It’s stupid how I’m openly flirting with David, especially with Lonnie around, but I can’t help myself. Something about the way she was looking at him a few minutes ago just made me need to touch him. We’re getting looks from all of our coworkers, but I continue to sip my drink and focus on David as if they aren’t even here.

He keeps glancing at the doorway leading to the bar, but Lonnie hasn’t shown up again since she saw me snuggling up to him a few minutes ago. I’m assuming she knows he’s seeing other people. I doubt she knows it’s me, though. Well, I suppose she has some idea now.

“Do you need another drink?” I ask him, motioning to his empty beer bottle.

“No, I’m good for now.”

Probably because he doesn’t want to go to the bar for another. “I can get it for you if you’d like. I was going to hit the restroom and then get myself another anyway.” Before he can protest, I stand up and grab both of our bottles.

He looks like he wants to say something, but he swallows hard instead, his throat visibly constricting. I doubt he’s ever dated multiple women at the same time before, so I cut him some slack. He’s not entirely comfortable with all this, and I can understand that.

“I’ll be right back.” I brush my arm against his and give him a reassuring smile, but it doesn’t ease the tension in his body. I move toward the door, and Aria jumps up, falling in step with me.

“What are you doing?” she asks, looping her arm through mine.

I hold up the empty bottles. “Getting another round of drinks. Want one?”

She narrows her eyes at me. “You know that’s not what I mean. Lonnie is tending bar. Are you trying to sabotage David’s relationship with her?”

I shrug. “They aren’t exclusive, so I’m not sabotaging anything.”

She tugs my arm, forcing me to stop walking and look at her. “Emily, you know I love you, which is why I have to tell you you’re asking for trouble. Dating David is one thing. Messing with his emotions by hitting on him any time Lonnie is around is another.”

“That’s not what I’m doing. He’s seeing both of us. I’m seeing Sebastian, too. David is fine with this. We’ve already discussed it. In fact, he’s come to see I was right about commitment. It’s not necessary at our age.” I’m tempted to say “or at any age,” but I know Aria will disagree. She and Nate will get married one day. I’m sure of that.

“You can’t really believe that. David is one of the sweetest men I know. He might be telling you he’s okay with this, but I doubt he really is.”

“You don’t know him like I do. He’s changed. I don’t know why, but he has.” I hold up the empty beer bottles. “Now can I please get my drinks so I can get back to David?”

She lets go of me. “Okay, fine. But for the record, I’m against this.”

“Duly noted.” I walk away from her and to the bar. Lonnie is helping a group of men who can’t seem to take their eyes off her cleavage. She can’t possibly want to stop flirting for tips. If she got into a serious relationship with David, it would ruin her job. Besides, she could have any of the men in here. Though, none compares to David. Aria’s right. He’s so sweet. He’s also gorgeous—the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. Okay, Lonnie would be an idiot not to fall for him. But to act on those feelings and give up what she has going on here? She doesn’t strike me as the type.

I tap my fingers on the bar, waiting for her to notice me. I swear she’s purposely avoiding me, tending to people who don’t even need refills. Finally, I get fed up and say, “Excuse me.” I raise a hand in the air to make sure she knows I’m the one who said it. “I need two more Amstel Lights.” I motion to the bottles on the bar.

Lonnie grabs two Amstel Lights and uncaps them before putting them down in front of me. “That will be five dollars,” she says.

I reach for my purse, which is draped across my body, and pull a ten out of my wallet. “Keep the change,” I tell her. “Though it doesn’t look like you need any help getting tips with these guys around. You definitely know how to work a crowd.”

Her eyes narrow at me. “Stay there. I’ll get you change,” she says, snatching the bill off the bar top.

“I said keep it.” I turn to walk away, but Lonnie yells, “Wait.” I almost keep walking, but she adds, “Please,” in a voice that’s so full of desperation I can’t ignore her. I turn around.

She glances at the customers at the bar, and seeing no one is in need of a drink at the moment, she steps around the bar to me. “Who are you? To David, I mean.”

That’s a loaded question I’m not sure I can answer. “Well, we work together, we’re friends, we’re roommates, and...” I pause because if her face contorts any more, she may need a plastic surgeon to help her right it again.

“You’re his roommate?” she asks.

I nod. “Is that a problem?”

