we were a couple now. Jackson seemed to purposely be pushing everyone's buttons this morning. Maybe he was still mad at me for not setting him up with someone. I was starting to think he'd be a great fit for my editor, Judy. She loved pushing people's buttons too.
"Well." Rory walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "I think as my girlfriend she's probably allowed on that list." He smiled down at me.
God I love the sound of that.
Connor coughed and spit a mouthful of coffee back in his cup.
"And since you are my girlfriend now, it would make me a little more comfortable if you were wearing a little, well...more." He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward my bedroom.
I laughed as he pushed me through my door and closed it behind us. He immediately pulled me to his chest.
"Good morning," he said and smiled at me.
"Good morning."
"Maybe you can just let me see you like this from now on. I don't like the idea of sharing you."
"You don't have to share me." I ran my hand along the scruff on his jaw line. "I'm all yours."
"Hmm. I like the sound of that." He pushed the t-shirt up my torso. I lifted my arms in the air and let him pull it off the rest of the way. "Maybe we should just stay in here the rest of the day."
"Your friends are right outside, Rory." It was hard to protest when I was completely naked and he was staring at me like that. "And they're waiting for you to make breakfast."
"There's only one thing I want for breakfast." His eyes wandered down my body.
I gulped. Even his words made me wet. I could never resist him. He could have me whenever he wanted.
"But you're probably right. You'd be too embarrassed to face my friends ever again after they heard you yelling my name repeatedly. It is very tempting though."
"You're such a tease."
He leaned down and kissed me hard. "It's just a rain check. There's no way I can resist you all day." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "What did you want for breakfast?"
"I'm sure I'll love anything you make."
"How about crêpes?" He pulled on the t-shirt he had stripped me of. "I was looking for this, by the way."
I laughed. "Crêpes sound very fancy."
"Yeah, well, I'm trying to show off for my new girlfriend." He slapped my ass and walked over to the door. He opened the door a crack and slid out, ensuring that his friends didn't see a glimpse of me.
I quickly put on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. I couldn't leave them alone with the newspaper for even a minute. I needed to find a way to throw it out without anyone noticing. Or set it on fire. Or flush it down the toilet. I would tell Rory eventually, but right now was too soon. Right now that paper needed to be destroyed.
Before I grabbed the handle, I heard hushed voices outside. It was wrong to eavesdrop. I bit my lip. But that had never stopped me before. I pressed my ear against the door so I could hear them.
"Girlfriend, huh?" Jackson asked. "I'll be the first one to say that I did not see that one coming."
"And why is that?" Rory sounded annoyed.
"I thought you two were just sleeping together."
"We were."
"So what makes this different than the past hundred girls you've slept with?"
"Jesus, Jackson, would you keep your voice down?"
Gross. I knew I shouldn't be listening, but it was hard to stop. Had he really slept with over a hundred women? How many women had he slept with since he had moved in? I tried to stop my brain from doing the math. I didn't want to know the answer. Luckily Jackson's voice derailed my train of thought.
"I'm just saying..."
"Well it's different."
"Why?"
"If you're not careful I'm going to spit in your crêpe, Jackson."
"Dude. Chill. I just think if you're not really serious about her, then you probably shouldn't have asked her out. She clearly adores you. It's just going to get super messy when things go south. I mean, she is your roommate after all. Do you even know how to be in a relationship?"