Best Dating Rules: A Romantic Comedy (The Best Girls Book 2)

by Tamie Dearen

  “It was supposed to be a surprise,” said Charlie. “Don’t tell Mom and Steven. I want to tell them myself.”

  “It really would be fun if you came here to go to school,” said Emily.

  Charlie’s chin jutted out. “I can’t afford to pay out-of-state tuition.”

  Emily nodded. She understood not wanting to take tuition money from Steven, although he’d be glad to pay. She had the same sense of pride, feeling uncomfortable even taking the job he’d offered despite the fact she was well qualified.

  Spencer frowned. “Couldn’t your—ow!” Emily kicked him under the table.

  “Maybe you could get a scholarship,” Emily suggested.

  “Couldn’t your dad pay for it?” Josh asked.

  “No,” Charlie said firmly. “He married my mom, not me. He shouldn’t be saddled with my expensive tuition.”

  Brad choked on his drink. “Are we actually talking about Steven Gherring, here? He could pay that without blinking an eye.”

  “It’s the principle of the thing,” declared Emily. “My mom still shops at the second-hand clothing stores when Steven’s not around to protest. We weren’t raised to waste money or take handouts.”

  “Let’s change the subject,” said Charlie. “I’ll have a Fall Break, and I’ll come to visit y’all in New York.”

  “I can’t wait until Fall Break to see you,” mumbled Josh.

  “I don’t think this is a good time to have this discussion,” said Charlie.

  “When else can we discuss it?”

  “Fine,” said Charlie. “Then let me state for the record I think you’ll probably forget about me by tomorrow and most assuredly by the end of the week. Brad, wouldn’t you say that’s a fairly accurate prediction?”

  Josh glowered at Brad, but as usual, he merely laughed at his friend’s predicament. “I would say, based on Josh’s past behavior, that’s an extremely accurate prediction.” Before Charlie could gloat or Josh could explode, he held up his hand. “However...“ He waited until he had the attention of everyone at the table. “However, Josh doesn’t seem to be following his normal patterns of behavior. Not since after the two of you came out of the living room last night.” His lips spread in a teeth-flashing smile, and he winked at Charlie. “I’m just sayin’...”

  “I waited six months to see Emily again, except for Skype,” said Spencer. “And she pretty much fought me the whole time. And then when she moved here, she still wouldn’t date me. But she was worth the wait.”

  Josh gave him a horrified look. “Is that supposed to be encouraging?”

  “Maybe not encouraging, but realistic. And I’m not as stubborn as my sister.” Emily pointed with her water glass.

  “Ha!” said Charlie. “That’s a laugh. You’re twice as stubborn as me.”

  “Maybe you’re right, Sister. Maybe you’re getting soft. I’ve never seen you cave as easily as you did with Josh.”

  Charlie gave Emily a warning glare, but Josh shook his head. “Believe me, it wasn’t easy. None of my normal stuff works on Charlie. I’m really starting to feel insecure.”

  “Really, Josh? I don’t think you even understand the concept of insecurity.”

  “You’re right, Charlie.” Brad nodded toward Josh. “But if anyone can give him a taste of it, you can.”

  *****

  Spencer was determined to have a few minutes alone with Emily. Climbing had been fun and dinner was great, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was exquisite torture to have her so near and barely be able to touch her. In the back of his mind, the entire evening, he thought about what it would feel like to kiss her again. He knew she didn’t want to kiss him, and he’d never force her. But so far, he’d had some success persuading her to bend her rule a little. If only he could get her alone...

  After dinner, Brad announced he was walking Grace home. Josh pleaded and cajoled with Charlie until she relented and agreed to walk with him to get ice cream before returning to the apartment. When Charlie invited Emily and Spencer to come, the two men exchanged glances, and Spencer knew they were on the same page. Both of them were hoping to have some alone time with their Best girls. Spencer started rubbing his fingers lightly up and down on the inside of Emily’s arm, effectively rendering her incapable of speech.

