Chapter 6 Chapter 6

Alex is waiting outside the store when I step out after work. He is leaning casually against his car, his arms crossed over his chest. I roll my eyes before heading to him.

"Alex, I was going to take the bus. I'm sure you had better things to do."

He ignores me and I just shake my head when he holds my door open. I slide into the seat while he walks around the car to get into the driver's seat.

It's only after he starts the car that he turns to me.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Are you still mad at me?"

"I wasn't mad at you."

"Yes you were. I know you too well, Kay. I'm sorry, really. I know that Nikki is not exactly the type of girl I should be with but-"

I quickly reach for his free hand. I lace our fingers together, letting my thumb gently caress his knuckles.

"You are a grownup, Alex. You can date or sleep with whoever you like. It's none of my business. I overreacted earlier. I guess I was just mad after my confrontation with Nikki."

"You two argued?" He asks in disbelief.

"It was more like her yelling and me watching her yell. It wasn't entertaining so I'm not sure why half the school was standing there watching the drama."

"She was yelling at you because you accidentally bumped into her?"

"I broke her phone, Alex. I would be pretty mad if I was in her shoes."

He sighs.

"I'm going to end this...this thing that I'm having with her."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want her harassing you. I've heard she can be quite crazy."

"How do you think she'll take the breakup?"

"I really don't care. I just want you to be safe."

I press his hand.

"Thank you, but you don't have to do that for me."

"Of course I do. You'd do the same for me."

I cock an eyebrow, smiling playfully.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You wouldn't go out with a guy who had issues with me, would you?"

"No one is even asking me out so your question is moot."

"You're just oblivious. There are tons of guys all around you trying to date you."

"You mean trying to get into my pants?"

"Same thing."

I groan while leaning back in my seat.

"I'm supposed to get a boyfriend in a month."

"A month? Having deadlines now, are we?"

"A new guy in my class dared me to get a boyfriend in a month. He thinks that I dress hideously, I'm not attractive enough, and I'm a prude."

"New guy is just asking to get punched in the face, isn't he? Who is he?"

"He is the dean's son so you're not allowed to go anywhere near him. You'll risk getting suspended or worse, expelled."

"Kylie, I'm not going to sit around and let someone bully you. It's my job to take care of you."

"It's not your job, Alex."

"I promised your dad I'll take care of you. That makes it my job."

"It doesn't matter what you promised him. You're not going anywhere near Lucifer."

"Lucifer?"

"That's what I call him. His name is Dylan."

"Why do you call him Lucifer?"

"He's the devil himself. I bet he kicks dogs and yells at babies for fun. I want to kill him."

Alex bursts out laughing.

"Kylie, you have a crush on the guy!"

"What? Hell no!"

"This is the first time you've talked to a guy long enough to have an opinion on him. Usually, you just ignore them, but you apparently talked to this one long enough for him to dare you to get a boyfriend! I can already predict how this is going to end."

"What do you mean?"

"What did you guys stake?"

"Well, if I do get a boyfriend, he'll hand over his Lamborghini to me for a month."

Alex's mouth drops open.

"He'll give you his Lambo for a month when you win?"

"If I win."

"And if you don't?"

I groan.

"I'll have to make out with him."

"So he has a crush on you too, huh?"

"No, Alex. He hates my guts and he is the biggest bully I've ever had the pleasure of coming across."

"They all start that way."

"I beg your pardon?"

"The teenage and young adult relationships. A new guy shows up at school, bumps into the innocent girl who has never been kissed-"

"I've been kissed before."

"Billy doesn't count. As I was saying, they automatically dislike each other. Before you know it, they are madly in love."

"I won't fall in love with Dylan."

"If you two do fall in love in a month, you'll both win the dare. He will hand over his car to you because you will have a boyfriend. On the other hand, you'll be making out with him because you'll be in dating him."

I groan for the hundredth time today.

"Alexander, shut up."

"I'm kinda worried, if I'm being honest."

"About what?"

"You've never dated anyone since I met you." He briefly glanced at me, his eyes lingering on my face. "I think it might hurt my feelings."

"Oh, you want me all to yourself?" I joke, making him smile.

"I think I do, actually."

"I don't blame you. I used to get so annoyed when you brought girls over."

"What? When was this?"

"Right after we started living together. I think I was a little jealous since you're the only person I was close with. I felt like they were stealing you from me."

"I had no idea." He says quietly. " You never said anything."

"It was silly. I got over it."

"Yeah?"

"Yep. It doesn't bother me anymore."

I tilt my head to the side to stare out of the tinted window. Darkness is creeping in and the streetlights are casting that golden light that makes me think of late night walks and kisses under them. That is silly, of course, since I have no idea what a good kiss feels like. I've only ever kissed Billy, and I pretty much repressed that memory. I don't remember what that was like.

Alex's hand is too warm in mine. I tighten my fingers around his. I've held his hand a thousand times in the past, but I never realized how soft the skin on the back of his hand was or how his fingers perfectly fit in the spaces between mine.

What a weird thing to notice!

I slightly turn my head to glance at Alex and I immediately panic when I find him already looking at me.

"I should call the pizza place." I mumble while dropping his hand and grabbing his phone from the console.

**

Our pizza is delivered thirty minutes after we get home and I yell at Alex to get out of the shower. He shows up three minutes later, fully dressed, his hair still dripping wet.

