He could see how it had happened. How it had probably looked to her. And he could also easily imagine how the news would have spread throughout her circle of friends.
“Damn it,” he said again.
“Do you know what happened? Are you really dating Taylor and never told anyone, not even me?”
“I’m not dating Taylor, Ariana. I’m not.” He cleared his throat. He didn’t talk about sex with his sister. He just didn’t. Even though they were both adults, it had never felt natural. “I did... hang out with Taylor last night. And Gina Pascal drove by as I was leaving her house. So she evidently assumed that meant we were dating and proceeded to tell everyone on her contact list.”
“Oh. Oh. Of course she did. She was always a bitch.” Ariana sounded better. Not nearly so hurt and outraged. “But even so, it’s turning into a big mess you’re going to have to deal with. You should have been more careful.”
“I can see that now,” he said dryly. “But there was no way to predict she’d be driving by right as I was leaving.” Stifling a groan, he added, “Can’t we all just make it clear to people that Taylor and I aren’t dating?”
“You can try. But I can’t guarantee that everyone will believe you. Plus you’ll have to deal with Mom and Grandma.”
“What?” he bit out.
“Mom and Grandma. You know they’ve heard by now too, right? They’ve definitely heard. And they’re going to be so happy that you’re finally dating someone.”
“Oh my fucking God,” he muttered.
“No need for that kind of language,” she replied primly. She wasn’t a prim person. She just liked to get on his nerves. “But you better prepare yourself, because you’re going to be hearing some things.”
He cursed again. But this time it was under his breath.
CHARLES’S GOOD DAY had taken a sudden downturn with his sister’s call, and it didn’t get any better. By the time he got home, both his mother and his grandmother had tried to call him, and he’d only managed to avoid tense, awkward conversations by not answering their calls.
He’d have to talk to them soon. But after he’d gotten home, taken a shower, changed out of yesterday’s clothes, and figured out what to say.
Maybe this was why he’d never tried casual sex before. It evidently led to all kinds of unpredictable complications.
Some men could probably shrug it off. Not care what other people thought. Not care if their families got hurt. But Charles wasn’t like that. He did care.
And he hated that he’d ended up in a situation that might embarrass Taylor and would definitely hurt his family.
He was drying off after his shower as he formed a plan to tackle the problem.
First he needed to take a nap and clear his head.
Then he needed to call Taylor. Warn her in case she didn’t know how the gossip was spreading. She’d be back from brunch with her dad by then.
Then he’d need to call his mom and make it clear he wasn’t dating—Taylor or anyone else.
Then...
He’d figure out what else to do later.
Right now sleep seemed like the best option. Maybe it all wouldn’t feel like such a mess after he woke up. So he got into bed and went to sleep.
He was spending the year in a big old house on the outskirts of Azalea that he was sharing with Ariana. His rooms were upstairs, so the sound of a pounding on the front door was muffled.
At first, as he woke up groggily, he wasn’t sure what he was hearing.
Ariana wasn’t home, so when he figured out the sound was someone knocking on the door, he got out of bed and pulled a pair of pants on quickly and headed down to answer it.
He had no idea who it might be. No clue what to expect. So he was completely taken aback when he swung open the door to be confronted by an angry Taylor.
She was definitely angry. She could see it on her face even before she said a single word.
“Hey, what are you doing—?”
Before he could finish his question, she gritted out, “How dare you, you big asshole!”
He gaped. “Wh—”
“You told everyone we were dating? What the hell were you thinking? Is this really the way you think casual sex is supposed to work?” She was lashing the questions out like a whip as she pushed her way into the entryway of the old house.
“No!” He stepped sideways to get out of her way, knowing enough to back away when a woman was this furious. “I never would have done that.”
“Well, you did something. Because evidently the whole world now believes we’re dating, and I sure as hell didn’t tell anyone about it!” She was beautiful even in this mood. Cheeks flushed. Dark eyes flashing. Hair swaying with her motion.
He’d never known anyone more beautiful than she was, but he forced the thought from his mind since it wasn’t a priority at the moment. “I didn’t tell anyone either. You should know enough to know I wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“Then what the hell happened?”
It was something that she believed him. She didn’t argue with his claim. She was still outraged, but she’d taken him at his word, even in this particular mood.
“Gina Pascal drove by when I was leaving your house. She saw me. I didn’t think anything about it at the time, which was my mistake. It was stupid not to realize then what would happen. But I didn’t. And she interpreted what she saw and then decided to tell everyone she knew.”
Taylor groaned and sank into a straight-back antique chair that was positioned against the wall in the entryway. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding. Couldn’t it have been anyone else who saw you?”
Relieved that her outburst had faded as quickly as it had arrived, he sat in the chair across from her. “Not with my luck, no.”
“Damn it,” she breathed. “This is ridiculous. My phone has been buzzing constantly with everyone checking in to see what’s going on.”
“What have you told them?”
“Nothing! It’s no one’s business what I do. What have you told people?”
“I told Ariana that we weren’t dating, but other than that I haven’t responded to anyone else either.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “It’s annoying but not the end of the world. We tell everyone we aren’t dating and refuse to answer any of their questions, and eventually the whole thing will go away. We’ll have to deal with irritating people for a while, but we can avoid them as much as possible. No other harm done.”
“Y-yeah.”
She straightened her shoulders and shot him a quick look. “There is harm done?”
“Not really. I mean, nothing serious. Just that my mom and grandma have heard, and they’re probably so happy I’m dating. So now I’ll have to disappoint them again and deal with tons more attempts to set me up with women as a result. It’s not real harm. It’s just not... trivial. Not to me.”
He wasn’t sure if Taylor would even understand why he was taking this seriously, but from her expression it was clear that she did.
“Oh. Shit. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said quickly. “I’ll work it out. Worse comes to worst, I can just go out on a bunch of annoying blind dates to keep them from nagging me.”