Coldhearted Boss

by R.S. Grey

He doesn’t smile with interest like most guys would when he notices my unabashed perusal. Instead, he raises one dark brow as if to say, Almost done? and I realize I was wrong before. This one’s not the prince in the fairytale. He’s the dragon.

He doesn’t kiss me back right away, but I’m persistent, and when he finally does, our awkward, stilted movements turn into something sweeter: a kiss you share with your best guy friend the summer you turn fourteen, a kiss stolen when you know your parents aren’t looking. It’s tender and tentative, nothing but soft lips and unspoken possibilities.

This isn’t a man you use for a night. This is a man you turn your life upside down to be with, one you crawl on hands and knees to please, one who touches you once and brands your soul forever.

Just the idea of hope hurts.

I’ve never lived with a guy, but I feel like 9 times out of 10 when left alone, they’re up to no good.

I’ve survived two nights sleeping in the same cabin as him. HIM—I really need to learn his name, but to do that I’d have to talk to him. So, Him is never getting a name. Sorry Him.

Honestly, they should just put me on refreshments like the water boy for a football team. I’d get this crew so hydrated they’d be peeing their pants right along with me.

If they’re going to fire me just because I’m a woman, I’ll fight it. Somehow. Maybe I can find a lawyer who accepts Monopoly money.

I’m glad she left when she did because otherwise, she’d see me right now, touching the flowers she picked with utter bewilderment, like I’ve never seen flowers before in my entire life. Because, the thing is, deep down, I’m not at all mad that she moved back into the cabin. I’ve wanted her here with me since the beginning. It’s why I had them assign bunkhouses in the first place.

“I’m fucking exhausted, so no more games. No more pretending I don’t love the way you look in this red bathing suit. No more pretending I don’t hunt for you every time you enter a room. No more pretending your wit and smart mouth aren’t the perfect match for mine.”

His brown hair needs a trim, but I secretly love the extra length. With it so disheveled, he looks like a farmhand about to drag me into a barn and have his wicked way with me. Oh right, I’m supposed to be angry. Why is that again?

“I thought you wanted to keep things between us.” I pat his chest with a mocking smirk. “Ethan, Ethan, Ethan, that was so yesterday. Can’t you keep up?”

“Just say it and put me out of my misery. I know how much you hated me, now tell me how much you love me.”