Kiersten

“He got down on bended knee?” Lisa screeched as she ran around my room in a frenzy. “What did you do?”

“I said yes, of course.” I laughed, throwing some more clothes into my suitcase. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to bring or wear. Uncle Jo about crapped himself when I told him the plan. He was so happy I was actually doing something that he started crying on the other end of the phone. When I pointed it out, he said a mosquito had flown into his eye. Right, in November.

It also helped matters that he’d idolized Randy Michels for years. I was under strict instructions by my uncle to marry Wes at all costs. He even offered to drive us to Vegas. Yeah, so basically I had the coolest uncle in the world. Nobody could argue that. He and my aunt were planning a huge celebration with the rest of the family. They were going to Skype me on Turkey Day so I could say hi to everyone.

“I would have freaked out.” Lisa fell onto my bed with a loud sigh. “I mean, I’m freaking out now and it didn’t even happen to me!”

“Right.” I tugged a shirt out from underneath her and folded it into my suitcase.

“You’re dating Weston Michels.” She gave another giggle and then jolted up from her bed, “Oh my gosh! Have you sl—”

“Don’t go there.” I pointed at her face. “We’ve kissed, like once — or twice now, actually.”

“What? Twice?” I swear her scream just woke hibernating bears in Alaska. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I knew,” Gabe said from the door, giving me a wink and slapping me on the shoulder as he walked by.

“Helpful Gabe, thank you.” I glared.

Lisa crossed her arms and pouted. “Everyone knew but me?”

“No, Gabe just saw me doing the walk of shame one morning and jumped to conclusions. I had to clear the air, otherwise he would have assumed the worst, because well, it’s Gabe.”

“True.”

“And the rest is history.”

Lisa seemed satisfied with that answer because about two minutes later she grinned. “Is he a good kisser?”

“Do we have to discuss this now?” Gabe complained. “Wait until I’m not in the room.”

“So leave.” Lisa shrugged.

“Can’t.” He pushed her to the side of the bed so he could sit down. “I have to send off my favorite girl. You know, give her all the normal warnings about what guys think, and why she should never under any circumstances watch a movie with a member of the opposite sex after eleven p.m.”

“Huh?” I stopped folding clothes. “Why not?”

“Sex.” Gabe glared “Studies show that testosterone skyrockets while watching horror movies, add that into nighttime and touching, and you, my friend, have a recipe for a baby rattle and no future.”

Lisa gaped. “Wow, where were you during my sex ed classes in high school?”

“Players know the game well, don’t they?” I teased.

“Only the stars.” He blew me a kiss and held up his hand for a high five.

Lisa slapped it.

I rolled my eyes at her.

“What?” She shrugged. “He really is so talented in the field.”

“And you know this how? Cousins? Remember?”

“Family equals no secrets.” Lisa nodded. “And it helps that three sororities rank guys on a scale of one to ten. Care to take a guess about Gabe’s rating?”

“Five?” I lifted my eyebrows.

Gabe shot me a glare.

“Eleven.” Lisa sounded proud. “They put him in his own ranking.”

“I’ll probably be president one day.” Gabe gave us both cocky grins and patted himself on the back.

“I don’t know why, but I feel the need to congratulate you on being a whore. Why does that feel wrong?” I tapped my finger against my chin. “Oh right, because it is. One of these days it’s going to catch up with you.”

“Never.” Gabe shook his head. “A player plays by the rules, knows the game plan, knows every possible strategy and execution. Me getting caught would be like Chuck Norris dying in a stunt. Um, it won’t happen. Want to know why? Because he’s bad ass.”

“Did you just compare your sexual prowess to Chuck Norris’s karate skills?” I asked.

“Same thing.” Gabe shrugged.

Shaking my head, I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “Crap! He’s going to be here! Hurry, hurry! I have to put everything in my bag.”

“Everything?” Gabe glanced around the room. “Are you planning on moving in?”

Lisa’s answer was to smack him on the back of the head. With a growl he jumped to his feet and started piling stuff in my suitcases. I even caught him try to throw my alarm clock in. Seriously?

“Done!” Lisa sat on the suitcase while Gabe zipped.

“I love you guys,” I gushed, pulling them both in for hugs.

Gabe patted my head like I was twelve, and Lisa looked like she was going to cry. You’d think I’d never visited a boy’s house before. Oh wait. Right.

Someone knocked on our door.

Lisa ran out of my room banging her arm against the sofa as she made her way across the living room and finally opened up the door.

“Hey, Lisa.” Wes grinned and handed her a paper turkey. “Made it myself.” He peered around her. “My girlfriend ready?”

And my roommate officially swooned against the door, putting the back of her hand against her forehead. Gabe was going to have to give her CPR.

“Be still my beating heart!” Lisa said in a southern drawl. “Sugar, your man is here and he is fine, fine, fine.”

“Sorry.” Gabe grabbed Lisa by the shoulders and steered her away from Wes. “She forgot to take her meds today.”

“It’s okay.” Wes chuckled and then lifted his eyes. I stared straight back.

Time stilled.

Okay so maybe it didn’t stop, but for some reason my heart started racing as he took purposeful steps towards me.

First his hands braced my hips.

And then his mouth found mine.

And it was my turn to swoon.

Gabe and Lisa both whistled but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around Wes’s neck, pulling him toward me. Mine. He was mine for two weeks, whatever that meant. Boyfriend.

“My man ready?”

He grinned, kissing my nose. “My freshman ready?”

“Low blow.” I glared.

“Had to be said.” He sighed and kissed my forehead. “I’ll grab your suitcase.”

Lisa sighed while Gabe smacked her on the arm, just as Wes came into the living room with my giant suitcase.

“You do know I didn’t ask you to move in with me, right?” he joked.

“A girl has to be prepared!” Lisa defended me. “And who knows what the Seattle weather will do!”

Wes held up a hand as if to surrender and then nodded towards the door. “Let’s go. My crazy dad awaits.”

“Onward.” I thrust my fist into the air and said goodbye to Gabe and Lisa. I was going to meet the richest man in the world. Awesome, what could go wrong?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Holy shit. I was taking a girl home. Somebody start a fire in Hell — because it’s officially frozen over.

Weston

“You nervous?” I asked as we pulled onto Fauntleroy Way in downtown Seattle. It boasted of only twelve houses in the little gated community meaning we had mega privacy. I swear my dad had cameras everywhere, even at the end of the street just in case someone sketchy wanted to get a view one of us in the pool. Not that they could, there was enough landscaping to make the house its own private resort, not to mention the fact that we had over a half mile of private beach. You know, if you could call a rocky coast a beach. But every summer we had sand brought in from the tropics. Just to make it look legit.

“A little.” Kiersten sighed and looked out the window. “So which house is yours?”

“Everything you see on this side of the street towards the water? It’s all ours.”

“Huh?”

“A main house, two cottages, a few tennis courts, a man-made pond, and then that house over there…” I pointed to the far end of the property as the gate opened making it easier for her to see. “…is where my Oma stays when she visits.”