“I don’t know. I saw you flirting with him when I left the back room earlier.”

“We’ve always been close.”

“How close?” She’s squeezing the edge of the bar, and I’m not sure if she’s using it for support or to keep from punching me in the face.

“You should probably have this conversation with David.”

Her mouth drops open at that. “Are you implying—?”

“I’m not implying anything. You and David are dating, right?”

“I don’t know. I thought so, but...” She lowers her head.

“Then you should talk to him. I don’t think things are as bad as you’re assuming right now.” Why is everyone so touchy about exclusivity?

“Lonnie,” a man from the bar calls.

She turns and raises her hand in acknowledgment. “I’ll be right there.” She looks at me again.

“Seriously, you shouldn’t be worried. David’s a good guy.” The best. “Go back to work. I don’t want to ruin your tips. I’ll tell David to call you,” I add before turning and walking to the back room.

Aria is with Nate again, but she eyes me when I reenter the room. I smile to let her know everything is fine. So I slipped up and told Lonnie I’m David’s roommate. It’s not the end of the world. I could have slipped and said we slept together recently or that we used to date. This isn’t that bad.

I sit next to David, who looks green. “Here you go.” I slide a beer toward him.

“Thanks.” He taps his finger against the glass.

“Yes, I talked to Lonnie,” I say, answering the question he’s too afraid to ask.

“You did?”

“I might have accidentally told her we’re roommates, but I also told her you’re a great guy and that you’d call her. I don’t think it will be a problem.” I take a sip of my beer.

He lets out a long breath. “Did she seem upset? I don’t want to hurt her.”

I place my hand on his thigh. “I know you don’t. I think she’ll be fine. You two never talked about being exclusive, right?”

He shakes his head.

“Then you didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve only been on one date with her. Go out for drinks this week and tell her straight up that you aren’t looking for a relationship but that you’d love to continue to see her.” It’s simple. Why people have to complicate it is beyond me.

He nods. “You’re right.”

I smile and squeeze his thigh. “See. Everything’s great. Now drink your beer and relax.”

He does. Within a few minutes, I have him talking and laughing like nothing ever happened. And when everyone starts to leave, he says, “You ready to head home, too?”

I’m a little tipsy from all the beer I drank, which makes me grateful he drove. “Yeah, take me home,” I say. Even in my alcoholic haze, I can hear the suggestive tone that slipped out with that comment.

He eyes me for a second before looping his arm around my waist and helping me up. “You okay to walk?”

“Yeah, I just should have eaten something.” Beer on an empty stomach is never a good idea. I should have been smarter than that.

“We’ll stop and grab you some egg rolls on the way home,” he says, knowing that’s my favorite food when I’ve been drinking.

“You’re the best, David.” Without thinking, I lean forward and press my lips to his.

He’s stunned for a moment because some of our coworkers are still here. He brushes my hair from my face and smiles at me. “Come on, lightweight. Before you go kissing every guy in here.”

“I don’t want to kiss anyone else,” I say, and the true meaning of my words becomes clear to me. I don’t want to kiss anyone but David. Not Sebastian. Not anyone.

“I think it’s best if we don’t kiss anymore here.” He looks over my head. “We’re drawing attention to ourselves, and you know what the newsroom will be like tomorrow.”

He’s right. I love our coworkers, but they are a gossipy bunch. I let him lead me out of the back room. He pauses to wave goodnight to Lonnie, who gives me a look when she sees David’s arm around my waist. Hopefully, she’ll chalk it up to me being drunk. She didn’t witness the kiss in the back room, and I already assured her David would call her.

David brings me to the car and opens the door for me. “In you go.”

I slide into the seat and watch him as he closes the door and walks around to the driver’s side. He drags his hand through his hair, and I’m sure he’s trying to figure out how to handle me right now. I could pretend to be drunker than I am and see where it leads, but I don’t want to trick him into sleeping with me. Besides, David’s the type who will insist on putting me to bed and not touching me if he thinks I’m too drunk to know what I’m doing. Moreover, I know I’ll be fine once I eat an egg roll and have something in my stomach to absorb the beer I drank.

He gets in and immediately calls the Chinese restaurant that we’ll pass on the way back to our apartment. He orders four egg rolls and wanton soup. He knows I love the soup.

