“But I’m not really a sorority girl.” She folded her hands in her lap.
“You are as much as I’m a frat guy. Whether you fit the stereotype or not, you’re one.”
She sighed. “All of my acting skills are going to be wasted.”
“Except for the ones involving pretending to be my girlfriend. You’re allowed to go over the top there.”
“Over the top?” I heard the suspicion in her voice. “What, am I supposed to be all over you in public or something?”
“Not all over me, but very happy with me. I’m not looking to make them think we’re breaking up. We can take care of that when we’re miles away from them again.”
Her face fell slightly, but I wouldn’t let myself read into it.
“What about sleeping arrangements?”
“I’m sure my mom will put us in separate rooms. You might be with my cousin though. Would that bother you?”
“Nope. That’s fine.” Jade continued to quiz me on my family as we drove closer to the airport. I told her what I could, but I didn’t want to scare her. I wasn’t taking the risk that she wouldn’t get on the plane.
Chapter Five
Jade
I generally like flying, but I spent the entire flight up to Albany with my stomach in knots. Kyle tried to distract me, but all I could picture was how awkward it would be if his parents saw through the charade. Would they blame me? As the plane taxied down the runway, I knew I had to stay positive. There was no way I was going to make it through the week otherwise.
I stalled as long as I could, but eventually I had no choice but to walk down the aisle and get off the plane. Kyle got right into character, wordlessly taking my hand as we headed to baggage claim. His strong hand comforted me as I struggled to pull myself together. I could do this. I could face his family.
We walked through the doors into baggage claim. “Kyle!” A woman called his name as we rounded the corner.
“Hey, Mom.” Kyle smiled and pulled us toward where a stunning middle-aged woman waited. Her gray hair was the opposite of the black that my mom always kept hers dyed. “This is Jade.”
“Jade!” She pulled me into a hug. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. We’re so excited you were able to join us.”
“Thanks for having me.” All of my planning, and I couldn’t come up with anything better to say?
“Of course! We’re thrilled that you’re here.” She put her hands on my arms and looked into my eyes. Guilt rushed through me. Was I really supposed to lie to this woman for a week? Cara had been right to deter me. I’d made a huge mistake.
“Is Dad in the car?” Kyle asked without any hint of nervousness.
“No, he’s at the hotel working.” His mother smiled sheepishly. “Are you surprised?”
“No.” Kyle took my hand again while carefully avoiding my eyes. He probably knew I was about to lose it. “Let’s wait for our stuff.”
I smiled. When all else fails smiling can get you out of some awkward situations.
“I’m sure Kyle can handle the bags.” His mother put a hand on my back.
“Sure. Be right back.” He winked before letting go of my hand. He was dead. Two minutes after landing and he’d ditched me already. It was also when I realized I still didn’t know his mom’s name. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten to ask Kyle that simple detail, and I couldn’t ask now. A boyfriend definitely would have told his girlfriend that.
She waited for Kyle to walk out of earshot before turning to me. “I know I’ve already said it, but I’m so excited you’re here. Can I admit something to you? Woman to woman?”
“Uh, sure…” I stammered. Did things have to get awkward already?
“Kyle’s brother tried to convince us that you were made up. Can you believe that? And part of me believed him. I’m so happy we were wrong!” She pulled me into another hug.
Oh. My. God. I was going to hell. I was completely and certifiably on my way. And why was this woman so excited that Kyle had a girlfriend? He was twenty years old, not forty. Would it matter if he were single?
“Uh, yeah. I’m real.” I fought the urge to chew my nails. That would only make me look stranger and possibly more guilty.
“Of course you are.” She stepped back and looked at me. “And you’re absolutely beautiful. No wonder Kyle is so taken with you.”
“Oh. Thanks.” What was one supposed to say to that?
“Kyle mentioned this is your first time to Lake George. You’re going to love it, especially the hotel we’re staying at.”
“Oh. Cool.”
“And don’t worry, you and Kyle can stay together.” She winked. “I’m not going to be old fashioned.”
“Oh, it’s fine. You don’t have to make yourself uncomfortable for me.”
“I won’t be uncomfortable. If Kyle brought you here it means he’s serious about you. You might as well be family.” She nudged me.
I glanced over my shoulder to where Kyle waited by the baggage carousel. A loud beep signified that it was finally starting to move. I hoped our bags came off quickly. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be able to handle his mom on my own before saying something stupid.
“Where are you from, Jade?” She smoothed out her long white linen skirt. “Kyle hasn’t shared all the details yet.”
“South Carolina. A small town about three hours from Charleston.”
“Oh, how lovely. South Carolina is such a beautiful state. You know we have a house out on Kiawah. Has he taken you there yet?”
“Not yet.” I hoped Kyle didn’t fabricate that detail earlier.
“What?” She turned and strode over to Kyle.
I watched nervously. Hopefully we weren’t already getting caught. After several deep breaths I walked over to meet them.
Kyle gave me a sheepish smile. “Mom says I owe you an apology for not taking you to the beach yet this summer.”
“No apology needed, it’s been busy.”
