Reluctantly Perfect: An Enemies to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Perfectly Imperfect Love Series Book 5)

by S. E. Rose

  “Hey, baby,” he says as I stand. I can barely hear him over the thumping bass. He places his hands on my hips and starts to grind against me. I look over at Stella. I’m frozen and have no idea how to respond. Stella’s eyes are wide with curiosity, so I turn to face the guy. Anthony. Fuck. Stella doesn’t know him, but he looks like some guy who would kick your ass at a biker bar.

  I step back to get away from him, but he tightens his grip on my waist.

  “What? Don’t wanna play?” he asks.

  The next five seconds seem like they happen in slow motion. I’m suddenly and swiftly yanked from my spot into the arms of someone else. I lose my balance, but the strong arms wrap around my center and spin me. I look up into the eyes of none other than Clark Moore. But I don’t have much time to think because one second I’m staring at him and the next he’s kissing me. And not like the innocent kiss we shared over spin the bottle in the eighth grade. No. This is a real kiss. The type you see in movies and swoon over.

  I must yelp in surprise allowing Clark to deepen our kiss. His tongue slides along mine. His one large hand comes up to hold my face as his other hand presses me tightly against him. Fucking Christ. I feel his erection as he continues to own me with his mouth. I had no idea kissing could be like this. I lose all track of time as I slowly melt into his embrace, giving in to my need to return the kiss.

  For just a moment, I forget about all the mean things he said, all the means things I said. I forget that we are mortal enemies. I forget that we were even friends once upon a time. All my secret fantasies of doing this scream out louder than any other thought. Images flash through my mind. Secretly watching Clark undress in his room with my binoculars while sitting in the dark. Stealing glances at Clark in his bathing suit at the pool and beach when our families used to vacation together. Masturbating to the image of naked Clark streaking the student cafeteria as a senior prank and then streaking the football field just three years ago. I’ve wanted this for so long that it feels surreal, a complete out-of-body experience.

  I’m left in shock as Clark pulls back and looks over my head at Anthony. “Thanks for keeping an eye on my girl, but I got it from here.”

  Anthony curses under his breath. I can tell he wants to say more, but suddenly Griffin and Evan are standing near us.

  “What was that?” Clark asks sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at Anthony.

  “Nothing, good luck; this one’s a total prude,” he says and walks away. I feel Clark's hands tighten on me. I grip his arms because I don’t want him fighting. He looks down at me as he lets out a slow breath. “You OK?”

  I nod. “Thanks for uh…thanks.”

  He slowly lets go of me and steps back, his hand rubbing the back of his neck just like he’s always done when he’s anxious. “Sorry…about the kiss. I mean, I wanted to stop Anthony and it seemed like the quickest way.”

  “It…was unexpected,” I state.

  He gives me a lopsided grin. “Unexpected good or unexpected bad?”

  I shrug. “Just unexpected.”

  He laughs and pulls me into a hug. “Try to stay out of trouble, OK? I don’t need to get in any fights before I even start my internship.”

  I still. “You got it too?”

  Looking down at me his grin widens. “I did. You?”

  I nod.

  He holds out his hand and I high-five it.

  “Sweet. Well, I guess I’ll see you this week for orientation.”

  “Guess so.”

  We stand awkwardly staring at each other for a few seconds.

  I look around. Evan is dancing with Stella. I can’t help wondering what’s going on between them. Grif is dancing with some girl that I don’t know, and man can he dance. He’s like a Magic Mike show mixed with a professional tango performance. I stare in awe.

  Clark turns and rolls his eyes. “Fucking Grif and his patented dance floor moves,” he mutters just loud enough over the thumping music for me to hear him.

  “That’s…uh…intense.”

  “That’s one way to put it,” he says dryly. He turns back to me. “You want to dance more?”

  I’ve been dancing for over an hour and, honestly, I’m all danced out. It’s been fun, but my feet are killing me in these ridiculous shoes that I let Stella dress me in.

