him time to voice his opinion though. I grabbed my sweatshirt and tugged it over my head as quickly as possible. When I was done, I held up my hand and started counting out rules on my fingers.
“Rule number one: no pizza.”
His brown hair was ruffled from our make out and his shirt was missing another button or two up top. What the hell?
“Second rule: we can’t hang out in my apartment alone. It’s too tempting.”
“Do I get any say in these rules?” he asked.
“No,” I answered quickly as I continued to pace around the room.
“Just to be clear, what are these rules in place for?” he asked, trying to catch my eye as I continued to move.
“It’s to prevent the inevitable demise of our friendship,” I said. “And to ensure that I still have a job in a few weeks when you’re bored of hooking up with me.”
“And why would that happen?”
I paused and stared over at him to see if he was being serious.
He looked hopeful and innocent, with his light eyes trained on me as if he actually expected me to believe he was looking for something serious. He hadn’t once asked me out on a proper date. He’d never even hinted at it. We were friends who pushed the limits when it was convenient. Nothing more.
I groaned. “The odds are not in our favor. This is a straight up Hunger Games situation. I need to keep my job with you and I’d prefer to keep our relationship somewhat platonic.”
His brow quirked. “Don’t you think that ship has sailed?”
I shook my head. It couldn’t have sailed. If it’d already sailed then that meant I was already screwed.
“Nope. That ship is going back to the marina. To a nice, safe spot.”
He frowned.
“Honestly, what do you think my mom and dad will say when I explain to them that I’m banging my boss in New York? I was supposed to move up here and start a life for myself, not shack up with the first guy who befriended me.”
To drive the point home, I reached to pull my hoodie down so it overlapped with my pajama pants.
“You and I are friends, Julian. Friends who don’t kiss anymore.”
Even as I spoke, I scanned his face, trying to decipher his reaction to my rules. His dimples were hidden away behind a confused scowl. His lips were slightly pouted, just enough that I got hung up on them for a moment before meeting his eye.
For a few minutes neither of us said a word. I waited on tenterhooks, trying to prepare for his reaction, and then he nodded once and leaned forward. He clasped his hands between his legs and rested his elbows on his knees.
“Fine. Do friends go to dinner?” he asked with a curious tone.
“What? We just ate.”
I pointed to the open box of pizza on the ground. Our half-eaten slices lay splayed out on the floor, probably soaking grease stains into my rug. Classy.
“I’m talking about sometime next week. Dean and I are going out on Wednesday and you could tag along with us. As a friend.”
Oh. Dinner with the guys. Right, maybe I could do that. Maybe it would be good to be around Julian when we had a third person present, someone to act as a sexual-tension buffer. Although, was Dean really the person for the job? Maybe we needed a buffer who looked a little less like Ryan Gosling.
And then I remembered my new job and my heart sank. If everything went as planned, I’d be working next Wednesday night. There’d be no time for dinner, with or without Julian.
“I don’t think I can,” I answered.
“Why not?” he asked, piercing me with a hard stare.
Why not?
Why not?
I hadn’t expected him to ask that and I hadn’t decided whether or not I was prepared to tell him that I’d had to get a second job, especially when I had no clue what that second job actually entailed. The friend Beth had called helped coordinate the shows for New York Fashion Week; I figured that was a good sign, but I was trying hard not to get my hopes up. For the time being, I was employing the “less is more” approach, at least until I knew what the hell I’d be doing.
“Prior commitment,” I said, averting my eyes toward the pizza box once again.
I could see him frown out of the corner of my eye and I wanted so badly to throw away the rules and finish