...AND SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH A HOOKER

Chapter 12

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As soon as the words left her mouth, Rose wished she could take them back, to just reach out and reel them back in as if they were visible letter-shaped bubbles hanging in the air between the three of them, and swallow them back down, leaving everyone oblivious to their previous existence. She knew she was flushing to the roots of her hairs by the way her face was heating up, but she made sure to keep smiling, even if her cheeks were beginning to hurt from the strain.

All Rose had wanted to do was get Kelvin to back off and finally leave her alone. What she hadn’t meant to do was blurt something as infinitely stupid as saying that Adrian was her boyfriend. Boyfriend, for f***s sake! Saying that he was her date would have sufficed!

But Rose had panicked and managed to back herself into a pretty little corner. She couldn’t very well backtrack her way out of this one now. She had to keep up the pretence and go along with the story, at least while Kelvin was around, if not the rest of the night. Adrian would probably have a field day.

Rose watched as Kelvin’s mouth fell open to form an ‘oh. His eyes went from looking at the hand Rose was resting on Kelvin’s shoulder to glancing at the fingers holding Rose’s waist, flickering briefly over Adrian’s face, and then back to Rose again. Kelvin’s face morphed from an expression of surprise to one closer to indignation, as if Rose and Adrian touching each other somehow offended him.

‘’I- I didn’t realize,’’ Kelvin stuttered. ‘’It looked like you were fighting.’’

A ripple of annoyance ran through Rose’s body. She didn’t need a knight in shining armor to come save her. She wasn’t a dainty princess, and Kelvin sure as hell didn’t have any right to make assumptions. But in the interest of keeping up appearances, Rose faked another laugh.

‘’Just a lover’s spat, you know how it is.’’ She lifted her hand and tried to make a dismissive gesture. It came out looking more like an ‘aw shucks’ elbow hook, so Roe quickly lifted her drink to her mouth to down the remaining wine in one gulp, arguing that more alcohol was exactly what she needed right now. Preferably enough to make her black out so she wouldn’t have to deal with this situation. However, since she didn’t feel more than a faint buzz yet, Rose knew it was futile.

‘’Then I hope you guys work it out. Hate seeing nice couples like yourselves fall out over petty little things,’’ Kelvin cooed in exaggerated sympathy as he was glaring daggers at Adrian.

‘’I’m sure we’ll be just fine… Klevin, was it?’ Adrian drawled and turned to look at Rose. ‘’Won’t we, babe?’’ His hand squeezed Rose’s waist, and Rose turned to smile at him in silent response. She was surprised to find her smile feeling less strained when focused on Adrian, whose eyes were back to their merry twinkling. Rose knew without a doubt that Adrian was just living for this new development in their little act. Figures.

Kelvin cleared his throat, and Rose watched as Adrian rolled his eyes before turning to face Kelvin again.

‘’So, what else do you do, Kelvin, except sticking your nose in other people’s business?’’ Adrian asked conversationally, the perfect picture of bored disinterest.

Rose snorted at Adrian’s unexpected forwardness and coughed quickly to try to cover it up. She reached up to flick the ear conveniently situated right above her hand. ‘’Adrian! Be nice,’’ she admonished and turned to Kelvin, already opening her mouth to apologize.

‘’No, no, that’s alright! I can take a hint.’’ Kelvin lifted his hands in a shielding gesture and took a step back. ‘’You know where to find me when you’re ready for a real man,’’ he winked at Rose. He turned back to Adrian, sneering as he gave him another once -over, and turned to saunter off looking like his s**t didn’t stink.

Watching him retreating in stunned silence, Rose shook her head while Adrian piped up beside him.

‘’Who’s that asshole?’’

Rose groaned. ‘’That was Kelvin,’’ she sighed as she turned back to Adrian. ‘’He’s a stupid drunken mistake I made at another office party a while back, and he’s been all over me ever since. It’s as if he refuses to believe that I am not interested.’’

Presumably looking at Kelvin, Adrian’s eyes narrowed as he glared past Rose’s shoulder. Rose felt the hand on her waist slip down to her hip, and she stiffened a bit at the touch. Her heart started racing when Adrian’s eyes flashed darkly.

‘’Too bad for him that you’re here with me, then,’’ he muttered deeply while his hand tightened its grip.

So Adrian was the jealous type. Wonderful. Rose almost snorted. How’s that for irony?

Still, there was no denying the tingling sensation that made the little hairs on the back of her neck rise at the possessiveness in Adrian’s demeanor. Suddenly reminded of the fact that she’s still held by Adrian by his shoulders, Rose quickly let her arm drop while reaching to gently pry away the hand on her hip.

‘’Maybe we should go and see if we can find Jenny?’’ she suggested, trying to change the topic. She didn’t want to lead Adrian on by letting him think that she enjoyed his touch when they didn’t have to keep up pretenses in favor of anyone watching.

Adrian’s hand slipped away, and Rose thought she heard him sigh softly. ‘’Thanks for playing along, by the way.’’ She paused. ‘’And for the talk earlier. I’m sorry if I was being rude.’’

Adrian smiled back at her. ‘’No problem. I hope you try to keep an open mind from now on.’’

‘’I will,’’ Rose answered truthfully. ‘’Promise’’