Page 22 of Like You Want It

CHAPTER FIVE

CARLY

I knock a few times, a bottle of Merlot clutched in one hand and a copy ofTop Gunin the other. I’ve been looking forward to a dinner and movie with Susie since we agreed to it earlier this week.

It’s kind of weird being friends with your neighbor. We’ve seen each other a few times since Thursday, and we waved and said hello. But we also knew we had this upcoming dinner, so there was a strange need to wait until Sunday to chat.

Or maybe I’m the only one that felt it?

Yeah, it was probably just me.

I’m always overanalyzing everything. Dina says it makes me seem much more like an insane person. I always tell her that life is more fun when you’re insane.

“Open up, girlie! I’ve got a bottle of Merlot and the hots for a man in uni… form.” My voice cuts off slightly when the door opens and there stands not my adorable new neighbor, but her sexy brother that despises me.

And yes, the look on his face says he’s just as happy to see me today as he was last weekend.

Perfect.

Exactly what I was hoping for.

“Okay if this is one of those TV shows where you and Susie are actually one person pretending to be male and female siblings, lemme just let you know right now that I am too smart to beMrs. Doubtfire’d.”

When Fin just continues to stand there with that super flat, almost grimace-like expression on his face, my shoulders droop just slightly. “Really? Not even a crack of a smile? Do you just not know how to do it?” I show him my teeth really dramatically and talk through a shit-eating grin like a ventriloquist. “She? Dis is hou you do id.”

He rolls his eyes and steps back, opening the door fully so I can enter the apartment.

“Or maybe you don’t have a full set of teeth? That must be embarrassing for you, Finley.”

His brows furrow as I walk into Susie’s living room. “That’s not my name.”

“He speaks!” I keep smiling and raise my hands over my head, almost bonking myself with the wine bottle. “It’s a miracle!”

He lets out an irritated huff.

“He speaksandhe broods. Quite the showcase of skillsyouare today, huh, Finster?”

His nostrils flair but before he can say anything, our attention shifts to where Susie lets out a curse in the kitchen.

“I’m okay!” she tacks on to the end. “We just might need to order a pizza instead!”

I giggle and wander towards her kitchen, leaving Sir Glares-a-Lot behind. “Girl, I have every pizza place on speed dial in this neighborhood. Just lemme know what you want and I gotchu.”

She spins around, the stress from cooking for people other than herself visible in her muscles and her posture. Even in her short hair, which is naturally straight, although today it looks a little bit like she’s stuck her finger in a socket.

“Sorry, Carly. I swear I did this just like I normally do. But this stupid oven totally burnt the shit out of the chicken. Like, shouldn’t 350 be the same in every oven?”

I wave a hand in front of my face. “Don’t stress at all. Some other day you can wow me with your cooking prowess. Tonight, we feast on the delicious tastes of Gouchos.”

Her face pinches. “Isn’t that an Argentine word? I thought pizza was Italian.”

“Oh honey.” I set the Merlot and movie on the counter and dig my phone out of my back pocket. “Just you wait. You’re about to have a mouthgasm unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.”

The clearing of a throat behind me has me looking over my shoulder to where Fin stands, watching the two of us. I look back at Susie. “Am I ordering for two or three? Because if my experience with Finton back there has taught me anything, it’s that he is unlikely to say anything to me. Andgloweris, unfortunately, not one of the languages I speak.”

“I thought we were eating chicken,” are the words that come out of the tall man’s mouth.

I roll my eyes and Susie smiles at me. “Well guess what, Mr. Healthy? Tonight, we are going rogue and giving ourselves a little reward for all of those days we’ve slaved away at the gym.”