  I shrug. “I think I’m going to sit a few out. My feet hurt.”

  I don’t wait for Clark as I walk over toward the bar and find an empty high-top table. I push the drinks left by its previous occupants to the side and sit with a sigh as I flex my feet.

  “Why do girls even wear shoes like that?” Clark asks. I realize he’s followed me over here and is taking the seat next to me.

  “Beats the fuck out of me. I mean seriously, Stella always wears heels, and I don’t get how her feet are not malformed or seriously injured.”

  Clark laughs. He motions to a waitress and orders us a round of drinks.

  I lean back and roll my head from side to side. Partying is hard work. Between the dancing and heels, I feel like I’ve run a marathon.

  “What’s with all the partying as of late?” he asks as though he can read my mind.

  “I…just don’t want to miss that part of college, I guess. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum. When do you even study? Do you sleep? Have you become some sort of vampire?” I ask with a raised eyebrow as the waitress sets our drinks down. I take a long sip of mine as I wait for Clark to answer.

  “I study. Mostly on weeknights. And yes, since I’ve decided not to become a vampire, I do require sleep.” He grins at me and I roll my eyes. “I don’t know. I guess I read fast. And most concepts aren’t too hard to figure out for me, so it doesn’t take me long to do homework.”

  “Lucky,” I mutter.

  He elbows me. “You are literally in the running for valedictorian again. You are clearly smart.”

  “But I have to work at it. I can’t just learn by osmosis,” I pout.

  “You should try it,” he adds with a wink.

  I laugh. “Sure, I’ll place some books under my pillow tonight.”

  “Don’t knock it till you try it. I have Mom to thank for that. She once said the best time to review things is right before bed because you’ll remember it better and shit if that doesn’t work for me,” he explains.

  His phone buzzes on the table and he picks it up to read it. He laughs.

  “What?”

  He turns the phone around.

  Kent: So, I have an idea for Mom and Dad’s anniversary.

  Lanie: Uh, Kent, that was like three weeks ago.

  Kent: I know, but we didn’t do anything for it.

  Di: We gave them a gift card to that restaurant they like.

  Lanie: You gave them the gift card. We all just gave you money and signed a card.

  Di: (shrugging emoji) Same difference.

  Kylie: What’s going on?

  Tabby: Kent has an insane idea.

  Kent: It’s not insane. It’s brilliant.

  Lanie: And the idea is…?

  Kent: Let’s give Mom and Dad’s house a makeover!

  Lanie: Yep, that’s insane.

  Tabby: I told you.

  Garrett: Do you have any idea how annoying it is to live in a construction zone?

  Di: I second Garrett.

  Levi: We could send them to my island.

  Kylie: Yeah, we could.

  Lanie: Welcome to the sibling chat, Levi. And I still think this is crazy. We need to talk in person.

  Brixton: Can they take Ash with them? He’s getting on my last nerve today.

  Lanie: Even better. Pool. Kent’s. This week?

  Kent: Why do we always have to meet at my pool?

  Garrett: Fine. Drinks at Margaret.

  Kent: Done! But only if we get to roast marshmallows at the fire pit. And while we are there, let’s come up with a name for my house. How is it you figured out how to name your house Margaret right away and mine is still ju
st some nameless beast?

  Garrett: I suppose I can arrange that…in exchange for baseball tickets.

  I giggle at the exchange. “Who are all the other people?” I ask. I know some of Clark’s siblings are married, but I haven’t ever officially met all their significant others.

  “Tabby is Kent’s wife. They have a daughter named Vera.”

  “Oh, the baby that was at your parents’ house?” I ask.

  He nods. “Tabby’s brother, Brixton, married Lanie and they adopted Ashton a few years ago. Di’s getting married to Garrett this winter. And Kylie is dating Levi.”

  “Wow, it must be serious if Levi is in the sibling chat. And why does he have an island?” I ask.

