Heartthrob ✓

nineteen

N I N E T E E N

ELIJAH WOULDN'T STOP BOTHERING ME.

The second he heard that I kissed Luke and he spent the night had basically made him go haywire, controlled by his undying need to hear gossip. I couldn't exactly blame him, Luke was an amazing guy who just didn't see it in himself and he was also very attractive. Of course, Elijah would be interesting in hearing how this story played out, probably interested in all of the sordid details of what happened last night even though just days ago, he had loyally pledged himself to wanting to see Ashton Baldwin and I getting together.

Unluckily for him, there were no sordid details.

I sighed. "We just took showers" — he raised his eyebrow — "separate showers and sat around on the bed watching Animal Planet together. Which is probably what you'd only do with family, but I like to take things easy."

"With Luke," he scoffed. "I know that if it were Ashton, you'd be knocking that knob on sight. Probably do a split on it —"

"Gross," I said, cutting him off. "I haven't slept with anyone since college, the political science majors were definitely packing back then. But I'm not that kind of girl anymore, I've got too much on my plate."

"I hear Ashton's abs make a good plate," he suggested with an innocent smile, making me pinch him. "God dammit, woman. Your nails are too long for pinching, that is, unless you were trying to peel my skin off."

"I think I'm just giving you what you deserve," I said with a frown. "The Ashton ship has sailed anyway, I doubt you want to be on there when it capsizes."

Elijah rolled his eyes at me. "Look, Emilie Standifer has commitment issues, you saw what happened to her husband. Besides, she's got a body that won't quit, who's to say that she and Ashton will even last the summer?"

"That's a horrible thing to say."

"Only because the truth is an ugly thing."

I rolled my eyes back at him. "I really like Luke and he was the first to make a move. Ashton might be able to make it work with Emilie anyway, so why should we bother them?"

He sighed, leaning against my desk. "I know true love when I see it, Fiona. Or when you have dirty, nasty sex with it in an airplane bathroom and you're initiated into the mile-high club with it. Besides, Dana and I have a pool going on where we're betting on which guy you finally knock boots with."

"What?" I cried. "I literally just met Dana!"

"Exactly, that's why she's betting on Luke and why I think it's too early to call it," he said. "If you ever see her around, please don't mention that you and Luke kissed. Especially in the rain, that's so gross and cliche."

"I want to go half on both of your earnings no matter who wins it," I said, "then we have a deal."

"Fine then," Elijah said childishly, "we have a deal." He got up from off of my desk and started to head for the stairs and I started to get back to work, when suddenly, Ashton's office door swung open to reveal an angry Ashton. His eyes swiveled around the room before they landed on me and softened. I stood there, anxiously waiting for him to say something to me but he just headed for the door, not even bothering with the elevators.

"Where is he going?" Elijah asked, his voice filled with interest. "Probably to go and kill Luke for kissing with you, right?"

"No," I said with a gasped, shocked — but then not so much — that Elijah could think that. "Of course he's not going to just get up and kill Luke."