“You and that radio station. You’d think Kyle owned it for the amount of time he spends there.” His mother gave me a knowing look.
“She knows, Mom.” He rolled his eyes. “She works there too.”
“You do?” She turned to me. “How nice. I had no idea.”
“Yes, Kyle’s a wonderful boss.”
“Boss? Is he your boss?”
“Technically he can fire me. He doesn’t pay me though.”
“I never considered that Kyle’s position came with that sort of responsibility.” His mom seemed pensive.
“Of course not. Who’d trust me with responsibility?” He let out a deep breath.
“That’s not what I meant.” His mom narrowed her eyes.
“There’s my bag!” Like a beacon of hope, my black rolling bag with the tie dyed belt came out onto the conveyer belt.
“I’ll get it.” Kyle shot me an apologetic look before walking over to grab it. Thankfully a few seconds later his bag showed up too, and we headed out to the car.
Kyle held open the passenger door to his mom’s Mercedes for me.
“Oh, I can sit in the back.” I bent down to move under his arm to the back before he could stop me. He wasn’t making me sit up front with his mom. I preferred sitting in the back where I could hopefully be forgotten about. I’d looked it up, and the drive was going to be close to an hour.
Kyle didn’t say anything. He just got in the front and closed his door a little harder than he needed to. I hoped he snapped out of his funk. I was the one in over my head on this one. He could at least try to keep things reasonable for my sake.
“Have you told Jade much about the plans for this week?” His mother broke an awkward silence that had set in since the conversation in baggage claim.
“I wasn’t sure of the plans myself, so I couldn’t tell her.” Kyle rested his arm on the center console.
“Well, that’s the whole fun of it. We have almost no plans at all. Isn’t that a hoot? A break from the usual.” She inserted her ticket
into the toll booth machine and the lever moved to let us out of the lot.
“That’s great.” Kyle looked at me through the space between the seats.
“Sounds good.”
“I already told Jade, but you two are staying together, so don’t worry about that.”
“Oh. Thanks.” He shot me an ‘I had no idea’ look.
“I assured your mom we didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.” It’s not that I wanted to share a room with his cousin, but I wasn’t sure if staying in a room with Kyle was such a good idea.
“Exactly. We’ll do whatever you want, Mom.”
“You’re staying together. Everyone else has already checked in anyway.”
“Oh. Ok.”
I looked out the window, needing to focus on something—anything but the fact that I was going to be spending a week in a hotel room with Kyle. Hopefully it would be double beds.
At least the scenery kept my attention. Tall green trees were a welcome change from the typical palm trees of Charleston. Both were beautiful in their own ways, but upstate New York was new to me, and there is something awe inspiring about seeing a new place for the first time.
Forty-five minutes later his mom pulled into an empty spot in the lot and led us toward an absolutely beautiful old hotel.
The large white building was beautiful in its own right, but it was the seemingly endless lake that held my attention. Kyle took my hand and my bag as we walked inside. I was so busy looking around me, that I was lucky I didn’t walk into anything.
“I told you it was pretty up here.” Kyle nudged me.
“I never doubted it.” I waited patiently in the lobby as his mom went up the desk.
“Have fun you two.” His mom smiled as she handed Kyle the room keys. “Remember, dinner is at six thirty. Don’t be late.” She patted Kyle’s arm and walked away.
“Ready?” Kyle asked.
“Sure. Let’s see this room.” I followed him upstairs while a bellhop saw to our bags. I was never comfortable leaving my stuff with anyone, but then again the only things of value I had were in the purse I was carrying.
Kyle pushed open the door to our room, and I followed him inside. My eyes immediately went to the one king sized bed. It was going to be an interesting week.
Chapter Six
Kyle
Jade was going to kill me. She was probably ready to kill me already, but as soon as I found out we were sharing a room I knew I was in trouble. Add in the one bed, and it was worse. But that wasn’t the half of it. The itinerary laid out on the bed said it all.
“A couple’s massage?” Jade held the paper in her hands. “Did you know about this? I thought your mom said there were no plans.”
“Are you really going to ask me that?”
“Private wine tasting, I can handle that, but a couples massage?” She dropped the paper onto the bed as though it were on fire.
“My mom may be making way too big of a deal out of me bringing you. I guess she wanted to surprise us.” I stretched, still stiff from all the traveling.
“You think?” She glared down at the offending off-white paper. “At least there weren’t rose petals on the bed.”
A knock on the door made me freeze. A follow up knock snapped me out of my momentary panic, and I walked over to open it. A bellhop stood outside the door. I thought it was just the bags until I noticed a tray and ice bucket in his hands. “Hello Mr. Bradley. Here’s your champagne and strawberries. I hope you two have a wonderful, romantic week together.”
I said nothing. I couldn’t. The thought of turning around to face Jade had me ready to bolt from the room.
“Would you like me to set this up for you?” The bellhop asked.
“No thanks.” I took the tray as well as the champagne and ice bucket. “I can handle it.”
He brought in our bags and set them inside the door. “If you’re sure, sir.” He nodded before showing himself out of the room.