  “I think we’ll go back to Emily’s apartment and wait for you guys there,” he said, pulling Emily toward the waiting car. “She shouldn’t be walking too much on her sore ankle.”

  Josh gave him a knowing smile as he tried to wrap his arm around Charlie’s shoulder. But she twisted away, and he grasped her hand. Spencer chuckled to himself. Yesterday morning he’d been ready to murder the guy, and now he felt sorry for him.

  Spencer wisely decided to hold off his assault while they were in the car, lest she refuse to invite him upstairs. He could see the emotions flitting across her face. She was obviously nervous about being alone with him. He had to distract her.

  “So, my mother says your mom’s improving a lot. Maybe they won’t even need her much longer. I hope she’s still looking for a job.”

  “They haven’t discussed it with me, but Steven is so overprotective. I’m sure he’ll want to keep Connie employed just in case they need her again. That’s his modus operandi, throw money at things and cover all your bases.”

  “I can see that, especially where your mom’s concerned. Actually, he’s pretty devoted to you and your sister, too. You should have seen him when you were in the hospital and then when you went missing.”

  “I know. I feel so bad about that. I can’t understand myself, doing stupid stuff like that.”

  “Hey, I wasn’t bringing it up to make you feel bad. I just wanted you to know that... that I think he really loves you—you and Charlie, both. I think he loves you as if you really were his daughters.”

  “I know. He really is great.”

  “You know, if he really were your dad, you wouldn’t feel bad when he wanted to do things for you. Like paying for Charlie’s college tuition.”

  “But he isn’t really our dad.”

  “I’m just saying, you should look at it from his perspective. He has money and he likes to spend it on the people he loves. Maybe sometimes you and Charlie might hurt his feelings when you don’t accept what he wants to give you.”

  “Maybe.” The closer the car got to the apartment, the more she fidgeted. “Spencer, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to come upstairs.”

  “I’d really like a cup of tea. Surely there’s no harm in that?”

  “Okay, but you have to promise not to kiss me.”

  “Okay, I promise.” But he wasn’t promising not to kiss her back if she started it.

  Emily sat on the couch beside Spencer, drinking tea. They both had on shorts, and she was incredibly cognizant of where his muscled masculine leg pressed against her smooth skin. It was as if every nerve fiber was hypersensitive, firing rapid impulses to scramble her brain. He sat on her right side, holding his tea mug casually in his right hand, with his left arm around the back of the couch. She waited tensely for his hand to slip onto her shoulder, but he kept it on the couch. She didn’t know whether to be grateful or irritated. He was being good. He wasn’t trying to kiss her.

  Spencer finished his tea and set it on the table next to him. Then he sat back and his hand rested on her leg. And oh-so-casually his fingers moved, gently caressing her skin. And all of her hypersensitive nerve endings started shooting off like fireworks. She put her hand on top of his to stop its movement. He smiled and interlaced their fingers.

  “You know,” he said, “I could do this for hours.”

  “Do what?”

  “This. Just sitting together. Close. Enjoying your company.” He pulled her hand into his lap and turned her arm over, exposing her wrist. He toyed with the soft smooth skin, sliding his fingers up to the inside of her elbow. She felt her heart pounding inside her chest. He was doing it again, making her lose control. She stiffened, prepared to pull her hand a
way, when he released it and stood up.

  “I’m going to get a refill. Would you like one?”

  She stared at him, dazed and confused. He wasn’t trying to get past her defenses after all. “Uhmm, no thanks.”

  He was gone for sixty seconds, pouring fresh hot water over the tea leaves. He returned and set his cup down. “I’ll let it steep.”

  He rested his hand lightly on her leg, and she waited for his fingers to move. But his hand remained still. “This is nice,” he said, with a gentle smile. She waited for the light tickling motion to assault her senses, but his fingers didn’t budge. At last, she offered him her upturned wrist.

  He grinned at her. “Do you like this?” Once again he began to delicately stroke the soft skin.

  She let her head fall back against the couch and reveled in the tingling sensation that started on her arm and spread throughout her body. It was so nice. And she could stop him any time she wanted to. She was totally in control.

