CHAPTER 4
If ryan gosling and aaron taylor-johnson had a baby
Rosie
“How many did you get?”
“Fourteen. You?” Caleb pulls his tall frame into the booth opposite me and my jaw hits the table.
“No way. You liar.” I throw my hand out, demanding evidence. He chuckles and pulls out his phone.
“Go for it. Last fourteen messages.” He unlocks his phone and slides it across. I snatch it and immediately start searching.
This motherfucker, he added each number using a descriptor and sent them a wink face with,It’s Caleb.
“Bouncy Brunette?” I query, and the smug bastard grins and tilts his beer bottle in the direction behind me. When I look over my shoulder there is a brunette jumping around on the dance floor.
“I would have said,woo girl,but whatever,” I mumble, turning my attention back to him. He just leans back, casually shaking his head.
“Already used that one for number four.” I scroll and sure enough there it is.
I toss the phone back.
“Ugh. You win.” That gets his attention.
Leaning forward, he fixates all his judgment on me with a wide smile. “No way. How many?”
“Ten,” I mumble.
“Ten! HA! I win. Obviously. I am not surprised at all.” His stupid, pretty-boy smile is firmly in place and going nowhere fast.
“This is fun. I like hanging with you.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. We aren?—”
“Fucking. I know.” He shifts uncomfortably on his booth seating. “I get it, Rosebud. Can’t we just enjoy each other’s company like normal friends?” My eyes narrow and work to assess the authenticity of his words. Finally, I slouch back into my seat.
“Are you going to stop trying to get into my pants?”
“Never.”
“So why would I want to hang out with you then?”
“Because you think I’m charming, hilarious, and pretty to look at.”Dammit.
“Stop asking me to fuck you and we can be friends,” I relent, only because—and I hate admitting this—he is kind of fun to be around. I don’t think about work. I don’t think about my family. I don’t think about the fact I now live alone after being codependent on my friends since college. Instead, I just have a really great time. Andfine,he is super pretty to look at.
“Fine.”
“Great.”
“Amazing.” He rolls his eyes at me before taking a swig of his drink and relaxes back into his seat. After a beat, he breaks the comfortable silence. “Tell me something only a friend would know.”
“You know all the things my friends know.”
“I highly doubt that.” He relaxes further, draping an arm on the back of the seat next to him. I don’t know if it is the easygoing charm or the way he seems to be able to get me out of my head, but I find myself not caring about what he knows.
“My legal name isn’t Rosie.”