Forget Jade killing me, I was going to kill my mom. Unless. I opened the small white card attached to the ice bucket.
Hope you and your girlfriend enjoy yourselves- Dylan.
“Asshole.”
“Excuse me?”
I turned to find Jade sitting on the edge of the bed looking positively mortified.
“Not you, obviously. It was my brother. He did this.” I brought the strawberries and champagne over to her.
“Would you read into anything if I ate a strawberry?” She removed the cover to the dish.
“What would I be reading from it? That you secretly want me?”
She picked up a strawberry and bit into it. “I really like strawberries.”
“We might as well open the champagne too. We’ll need it before we face the rest of my family for dinner.”
“It’s funny how you’re only now admitting how bad this week is going to be.”
“It’s not going to be bad. At least we have the cover to do our own thing. It’s beautiful up here, so we might as well enjoy it.”
“Well, we’re not going to enjoy the sleeping in the same bed part.” She seemed to be setting down ground rules. I was okay with that. I owed her.
“I can sleep on the floor if you want.”
“We don’t have to go that far. You’re just staying on your own side.”
“I promise I’ll do my best to resist you.” I winked, hoping to lighten the mood.
“I’ll do the same.” She smiled slightly.
I reached around her and grabbed a strawberry. “I want to see if they’re as good as you’re making them look.”
“How am I making them look?” She paused with the strawberry halfway to her lips for another bite.
“You’d understand if you could see the face you made when you bit into it the first time.”
“I didn’t make a face.” She used her fingers to wipe away a few drops of strawberry from her lips.
“Yes you did.” I bit into the strawberry. “The face was understandable. These are good.”
“Told you.” She put a hand on her hip.
“Actually you didn’t.”
“Stop it.” She finished her strawberry and put the stem down on a napkin.
“Fine.” I smiled. “Ready for that champagne?”
“Sure. It’s five o’clock somewhere.”
“It’s a quarter till five already. Completely reasonable.”
I held the champagne bottle away from her as I opened it. The top popped off with a satisfying sound, and I poured two glasses.
Jade accepted hers before gently tapping it into mine. “To whatever it is we should be toasting.”
“To a good week.”
“A good week.” She brought the glass to her lips, and I couldn’t help but study them. I bet those lips were incredibly soft.
“Is there strawberry on my face?” She wiped nonexistent strawberry juice off her cheek with the back of her hand.
“No. Sorry. I zoned out for a minute.”
“Well stop that. I need you all here for tonight.”
“It’s not going to be that bad.” It probably would be, but there was no reason to scare her more than she already was.
“You just told me we’d need alcohol to handle it.” She held up her glass.
“Exactly. We have plenty of it now. We’ll be fine.”
She shook her head. “You’re too much.”
“I’d have thought you’d have figured that out a long time ago.”
“You’ve had us all fooled.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I told Cara what I was doing.”
“Oh?” I asked somewhat nervously. Cara was usually very vocal about what she thought of things. I’d gotten to know her really well since she started working on Jade’s radio show.
“She said it was okay because you were safe.”
“I’m safe?” I knew she’d meant it in a good way, but it felt more like an insult. Is that really how those girls viewed me? Safe?
“Yeah, I
guess she figured you weren’t trying to take advantage of me.”
“I’d never do that.” If that’s what they meant by safe, I’d own up to it. I wouldn’t hurt someone intentionally. Especially not someone like Jade.
“I know.” She took another sip of her champagne. “I probably shouldn’t drink too much of this. Feeling relaxed is one thing, showing up to dinner plastered is another.”
I laughed. “Now that would be interesting.”
“If by interesting you mean awful, then sure.”
“Fine. Drink what you want and then we can go take a walk. Fresh air always helps.”
“Sounds great, but I should probably change first. Is a black sundress okay for tonight?”
“Perfect. Pretty much anything but jeans.”
“You mean I can wear my cut-off daisy dukes?”
“You don’t even own those.”
“You want to bet?” she challenged.
“If you do, I’d love to see them.” I hadn’t actually meant to say that out loud, but considering how long her legs were, the thought was a natural one.
“Maybe one day.” She smiled before setting down her half full glass.
I quickly changed into a fresh shirt and slacks while I waited for Jade to get changed in the bathroom. Now that we were actually here, I couldn’t believe we were about to put on a show for my entire family. My mom had been one thing, but my father and brother and the rest of them? Dylan especially wasn’t going to make this easy for me. Hopefully he’d be too tanked to waste his energy. Either that or maybe he’d found a girl already. Dylan never had trouble doing that. It was keeping the girl that was his problem.
The door to the bathroom opened, and my breath hitched as I took in the sight of her. “You look amazing.” I raked my eyes over her slim figure. The black dress fit her like a glove and showed off every curve.
She laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“You do. I mean you always look good, but that dress looks awesome on you.” I resisted the urge to reach out and touch her.
“Thanks.” She picked up her small black purse from the bed. “I’m ready.”
“Are those shoes comfortable?” I glanced down at black sandals.
The Hazards of Sleeping With a Friend Page 3