  “I hope so. I mean, Levi Sanderson is the coolest,” he says.

  My eyebrows lift. “Wait, Kylie is dating Levi Sanderson, like the tech billionaire?”

  He nods. “Cool, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty cool. I don’t know much about him except he runs that social media app everyone uses.”

  “He used to design video games too,” Clark points out before launching into a tutorial on all the games he’s invented.

  I nod and try to pay attention while still watching Grif who hasn’t stopped dancing in the hour that Clark and I have been sitting here.

  I squirm as the booze and the dancing starts to set in, making me ready to curl into bed.

  “Am I boring you?” Clark asks after I yawn.

  I give him a sheepish look. “No. I’m sorry. I’m just really tired. I think I’m going to call it a night.”

  “I’m sort of over the club scene for the night. I’ll walk you home,” he says, looking at my shoes. “Or we can call a car.”

  I laugh as I get down. Clark motions to the bartender for our check. He settles our tab, insisting he pays for my drink. I give in, mostly because I’m too tired.

  I text Stella that I’m heading home as we walk out into the crisp fall air. I wrap my arms around myself.

  “Cold?” Clark asks as we stand outside.

  “A little. We can walk though, it’s not far,” I state.

  “You sure?”

  I nod and start toward the sorority house which is only about five blocks away. We cross the main street at a crosswalk and then meander the smaller side roads toward my house.

  “Where do you live?” I ask, realizing that I have no idea if he’s going out of his way.

  He points ahead of us. “Just past the Brentwood Apartments. Those garden-style ones between there and campus.”

  “Oh,” I say. He lives close to Greek Row. “Did you choose that apartment to be close to the frat house?”

  Shaking his head, he steps around a bottle on the sidewalk and brushes against me. His muscled arm feels warm on my cool skin. “Not really. Some older brothers were graduating and we got the ins on the place early. It’s nice being near the house though, makes walking home from parties easier.” He pauses as though reading my thoughts, which are completely centered around his constant state of needing to have fun. “It’s also only two blocks from campus.”

  “Wouldn’t want to be late for those afternoon classes,” I tease and then bite my lip because I just admitted that I know his schedule. Shit. I probably look like a total stalker now.

  He grins. “You’ve noticed that, have you?”

  I shrug. “I just assumed, because you are never in my classes and I like morning courses.”

  Laughing, he glances over at me. “Touché. I guess I just like to be near the action.”

  We stop in front of the sorority house. It’s a quiet night. I can hear the murmuring of people at a frat house down the street. But otherwise, it’s only the sounds of crickets and frogs.

  “Thanks for walking me home,” I say. “And for…rescuing me from Anthony.”

  His gaze is intense, and I look down because it makes me feel things that I don’t want to think about right now. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you next week,” he says. He pauses as if unsure of what to do next. I step back toward the house and give him a little wave before turning around and walking up the three steps onto the porch. I look over my shoulder as I open the door, but he’s already disappeared into the darkness of the tree-lined street.

  Chapter Ten

  Clark

  “You all will need to go to get your IDs made first. Since the low-level security checks were part of our interview process, you are good to go once you have that ID. It will allow you access to the building where you work. It will also allow you to park in the employee parking lot,” Curtis says as six of us sit around a conference table.

  I recognize Clay and Brynn from my classes, and of course, Megan. But the other two students must be from another local university.

  “Let’s go around and introduce ourselves first. We have three universities represented this semester. Four of you are from Maryland State University, one from Jefferson University, and one from Tubman College. We’re excited to have you all with us,” Curtis says before everyone says their name and a brief introduction. The lady from Tubman College introduces herself as Sylvia Robertson and the guy from Jefferson is named Patrick Hackman. I file away the names of the competition.