  His fingers traveled up her bare arm and across her shoulder to her exposed neck, feathering the skin lightly with his fingertips.

  “Mmmmm,” she moaned. “You... you won’t kiss me, right?”

  He leaned over to whisper in her ear, “No... No, I won’t kiss you.” He nibbled her earlobe with his lips, and she squirmed in response. “But if you kiss me, I won’t stop you.” His soft breath in her ear sent shivers through her body. His lips skimmed from her ear down her neck.

  His mouth felt so good. It would feel so good on her lips. And his mouth was so close. She turned her head toward him. Her mouth searched desperately for his, and his lips willingly accepted hers. His mouth tickled and teased, plying her lips with soft, gentle kisses. He pulled her shoulders, gradually moving backward until he was reclined against the couch and she was leaning across his body, greedily seeking his lips with hers. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed her mouth against his. The more frantically she kissed him, the more passionately he responded, deepening their kiss as he enfolded his arms around her back, pressing her against his chest.

  A knock sounded at the door, and she jumped back wide-eyed and dismayed, wiping her swollen lips with the back of her hand. “Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!” she whispered in frenzy.

  “It’s okay. Calm down.” He pulled her hands down and set them in her lap. “Nothing happened, and we didn’t do anything wrong. You sit, and I’ll get the door.”

  As he opened the door to let Charlie in, she tried to tell herself she was still in control. But she knew it wasn’t true. With every touch and every kiss she gave another piece of her heart. Already she’d be devastated when he moved on to another girl, as she knew he eventually would. Part of her wanted him to declare he would love her forever. Another part of her was absolutely terrified of hearing those words.

  Charlie was startled when Spencer answered the door. She whipped around. “Goodnight, Josh. See you later.” She slipped in the door and tried to shut it, but it wouldn’t close. Josh’s foot was in the way.

  He grinned. “You see? I told you Spencer would still be here. I get to come inside.”

  “Spencer was just leaving,” said Emily.

  “No I wasn’t. I was planning to heat some more water for tea. Decaf, anyone?”

  “That sounds good,” said Josh.

  Charlie sighed. She really needed to talk to her sister, without Josh around. He’d messed up her head tonight. He was just so... so something. What was it? He was arrogant and egotistical. But that was nothing new. He was overpowering—he maxed out her senses. And he didn’t act threatened by her. She’d always thought that would be a good thing. But now she’d met a guy she didn’t intimidate, she wasn’t sure she liked it after all.

  Spencer had put a kettle on to boil before returning to the couch to talk to Josh. They leaned back and got comfortable, as if they had no intention of leaving any time soon. Emily caught Charlie’s eyes and rose from her position between the two men. Charlie knew her intention as soon as she headed her direction. While the guys were deeply engaged, discussing something earth-shatteringly important, like who’d win the World Series, Charlie and Emily slipped out the apartment door.

  Giggling softly as they’d done as young girls, they raced for the stairs. “Which way?” said Charlie.

  “Up one flight, and then we’ll take the elevator.”

  They hurried, breathless and panting, and then rode the elevator up to the open rooftop terrace.

  “What do you think they’ll do when they realize we’re gone?” asked Charlie.

  “I don’t know, but I was desperate,” Emily confided. “We need to talk.”

  “Okay, you first. No, maybe I should go first.”

  “Go ahead,” Emily encouraged.

  Charlie let out a breath. “He... He gets me to do things I don’t want to do. He doesn’t back off when I yell at him or say no. He... He confuses me—I can’t think straight. And then to top it all off, I’m leaving tomorrow, so I’m probably getting all worked up over nothing.”

  Emily chewed her lip. “Okay... Advice or sympathy?”

  “Advice now. Sympathy later.”

  “Well... I think you shouldn’t close the door on the possibility he’s the one. You have so many things working against this relationship, especially with the distance between you. If it lasts, it would have to be amazing. And you have to give amazing a chance.”

