Not Pretending Anymore by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 4
Molly
As the evening wore on, Will and Daisy continued to reminisce about Northwestern, and I wanted to vomit.
“Did you ever get to paint the rock?” she asked.
“Yeah, actually, my fraternity brothers and I did one night. We painted it pink for breast cancer awareness because of my buddy’s mother. We stayed up all night guarding it.”
“That’s so sweet,” she gushed.
I cleared my throat. “What’s the rock?”
Will smiled. “It’s a Northwestern tradition. It dates back to the forties or fifties, I believe. There’s this giant rock in the center of campus. Students paint it to advertise causes or post info on events. Then they have to guard it for as long as they can to keep someone else from painting over it.”
“Ah. Very cool.” I slurped the last of my drink.
Daisy continued to twirl her hair and flirt with Will.
I couldn’t take it anymore, so I got up. “Excuse me,” I said before walking to the bathroom. Once inside, I looked at myself in the mirror, feeling defeated.
It felt like I was close to losing my only chance. There was a very short window for nabbing a guy like Will Daniels. He was a magnet for all single women around him. But I’d be damned if I was going to lose him to the newbie physician’s assistant. I’d put in my time—time spent flirting and obsessing over this man. Maybe I would lose, but it wasn’t going to be to someone who’d been here a matter of minutes and hadn’t earned her stripes.
I thought about Declan’s suggestion. The small amount of alcohol I’d consumed was already getting to me, and I concluded that desperate times called for desperate measures. Reaching under my blouse, I unsnapped my bra and pulled it out. Then I stuffed it into my purse. The cold air in the bathroom immediately made my nipples perk up. It was too soon to flaunt them, so I turned on the hand dryer, applying heat to my chest.
This would be a miracle if it worked. Daisy had Will so enraptured in nostalgia, I wasn’t sure anything could snap him out of it. I positioned my hair over my breasts so that my braless state wasn’t so obvious yet.
When I ventured back out to the bar, more people from work had shown up. Will was now mingling with some of our other co-workers, with Daisy still glued to his side as she laughed at everything he said.
Burning with jealousy, I asked, “Is it just me or is it hot in here?”
It seemed my theatrical presentation had begun. I raised my hand to call the bartender and ordered a water. After sipping, I set it in front of me and waited for the perfect moment to go in for the kill.
Daisy excused herself and walked toward the bathroom. A minute later, I slid my arm in front of the glass and knocked it over my chest, pretending of course that it was an unfortunate accident.
Feigning shock, I said, “Oh no. I’m such a klutz!”
I looked down at myself. Jesus. The thin silk of my shirt was much more susceptible to the water than I’d anticipated. My first inclination was to be mortified—mostly at my own behavior.
Until…
Until Will’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as they wandered down my chest.
He rushed over and handed me a napkin. “Here you go, Molly.”
“Thank you,” I said, wiping myself down in sloppy strokes, because of course my intent wasn’t to actually do the job appropriately.
After Will stole one more peek, his eyes lifted and lingered on mine.
“It’s nice to see you out again with us. The past couple of times you’ve skipped.” He smiled.
Slowing the strokes over my chest, I said, “I’m surprised you were keeping track.”
“I’m always aware when you’re around—at work or otherwise.”
Holy shit. Is it really this easy? Declan is a freaking genius!
By the time Daisy returned from the bathroom, Will and I were already immersed in conversation. He spent the next half hour at my side. Then I remembered one of Declan’s earlier pieces of advice.
“The more disinterested you seem, the harder his dick will get.”
It was a risk, and it felt completely unnatural to push myself away when I had finally hooked him, but I said, “Excuse me.”
“Of course,” Will said, seeming caught off guard by my stopping the conversation.
I then proceeded to fetch myself another drink and mingle with some of my other co-workers. Daisy moved in on Will again, but oddly, I kept noticing his eyes veering in my direction. Okay, maybe it was the fact that my nipples were still protruding, but nevertheless, his attention begged to be on me, not on Daisy.
In another bold move, I downed the last of my drink. Then, loud enough for Will to hear, I announced, “Well, it’s been nice, peeps, but I have to leave.”
Will suddenly put his beer down, seeming disappointed. “Going so soon, Molly?”
“Yes. I have…plans.”
“A date?”
I paused. “Something like that.”
“Okay.” He nodded. Then he looked at me for a moment before leaning in to my ear. “Listen, I’d love to have coffee sometime. Maybe the next time our shifts collide?”
I acted cool. “Sure…maybe.”
Maybe?
As if.
Heck yeah!
“Good. Okay. Have a good night, Molly.”
“You, too,” I said before strutting out of there, feeling on top of the freaking world.
***
I couldn’t wait to get home and tell Declan his little plan had actually worked.
To my surprise, when I opened the door to my apartment, Declan was in the living room, but he wasn’t alone. A gorgeous woman with bright auburn hair was sitting on the armchair across from him. There were white papers splattered atop the coffee table.