We eat quickly. I'm barely able to go through three pieces and he happily clears the rest. He offers to do the dishes while i head to my room to lay out tomorrow's clothes. I always do that at night because I'm ever tired so I keep snoozing my alarm until I'm almost late for school.

I'm brushing my teeth when Alex knocks on my door. I shout a muffled 'come in' as I rinse my mouth. I place my toothbrush on the holder and I dry my hands before stalking back to my room.

He is lying on my bed, his eyes fixed on his phone. I lie beside him on the covers and he turns to look at me.

"I just remembered that your phone is broken."

"Yeah, but it's fine."

"No it's not. I know you won't let me buy you a phone so I'll pay this months rent and you're going to use your salary to buy a phone."

"Alex-"

"I wasn't asking. So, where will you find a boyfriend in a month? That's not a long time."

"I have no idea. Suggestions?"

"Well, I can parade around as your boyfriend."

"You think that would be a good idea?

"You don't think I'd make a good pretend boyfriend?"

"I think you'd make an amazing pretend boyfriend."

"Is that a yes?"

I turn to look at him, and he's looking at me with hopeful eyes, like he's actually being serious.

"What are you playing at?" I laugh, making him smile while shaking his head.

"I'm just kidding. I actually have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"There are lots of dating sites online. You could sign up to one."

"I've never tried that before."

"I know, but online dating is all the rage these days. You'll probably find a decent bloke there."

"What if I find a psycho?"

"Then you'll just keep looking."

"Okay. What exactly am I supposed to do?"

He gets my laptop from the nightstand and I watch silently as he types away in the google search. A few second later, the screen is full of results.

I scoot closer to him until my head is on his chest as I gaze at the results. There are tens of dating sites on the monitor and I watch as Alex clicks repeatedly on them, trying to find a good one.

"I think I've found the perfect one. Myles told me he was using it sometime back so I'll probably give it a shot as well. It looks reasonable enough."

"What's the name of the site?"

"Perfect Match."

"Wow. I guess I'll be doomed if I can't find my perfect match on there."

"I bet." He hands me the laptop to sign in and I lift an eyebrow when he narrows his eyes at me.

"What is it."

"I have a few ground rules before you embark on your manhunt."

I place the laptop beside me so I can give him my undivided attention.

"Yeah?"

"First of all, never ever go on a date with any guy you meet on that site without telling me. Safety first"

"Got it."

"Rule number two, never share our address or your phone number with those people."

"Then how am I supposed to communicate?"

"The dating site has a slot for private messaging. That's what you're going to use."

"Fine. No meetings, no giving out our address and no sharing my phone number. Anything else?"

"Yes. Rule number three. This is the most important rule."

"Leme guess, I'm not supposed to hook up with anyone?"

"Rule number three, don't you ever break rule number one and two."

I roll my eyes. Typical Alex.

"Okay dad."

"I'm serious. I've heard of horror stories. You're not going to become a statistic on my watch."

He turns until I'm lying fully in his arms and he pulls me close to him. I go willingly. If there's one place I feel absolutely at home, it's in Alex's arms.

"Take care of yourself, Kylie. Online dating is like playing Russian roulette."

"I get it. I'll be careful and I'll tell you everything that happens on the site."

"Good." He whispers, his lips briefly touching my forehead. "I can't wait to ride in Dylan's Lamborghini. You'll be driving me to school everyday."

I laugh heartily.

"He's going to kill us."

"He could try. I'm going to bed. Don't surf till late, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy. I'll sleep on time."

He mimics my dad's voice.

"That's my girl. Thank you for always making your old man proud."

I burst out laughing before I push him off my bed. He lands on the floor with a thud, groaning in mock pain.

"Damn, Kylie, you're so violent!"

"Aw, do you want me to kiss it better?"

He rolls his eyes.

"Your boyfriend is in for a treat."

"I have to find him first."

"If you can't find him, I'll step up to the role. We have to get that Lambo for a month."

"Sounds like a plan. I can't wait to see Dylan's face."

"Ugh, I never realized how much I dislike that name. I'm sure I'll hate the person behind it even more."

"That will make the two of us. Goodnight, Alex."

"Night, Kay. I love you."

"I love you."

He walks out of my room and closes the door behind him, while I sit cross legged on my bed to sign up for Perfect Match.

It's quite easy and I get the hang of it in a few minutes. I check the suggested guys for me but they all look a bit old so I don't like any of their profiles.

I have a picture of my dad's dog as my profile picture because I'm scared that men will think I'm not attractive if I use my real photo, hence no one will like me enough to private message me.

A few minutes into surfing the site, I decide to change my user name. Imagine if someone who knows me saw my name on a dating site? I'd be so embarrassed.

I change my username to Ellie, which is my own version of my name's short form, then I log out and get into bed. If I won't get a boyfriend on a dating site after i was unable to get one in real life, I'll probably decide to become a nun.

I'll be officially unlikeable.

I grab my pillow and walk to Alex's room. He is already asleep so I get into his bed and lie down beside him. He sleepily wraps an arm around my waist and I close my eyes, appreciating his warmth. We sleep in the same bed more often than not so this is not a big deal.

"Nikki." He sighs in his sleep as he snuggles into me, and my heart summersaults.

What?

He likes her?