  Charlie thought for a moment. “Okay, and I’m going to confess something, because I don’t know what to do about it.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “He kissed me in Spencer’s living room, and he’s been trying to do it again ever since.” She opened pleading eyes to her sister. “What should I do?”

  Emily laughed. “I thought that might be what happened. But you haven’t let him kiss you again?”

  “No. But he’s very determined to kiss me again before he leaves. Even if we stay out here for three hours, he’ll probably still be waiting in the apartment for me.”

  “Sister, I don’t think I can help you. So far, I’ve kissed Spencer twice since I decided not to kiss him anymore.”

  Charlie clapped her hands as she laughed. “Good for Spencer.”

  “You traitor—you’re my sister. You know I’ll get hurt when he does his thing and takes up with someone new. The more I kiss him, the more it’s going to hurt when he leaves me.”

  “Okay. Advice or sympathy?”

  “Advice. You’re crummy at giving sympathy. You already laughed at me.”

  “Okay, here it is. Sister, he’s not going to leave you. If anyone ends this relationship, it’ll be you.”

  “But Grace has told me he always goes from one girl to another. I can’t get my hopes up he’ll stay with me. What if I fall in love, and then he ends it? I have to guard my heart.”

  Charlie struggled with her secret knowledge. How could she help her sister without betraying Spencer? “I talked to him, and I really believe he’s not a player anymore. Look how long he pursued you. A player would’ve moved on to someone who was less trouble.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “Josh is a way worse player than Spencer, and you told me to give him a chance.”

  “You’re right. He’s really bad. Well, if we ever catch either of these boys cheating, I say, No second chances.”

  “Agreed,” said Charlie.

  “Let’s go back down and kick them out so we can get some sleep.”

  “Okay, but I’m still going to have to kiss Josh goodbye unless you can think of a way out of it.”

  “Was it that bad?” teased Emily.

  Charlie remembered the assault of his lips and her thudding heart, and she couldn’t help smiling. “I don’t know—I’m pretty sure I passed out from the shock of it.”

  As the girls approached the apartment, they found two scowling boys standing outside. “You left us,” said Spencer.

  “We’re sisters,” Emily reasoned. “We had to talk.”

  “And we’ve decided it’s time for y’all to
go home,” said Charlie. “It’s almost midnight, and I’ve got an early flight and y’all have to work in the morning.”

  “You’re right,” said Spencer as he pulled Emily into his arms and held her close, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He held her a moment longer before she pulled out of his arms and slipped inside.

  Charlie’s heart pounded as she watched Spencer walk toward the elevator, leaving her alone with Josh. She’d put it off all night. She could do this. It was only a kiss. She’d kissed three other guys before. None of them had made her feel dizzy like Josh did, but that was probably a matter of the circumstances. Josh had caught her by surprise, and she’d been angry at the time. Plus, he’d kissed her in Spencer’s living room, where anyone might have walked in and caught them. Now, in the apartment hallway so late at night, they weren’t likely to be disturbed. She took deep controlled breaths to slow her heart rate.

  Josh pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. For several long minutes he held her, rubbing her back with his hands. She could feel his heart pounding against hers, even as his movements appeared calm and relaxed.

  “You’ve done something to me—I don’t know what. You’ve cast a spell or something.” His voice was gravelly.

  “Please, Josh. Don’t use your lines on me. They won’t work.”

  His laugh was bitter. “I’ve never used lines like that—I’ve never had to. I don’t think I’ve ever even pretended to really like a girl. This is all new territory for me.”

  “So you’ve only done the meaningless sex thing?”

  “A lot of it,” he confessed, “But I’d take it all back if I could. I’m sure a guy like me is pretty offensive to a girl like you. I know I can change.”

  “We’ll see, Josh. Seriously, let’s wait and see. Give yourself a week or two, and you’ll work me out of your system. I think I’m just an anomaly.”

  “It feels more like cancer to me. I think you’ve metastasized, and I’ll never be able to get rid of you, even if I wanted to try.”

  “Okay. Whatever you say. But don’t worry—I won’t get my feelings hurt when you realize this relationship is way more trouble than its worth.”