Declan stood. “Oh, hey, roomie. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”
“Well, I wasn’t planning to be home so early, but I took your advice tonight.”
Declan looked down at my still-braless chest. “I can see that.”
“Not just that. Although, it did work like a charm.” I crossed my arms over myself. “Anyway, what I meant was, I remembered what you said about seeming disinterested. I actually left early, told him I had other plans. He asked me to have coffee sometime on my way out. So both of your strategies worked.”
“I had no doubt.” He turned to the woman. “Sorry to be rude. I should’ve introduced you. This is my roommate, Molly. And Molly, this is Julia.” He turned to me and winked to make sure I knew she was the Julia. “Julia and I work together. We have a deadline for our client’s latest campaign, so she came by so we could brainstorm.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Julia said, holding out her hand but staring at my chest.
“Likewise.” I shook her hand and looked around, feeling awkward. “Well, don’t let me interrupt your work.”
“It’s no interruption,” she said.
“Yeah,” Declan said. “Pretty sure we were just wrapping up.”
When Julia looked down at my chest again, I said, “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m not wearing a bra.”
“It’s because of me,” Declan said.
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Don’t take that the wrong way,” I clarified. “Declan just gave me some advice that was a little daring but brilliant.”
I then told Julia about my crush on Will and my experience at happy hour.
“So, it’s all thanks to Declan that I now have an informal coffee date with Will.”
Julia looked between Declan and me. “Well, you two seem to be getting along really well for two people who just moved in together.”
“I have to say, it is going pretty well. He’s growing on me.”
Declan smirked. “She’s lying. Her affinity toward me was instant.”
“My affinity toward your cupcakes was instant.”
As she watched us interact, Julia’s smile seemed forced. Was she uncomfortable? It made me wonder if perhaps she was jealous of how well Declan and I got along.
I knew how he felt about her, but now I was starting to suspect the feelings were mutual, even though she had a boyfriend.
Julia looked over at my color-coordinated, pastel candy jars. “I’ve never seen M&Ms so nicely organized.”
“Mollz is a bit of a perfectionist.”
“I’m really not. As much as I like things a certain way, I’m far from perfect.”
“Give me an example,” Declan challenged.
“Well…for one, my original plan was to be a doctor, but I never had the guts to go to medical school. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a nurse—I’m very proud of what I do—but my fear of failure prevented me from pursuing a bigger dream. So while I may be organized, I’m far from perfect.”
His expression softened. “You never told me that.”
“Well, seeing as I’ve only known you a matter of days, that shouldn’t be surprising.”
He winked. “Feels like longer.”
An awkward silence lingered in the air.
Declan clapped his hands together. “Anyway, who’s hungry? I could cook something for us. Although Molly can’t eat any unless she’s willing to pay up.”
Julia’s eyes widened. “Pay up?”
“Just a little arrangement we have. She thinks she can resist my cuisine. She’ll have to owe me something if she gives in to temptation.”
“I already ate,” I lied. I was actually starving but wouldn’t be eating with them for a couple of reasons. One, I didn’t want to prove him right, and two, I figured maybe he wanted some privacy with his crush.
“You two have a nice dinner. I’m gonna go to my room and finish binge-watching this show I’m into on Hulu, thanks to my roommate sharing his premium password with me.”
“I told you you wouldn’t regret letting me move in,” he called.
I waved. “It was nice meeting you, Julia.”
“Great meeting you, too, Molly.”
As I lay in bed watching the show, I listened to Julia laughing as the smell of whatever Declan was cooking wafted through the apartment. It seemed like only a matter of time before she would succumb to his charms.
My emotions were all over the place tonight, ranging from satisfaction over having garnered Will’s attention, to a strange discomfort over Julia. I told myself I was jealous of how Declan felt about her, not because of any feelings I harbored toward Declan.
***
The following day, it was almost noon by the time I rolled out of bed. I never slept that late. My body clock was screwed up in general because of the overnight hours I worked, and I tried to stay up during the day rather than sleep on my days off.
When I went out to the kitchen, there was a note on the counter from Declan.
Good morning (or afternoon, sleepyhead). Went into the office to get some work done. See you later.
Working on a Saturday? That was dedication. Or maybe he was just looking for an excuse to spend more time with Julia. That had to be it.
My stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. Whatever Declan made last night had smelled amazing…
I opened the fridge and saw a glass dish of leftovers staring me in the face. There was a sticky note attached to the top.
Best mushroom risotto I ever made. Might even be worth the consequences. You decide.
I shook my head and laughed. Was it strange that I almost wanted to eat it just to see what his consequences were?
Unwrapping the cellophane, I took a whiff. It smelled garlicky and delicious with lots of herbs and spices. Maybe just a small bite. I scooped some onto a plate and popped it into the microwave.
Taking the leftovers back to the couch, I crossed my legs and shoveled a giant bite into my mouth.
Damn you and your food, Declan.
