Single And In Love With My Fake Boyfriend (Single Girls Club #1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Callie

I don’t know how long Lincoln and I stand under the umbrella, gazing into each other’s eyes. It’s like time stands still, like it’s not pouring outside, like people aren’t scurrying all around us to get to shelter.

It’s a bit windy and I should feel chilly, but I’m very warm and cozy under here. Maybe because of the heat his body is emitting.

With his eyes still staring into mine, Lincoln lifts his finger to my cheek, pushing some hair that has stuck to it away. Then his rough, warm fingertips dance around my cheek before he slowly strokes it.

My stomach swoops, my heart doing this weird pounding thing that makes my head spin. And I tingle in every single part of my body.

His eyes are so intense as our gazes remain locked on one another. Lincoln looks like he wants to say something, but maybe he can’t get the words out. I wish he would. I want to know what he’s thinking.

Thunder sounds in the distance, causing us to break our eyes from each other. Lincoln frowns as he glances around, as if he forgot for a second that we’re under an umbrella in the pouring rain.

He drops his hand, brushing it through his hair before he clears his throat. “We’d better get to my car.”

I nod because I can’t get a single word out. Despite the chill, I’m still warm and I can’t shake the feeling of his fingers on my cheek. My body is still numb. Luckily, my legs work and Lincoln and I slowly make our way toward his car. He holds the umbrella over us, tilting it more to my side as if he cares more about me staying dry than him.

At his car, he opens the door for me, and once I’m inside, he rushes to his side, shuts the umbrella, and climbs in.

My clothes are soaked and I’m starting to get cold. Now that our bodies aren’t basically fused together, it’s not as warm as it was under the umbrella.

Lincoln must notice my chattering teeth and shivering body because he reaches for a blanket from the back seat and holds it out to me.

“Thanks,” I say as I accept it from him and cloak it over myself.

“Of course.” He nods toward the windshield. “There’s no way I can drive now.”

I stare at the rain pelting the windshield. Dang. That’s a crap ton of rain. The windshield wipers have to work overtime just to clean all that water, only for it to return a second later.

“Should we wait for the rain to stop?” I ask.

He pulls his phone from his pocket and searches for something. “There’s a flood warning for the area. Roads will be very dangerous to drive on and they recommend getting inside as soon as possible.”

“You mean…I can’t go home?”

He shakes his head. “That’s not a good idea. The rain is too strong and it wouldn’t be safe to drive all the way to Spring Falls, especially with a flood warning.”

Yeah, driving for an hour in this weather is probably not the smartest thing.

“Great. Now what am I supposed to do?” I mutter.

His eyes narrow as he thinks. “The nearest hotel is quite a distance away and I doubt we can drive there.” He hesitates, his eyes moving from the steering wheel to me. “You can always stay at my place.”

I gape at him. Stay at his place?

“I have an extra bedroom and lots and lots of snacks,” he says, giving me a warm smile.

I laugh. “Can’t forget the snacks, can we?”

“Definitely not. So what do you think?”

I shrug. “Well, it beats staying in here, right?”

“I think you just offended my home. Just kidding. I’d love to have you, if you’re comfortable with that.”

Am I comfortable spending the night with the hottest guy in the world, who I had a crush on as a teen and who I might still possibly—slightly possibly—still have a crush on? Heck yes .

“Of course I’m comfortable with that,” I say.

He smiles again. “Off to my place we go. Oh, we should probably walk. It’s not far. One sec.” He gets out of the car with the umbrella, opens it, and runs over to my side. After opening the door, he holds his hand out to me. “Can you imagine the rain has gotten even worse?” He calls over the loud sound.

At least the lightning and thunder have died down.

I remove the blanket from around me, place my hand in his, and he pulls me out of the car. After making sure to cover both of us with the umbrella, Lincoln wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

It’s a little hard to walk in the rain because there’s so much water. My shoes are sopping and they make squishy sounds as Lincoln and I make our way to his apartment.

“Are you cold?” he asks, looking so concerned it makes my heart start thumping again. Other than my parents and friends, no one has worried about me the way he is. Not that I want to compare him to Spencer because that jerk isn’t worthy, but he once had me wait for hours in the rain because he was late picking me up. I bet he was hanging out with Babe and conveniently forgot all about me.

Lincoln searches my eyes. “Callie? Are you cold?”

I should be. I’m wet and it’s windy. But Lincoln’s body is so warm as it presses against mine. I don’t only feel warm and cozy, I feel safe and protected.

“No, I’m fine. Thanks,” I reassure him. “There could be a snowstorm out there and I’d still be warm.”

His brows furrow. “Hmm?”

“You know, it’s your chest. It’s all huge and everything. And very warm. Like cozy…”

My cheeks blaze as I quickly avert my gaze. What the heck is coming out of the mouth? And why can’t I stop it?

He laughs softly. “I’m glad I have a huge chest, then. All I want is for you to be warm and cozy.”

We don’t say much as we continue heading to his apartment. Lincoln tightens his hold on me, as if worried the strong wind might blow me away. I’m glad he’s holding onto me because my legs have basically turned to mush. He’s being so sweet and caring, and I’m not sure they can support me.

Fifteen-year-old me would have squealed at the thought of being under an umbrella in the rain like this with Lincoln. But we’re not in high school and this relationship is fake. I have to keep reminding myself of that detail or else I might find myself falling completely and madly in love with him.

“Almost there,” Lincoln breaks me from my thoughts. “It’s just down this block. Sorry we’re all wet.”

“Last I check, you don’t control the weather,” I joke.

He laughs. “True, but it was my idea to go out today. I should have checked the weather.”

“I don’t think anyone expected it to be this bad.”