  “OK, now I have paired you up based on your interests. You will be working as a team assigned to a unit. Sylvia and Clay will be with the Mars robotics division. Patrick and Brynn will be working with the telescope program. And Megan and Clark, you will be with our new Mission to the Moon unit. The folders in front of you have maps marked with where you’ll need to go. They also have all the other general information you need. We’ll meet here every other week for an hour lunch seminar. We’re going to have folks from different programs coming in to speak with you. Now, if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to our security offices,” Curtis states as he heads to the door.

  I look over at Megan. She gives me a tight smile that I can’t read. Shit. Is she pissed because she’s paired with me? FML. Is this going to be an awful experience? I take a deep breath. No. There’s no way this won’t be awesome. I’m not going to let anything bring me down.

  I follow everyone down a hall and another corridor and then another and up a flight of stairs. I know we’ve reached our destination when I see “security offices” overhead. The next hour is filled with paperwork and confirming all our security checks are completed. It ends with us all having our IDs in lanyards around our necks supported by ribbons embossed with NASA on them.

  I look down at the map in my folder. We are in the building next to this one. Curtis wishes us all well and I head toward the stairwell and back downstairs with Megan in tow.

  “I didn’t know you were interested in the moon project,” she says as we walk.

  I give her a pointed look. “Seriously?”

  She blushes and something about that makes me want to kiss her again. “I mean, I wasn’t sure that you still had a thing for the moon.”

  Her wording makes me laugh. “A thing?”

  Her face reddens even more. “You know what I mean,” she grumbles.

  I press my lips together to stop myself from laughing.

  “You suck,” she mutters as she quickens her pace in a subtle attempt to get away from me.

  I take larger steps and catch up with her in two strides. “Yes, I still am fascinated by the moon. Yes, I still take my dad’s telescope out back whenever I get a chance and sometimes up to the hill. Yes, I’d love to be an astronaut, but building the vehicles they drive up there would be equally as cool,” I admit in rapid-fire.

  She pauses and looks up at me. “You still go up to the hill?”

  Shrugging, I keep walking and she jogs a little to keep pace with me. “Yep.”

  “I…didn’t know that.” She’s quiet as we enter the building. Her mind is likely as full of memories as mine. The hill was our spot. It was part of a park in our little subdivision. Most of the kids always played on the playground, but the hill at the end of the field, that’s where Megan and I would play
cops and robbers or pretend we were working at mission control for NASA. There’s an old hollowed-out tree up there where we’d keep things. I’d be lying if I didn’t leave things there still, from time to time.

  We show our badges to the man at the front desk and he points us toward our new offices. A young woman greets us as we enter the program’s office space.

  “Hi! I’m Raquel Benningfield. I’m going to be working with you both. We’re so excited to have you join us for the semester. A lot is going on around here and we could use the help,” she says in a jovial voice as she motions to two small cubicles. “These are your desks. I’ll get you set up and then we’ll go over all the important stuff.”

  Megan

  Clark and I spend the entire day getting settled into our new space. Raquel seems nice and she set aside a lot of time to help us get acclimated. By the end of her tutorial and introductions around the office and password setups on the computers, I’m exhausted and excited for the weeks to come.

  When we finish, Clark walks me to my car. “I guess I’ll see you Thursday,” he says as I get in and drive away. I watch him disappear in the rearview mirror as I exit the parking lot.

  I cannot believe we are stuck working together for the semester. I almost died when Curtis read our names. Never in a million years did I think we would be paired up for this internship. And for that, I feel like an idiot. How could we not be paired up? We both love the moon. We both have been fascinated by the moon since…well, since I can remember. Those things don’t just change.

  Memories had flooded my mind when he said he still went up to our hill. We’d spent so many nights there in the tent Clark got for his eighth birthday. We thought we were badasses because our parents let us camp out there. Truth be told, you could see both our homes from the hill. And more than once, I caught our parents walking in the park. They always had an excuse, like the dog needed a walk, but I knew they were checking on us. I wonder when Clark last went up there with the telescope. His dad had an awesome telescope, but he had a smaller travel one that the kids were allowed to use whenever they wanted. I was always jealous of that.