Once we’re on the road, I say, “Any chance you want to stay up late? We could throw a movie in and make a night of it.”

“Like a roommate bonding night?” he asks.

I was thinking more like a date, but if I suggest that now, he’ll think I’m just drunk. “Sure,” I say. “You don’t have to be in to work early tomorrow, right?”

“No. Normal time. You?”

“Same. My first meeting is at ten thirty.” One of the great things about Mr. Monohan is that he doesn’t make us keep set hours. As long as we get all our work done on time, he doesn’t care what time we arrive or what time we leave the office. He’s mellowed a lot since we all left Priority News. I don’t doubt he’s ruining me for working for any other paper in the future. Actually, I suspect that might be his secret plan to keep us all on board.

“Then movie night it is.” David drives to the Chinese restaurant and runs inside for the food while I stay in the car.

I tap my foot against the floor mats, counting the seconds until he returns. Maybe it was seeing David with Lonnie tonight, but I just want to kiss him. It’s all I can think about. When he returns, I say, “I’m starving.”

He hands me the bag of food. “We’ll be home in a few, and then you can eat as many egg rolls as you can stomach.”

“Remember that night when we went to Aria’s party and then ate six egg rolls afterward?” I ask, laughing at the memory of him trying to stuff an entire egg roll into his mouth. “Now that night was fun.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been that drunk in my life,” he says. “And you ate two and a half egg rolls to my three, so I won our bet.” He briefly turns his head in my direction. “You never paid up either.”

He’s right. I was supposed to let him take me out for sushi. “Can you blame me? You were trying to get me to eat raw fish. I don’t even eat cooked fish.” I shiver at the thought. I’ve never been a seafood person. “Besides, sushi looks disgusting.”

“Still, a bet is a bet. You need to pay up.”

“You’re not seriously going to make me follow through on that, are you?”

He nods. “I am.”

I reach for his leg, placing my palm flat against his thigh. “Care to swap the sushi dinner out for something else? Please,” I add.

“Emily Richards, are you trying to seduce me into choosing a different prize for winning our bet?”

“Is it working?” I ask with an innocent smile.

He looks at me and inhales deeply before turning back to the road. He pulls into the parking garage and assumes his spot next to mine. I’m not sure why he’s gotten so quiet, but I don’t want to press him. I open the door and carry our food to the elevator. When David reaches me, he takes the food from my hands, being the gentleman he is.

Since it’s late on a Monday night, the apartment complex is quiet. Other than a man whom I know works nights at the post office, we don’t see anyone. I open the door since David is carrying our food.

“I’ll put on water for the tea,” I say.

“Great. I’ll get plates.”

Our conversation feels forced. I hate how we keep going from comfortable and flirty to awkward silence and short sentences with no real meaning. I guess hanging out at the bar where the other woman he’s seeing works was a bit too much. We’ll need to find a new bar to frequent.

I put the teapot on the stove and turn around to grab napkins, but I collide with David as he grabs the paper plates from the cabinet.

“Whoa,” he says, grabbing me by my shoulders. “Sorry about that.”

The paper plates are pressed between us, held up only by our chests. I reach for them and slide them out. “Never pulled plates from my breasts before,” I say with a smirk.

“First time for everything, right?” He’s still holding on to me, staring into my eyes.

“David, I—”

He shakes his head. “We should eat. We can talk after that.”

“I’m really not that hungry anymore,” I say, tossing the plates onto the counter.

“Neither am I.” His right hand rises and cups my cheek. Before I can say more, his mouth descends on mine.

Maybe it’s the way things played out this evening with Lonnie, or maybe it’s just David, but I find myself jumping up into his arms and wrapping my legs around his waist. He cups my ass and continues to kiss me as he walks us to his bedroom. He places me gently on the bed and breaks the kiss long enough to study my face.

“I’m not drunk. Seriously, I feel a lot better now,” I assure him. His kiss sobered me.

“I think I am drunk, but not on alcohol.” His lips return to mine with such passion my head spins. I lean back on the bed, taking him with me. He undresses me and kisses every inch of my body. No man has ever made me feel the way David does. It’s like he pours all his focus into me. And no matter how many times he touches me, it always feels like the first time. I’m already crying out in ecstasy when he finally enters me.