The door opens this time, and her roommate stands there with narrowed, shrewd eyes like she’s sizing me up. “She’s almost ready. You can wait on the couch.”
She lets me in, quickly closing the door. No doubt the chicks out there were trying to get a peek inside.
“Danika, right?”
“Mhmm,” she hums, crossing arms over her chest. The gesture pushes her breasts up, and I quickly divert my gaze. Fake relationship or not, I’m not going to be checking out Vanessa’s roommate when she’s a room away. “What are your intentions with her?”
“Um.” I blink a few times, taken off guard. “Excuse me?”
She puts her hands on her hips, her angular face framed by black hair. “Listen, Vanessa and I aren’t best friends. We’re kind of complete opposites, but she’s a nice girl and I like her. I don’t want to see her get hurt by some douchebag popular guy, okay? She deserves more than that, so all I’m saying is if you plan on hurting her, just leave. You’ve never dated before, but I did some asking around and apparently you haven’t been as loosey-goosey this year—”
“Loosey-goosey?” I mouth.
“I’m not done,” she plows right over me. “Vanessa isn’t the kind of girl you use for some quick fun. Don’t hurt her. I know how to get rid of a body.”
I swallow, eyeing her warily. “Um … you’re kind of scary.”
She grins. “Good.”
The door to Van’s room opens and she steps out. Her dark hair is curled, hanging past her breasts, and she wears more makeup than her usual. The dress she chose is a pale pink with long sleeves and ends past her knees. A black coat is slung over her arm and she holds a pair of heels in her hands.
“Do I look okay?” she asks me hesitantly. “I was trying to keep it modest, and to be honest, that’s kind of hard with big boobs like mine and oh my God now I’m rambling. But I wanted to look nice to meet your parents and—”
“You’re always gorgeous,” I tell her honestly, “but damn you look beautiful tonight.”
Her cheeks pinken.
“You’re meeting his parents?” Danika asks in surprise.
Vanessa’s eyes dart between her roommate and me. She bends, slipping her shoes on. “Yeah, why?”
“No reason. You two kids have fun.” She gives a little wave and shuts her bedroom door behind her.
“That was weird. Have you slept with her?”
I put a hand to my chest. “I swear to you, I have not fucked your roommate. She’s just protective of you.”
“Of me? Why?” She gives Danika’s closed door a baffled glance.
I shrug. “Beats me.” I take her coat from her and hold it open so she can slip her arms inside. “But we have to get going. We’re going to hit traffic.”
“Right,” she sighs. I don’t know what makes me do it, but I lean in and kiss the corner of her mouth. It’s the closest I’ve gotten to her lips since Harvey’s. She freezes, blue eyes darting up to mine. “W-What was that for?”
Taking a step back, I shove my hands into the pockets of my dress pants. “No reason other than I wanted to.”
She touches the skin I just kissed and lets her fingers drop. “Right.” Her cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink and I can’t help but wonder if she’s thinking of what that real kiss was like. “I guess I need to get used to that, huh?”
“Well, it will look weird if I don’t kiss my girlfriend. Everyone knows I’m a hands-on kind of guy.”
Her shoulders lift with an inhale, and she grabs a purse I didn’t even notice. “I guess we better go, huh?”
“Time to face the firing squad.” I groan like I’m in physical pain at the thought alone.
Wide, panicked blue eyes meet mine. “Is it really going to be that bad?”
I place a hand on her lower waist. “You have no idea, babe.”
“Holy fucking shit! This is where you grew up?”
She eyes the Grecian manor home that’s sorely out of style with the typical Nashville homes and mansions. But that’s my father for you. He wanted something that threw wealth in people’s faces as soon as they rounded the long driveway and the house came into view.
“I mean, yeah, when I was here. I was mostly at my boarding school, so this doesn’t really feel like my childhood home the way I’m sure other people feel about where they grew up.”
Her full lips turn down into a frown. “That’s really kind of sad.”
My grip on the steering wheel tightens as I continue up the long drive. “It’s all I knew.”
For a long time, I didn’t realize life could be any different. Not until I came to Aldridge and saw that not all families are like mine.
“My hands are so sweaty.” She goes to wipe her hands on her dress, but I quickly grab them, stopping her. “What are you doing?”
“Just hold my hand in yours. We can both have sweaty hands.”
She throws her head back and laughs, the sound light and mystical, so carefree despite her nerves.
“That’s … unexpectedly sweet of you.”
“I have my charms.”
I pull around to the back of the house and park in front of the massive garage that actually extends underground and houses my father’s antique car collection.
“Are there any last-minute things I should know before we go in?”
“I think we’ve covered most of it. Even if we’d started dating when I told my dad, there would be plenty of things we’d still be learning about each other.”
“Fake.”
“Huh?” I look over at her in confusion.
“If we’d started fake-dating when you told him.”
I shake my head. “Right.”
She looks down at my hand in hers, rubbing her thumb gently over my injured knuckles. “I still can’t believe you went all the way to Georgia just to deck Tristan in the face.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
She straightens, her eyes steady on mine. “It was, Teddy. No one…” She chokes up a bit. “No one has ever done anything like that for me. I’ve never had someone to defend me.”
“Well,” I clear my throat, “now you have me.”
She releases my hand and glides her fingers through her hair before undoing her seatbelt. I can feel her trying to put up walls and it’s fucking annoying. Can’t we at least be friends?
“Let’s get this over with,” I grumble, opening my car door.
I hurry around the side and open her door before she can. A tiny smile dances on her lips as she steps out. Closing it, I lock up the car even though it’s unnecessary. No one that isn’t expected stands a chance of getting onto this property.
Taking Vanessa’s hand, I lead her over to a side door and enter a code.
“This place is a like a compound,” she mutters.
“You have no idea.”
She looks around in awe and maybe a little horror as I lead her through the mansion.
Shiny marble floors. Rows and rows of columns. Massive chandeliers. We pass room after room, her eyes growing rounder. I wonder if it looks as ostentatious to her as it does me. My mom isn’t as bad as my father, but she’s still all about the show and flashing their wealth in the faces of others. Growing up, I loved everything money could buy, until I got old enough to realize it can’t buy you things of real value.