“Maybe. I just want to get you someplace safe.”

My brain shouts at me, “Fake boyfriends don’t have to do that!” But I don’t let the words touch my heart. Because like I said, I might fall madly and deeply in love with him. A shiver zaps down my back at the thought of that.

“We’re only feet away and then you can get all warmed up,” he informs me. He has no clue that my chills have absolutely nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with him.

He leads me up the stairs to his front door, where he unlocks it and pushes it open. After shutting the umbrella, we step inside.

“I’ll get you something dry to change into,” he says as he hands me a towel.

“Okay, thanks.” I wrap it around myself.

“Make yourself at home. This will be yours for tonight.” He sends me a warm smile and vanishes down the hallway.

Shivering from the chill that is due to the lack of his close proximity, I try not to think too deeply about the fact that he and I will be alone together.

The rain pounds down all around the building, and I’m glad I’m in here and not out there. A small—maybe not that small—part of me is secretly excited to be here alone with Lincoln.

I send a text to my friends, letting them know where I am so they won’t worry. All three of them freak out that I’m spending the night at Lincoln’s apartment. I tell them it’s not a big deal at all. Friends stay over at each other’s homes all the time. But ugh…of course it’s a big deal!

“So this is the smallest shirt I have,” Lincoln tells me as he walks into the room. “This and the pants will probably be too big, but…” He shrugs. “We’ve got to work with what we have, right?”

“Thanks.” I take the clothes from him. “And thanks for all of this, Lincoln. I really appreciate it.”

He nods. “No problem. Let me show you where you’ll sleep.”

I follow him down the hallway. He shows me the bathroom as we pass it, letting me know there’s only one bathroom. We’ll have to share it. “Sorry about that.”

I wave my hand. “As long as I have a bathroom and somewhere to sleep, I’m good. Really, Lincoln. I’m fine. All this is more than enough. It’s not like I’m a queen or something.”

He takes both my hands in his. Gazing into my eyes, he murmurs, “Of course you’re my queen.”

Are my ears playing tricks on me or did he call me his queen?

He drops my hands and gestures toward the bedroom in the distance. “That’s your room. Mine is the one right next to it. If you’d like to take a shower, there’s soap and shampoo.”

I pull at my hair. “I feel so gross. A shower would be great.”

“Sure. Let me just get you a clean towel.” He rummages inside the nearby closet and pulls out a large, fluffy towel. “Here you go. Anything else?”

After we make sure I have everything I need, I step into the bathroom. It smells like…guy. Not that I know exactly how a “guy” smells, but I’ve been in Spencer’s bathroom to know a little. But this guy smell is so much better than the Jerk’s. I think it’s a mixture of soap and shampoo with his regular Lincoln smell.

My eyes widen. Why in the world am I fixated on his smell?

Shaking my head, I turn on the shower and stare at myself in the mirror. Ugh. I really do look gross. Like I was caught in a storm. My hair sticks to my face, it’s a mess, and my clothes are all wet. So not a flattering sight.

And Lincoln saw me like this.

Sighing, I peel off the wet clothes and step into the shower. Oh my gosh, the warm water is heavenly as it rains down on me.

I check out the body wash. Hmm. All manly scents, not that I would expect less from a manly guy like Lincoln.

I mentally scoff at myself. Manly man? Why am I having such odd thoughts? Is it nerves? Because I’ll be alone with the hottest, sweetest, kindest guy I’ve ever met?

Well, it seems like I’ll smell manly as well. After squeezing a decent amount of man soap, I keep myself distracted by washing myself and not on the guy outside.

Not only am I using manly soap, I use manly shampoo as well. This is very strange, sharing shampoo with Lincoln. I never shared Spencer’s shampoo. I don’t know why it seems…intimate. Like we’re sharing something special, just the two of us.

After I’m done with my shower, I wrap the large, snuggly towel around myself. As I stand in front of the mirror, I nod to myself. “Okay. You’re about to put his clothes on. Not a big deal.” Why does the prospect of wearing his clothes make a zap shoot through me? Because this is something a real girlfriend does.

Shaking that away, I pull the T-shirt over my head. Dang. It falls just above my knees. And it’s very large. But not too terrible. It’s definitely wearable. As for the sweatpants? Heck no. There’s no way this will stay up. I’ll just wear the shirt, since it’s long enough to cover what needs to be covered. Lincoln also provided socks, which I put on as well.

Once I’m done, I walk out of the bathroom. Lincoln is at the window in the living room, watching the rain. He seems deep in thought, and I don’t want to disturb him. But he must sense me standing there because his gaze shifts to me.

I can’t ignore the way his eyes slowly scan me from top to bottom. I’m well aware of my exposed legs. Shorts or miniskirts have never been my thing, so it’s a little strange for me to wear so little in front of a guy. But honestly? I don’t mind him checking me out. Actually, I really, really like it.

Lincoln focuses on my face, sending me another smile. “Are the clothes okay?”

I straighten the neck of the T-shirt that keeps falling down one shoulder. “This kind of works. But the pants would not stay up. Figured this was good enough.”

He nods, clearing his throat as he glances away.

Okay, things have gotten super, super awkward now.

“Shower is all yours,” I tell him.

He glances back at me. “Right. Make yourself at home. Feel free to watch whatever you want on TV, grab a snack, drink, whatever you need.”

“Okay, thanks.”

With another smile, he vanishes from the room. I lean back on the couch and turn on the TV. After finding a show that looks interesting, I start watching.

It’s weird to be in Lincoln’s house wearing nothing but his T-shirt, but also not. But what’s weirder—I can see myself doing this in the future. Which boggles my mind because he’s my fake boyfriend. How many times do I have to remind myself that we’ll be out of each other’s lives soon?