CHAPTER 5

SAMARAH’S POV

“Enjoy each other! Don’t go wasting time, because there’s nothing else in there except for toiletries and a bed. You already know what to do. But just in case you don’t, just plug in the flash drive right under the TV. I picked those out myself! Hihihi!”

Both of our jaws dropped. The color drained from my face, and I practically collapsed onto the floor.

“Oh my gosh, I am not ready for this!” 

I wrapped my arms around myself defensively. I was wearing nothing but a red bikini, while he was just in a pair of red boxers.

“Tsk! There she goes again!” 

I gasped when he suddenly stepped closer and grabbed both of my shoulders.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” 

I bolted away from him, desperately covering my body.

“Come on.” 

Smirking, he sat down on the edge of the bed, almost as if he was intentionally flexing his obvious print to intimidate me.

I swallowed hard, my eyes going wide. 

“H-hey! That is definitely not in the contract!”

“So what? You’ve been calling me gay this whole time, haven't you? Come here.” 

He cockily patted the mattress right next to him.

“Hey, you can't just have me that easily!” 

Suddenly, he stood up and started walking toward me. I kept stepping backward, completely oblivious to the fact that I was backing myself straight into a wall until my heels hit the baseboard.

“Hmmm…” He pinned me against the wall, trapping me between his arms. “You’re no great beauty, but I guess you’ll do.” 

Surprisingly, his insult didn’t even faze me. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his biceps. They looked like they were literally glistening, practically begging me to surrender to them. “

Too bad you’re not my type.”

I shoved him away instantly. “The nerve of you! You think you’re my type?!”

“You definitely dig me. You were already blushing back on the plane.” 

His smirk was incredibly annoying. But honestly, I couldn’t even deny it to myself. Maybe I should just punch him in the face so I can forget this whole interaction.

Calling… Dad

Thank goodness my phone started ringing before I actually went through with it.

“Hello, Dad?”

“Sweetheart, where are you now? How are things going?”

“Ah, I’m just at work, Dad. Why? Did something happen?” I walked over to the window to put some distance between Rowan and me. Thank God I brought my phone in here.

“Nothing happened. You just haven’t checked in yet, so your mother and I were getting a bit worried.”

A genuine smile broke across my face. “I’m fine, Dad, don't worry about me. Just make sure Althea gets to her dialysis tomorrow, okay? I’m sending the money over today.”

“Alright, sweetheart. Don't worry about that. Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing, Dad! Seriously, stop stressing over me, I’m doing great.” 

I kept the smile plastered on my face while talking to my dad. It was the only way I knew how to let him know I was holding up just fine.

After hanging up, I just stared blankly out at the lake. When will our family’s endless mountains of problems ever end? Sometimes, I get so exhausted. I wish I could just have a life of my own. I wish I could put myself and my own happiness first, even just for once. But whatever, keep fighting. I can do this!

“What happened to your sister?” 

He was sitting on the bed now, the blanket covering the lower half of his body.

I looked away. “Don't worry about it.”

“Seriously, what happened?” 

Did he actually sound... concerned?

“She’s on dialysis.”

“Wait, isn't she around the same age as Chelsea?” 

Chelsea was his youngest sister.

“Your sister is a year older than her.” I sat on the very edge of the mattress, my back turned toward him.

“She’s so young to be on dialysis. Is that why you're working for me?” 

I nodded. 

“No wonder. And here I thought my breathtaking good looks were your sole inspiration for this gig.”

I was just about to hurl a pillow at his face when a voice suddenly shouted from outside the door. 

“You two aren't coming out until something happens! I can hear you!” his grandma called out mischievously.

“Come here, I have a plan.” 

Honestly, any plan of his felt highly dangerous to my well-being, and his smirk was making me incredibly nervous.

Dear merciful heavens, help me!

"What's that supposed to be, huh?" 

He rolled his eyes when I defensively covered my chest.

"I have zero interest in that." He looked genuinely bored just looking at me.

"Oh, right. So what's the plan?"

He leaned in close and whispered, 

"Let's just pretend. Start mo*ning, okay?"

"Huh? Gross!"

"Do you want to get out of this room or not?"

"Uuughh! Rowan, not there!" 

His eyes went completely wide when I suddenly let out a loud m*an and started aggressively bouncing up and down on the mattress.

"Aaahh, keep it down, Grandma might hear us!"

"You sound like a literal robot, hahaha," I whispered back to him.

“Ughh, Sam, you're so good at svcking!” I smacked his arm hard.

"Asshole!"

"Hahaha!"

The two of us looked like absolute idiots, aggressively groaning and whispering back and forth.

“Ugghh, you’re seriously the best, babe!”

“Babe my ass!” I rolled my eyes at him.

“What do you think? Think she’ll open the door now? Let's wait and see. But lie down right here and act exhausted, okay?”

The two of us lay side by side, faking heavy breathing.

“Man, she’s still not opening it. Should we actually play the flash drive on the TV to make it more believable?”

“Woman, are you crazy?”

“What?” 

He locked eyes with me, his gaze deep as he suddenly swallowed hard.

“You’re putting yourself in a very dangerous situation.” 

I didn't really get what he meant, but I just let it slide. I didn't want my pet Gay Dragon throwing another fit. This was the first time we were actually getting along!

After about five minutes of just lying there, I finally heard the door lock click open.

“There it is!” 

I was just about to bolt upright when he grabbed my arm, pulling me back down so hard that my face planted right into his chest.

“Eeew! Your oily face!” 

I aggressively smacked his chest. Hey! That was definitely not me trying to feel him up!

"You're such a dramatic assh*le. Why the hell did you pull me back anyway?!"

He snatched the blanket and began wiping his chest in sheer disgust. So high-maintenance! 

"Obviously we need to look exhausted. If you run out right away, she's going to know we didn't do anything."

“Aaah, right. Good point.” 

We dragged it out for another five minutes. Honestly, I almost fell asleep because we stayed in that position for so long.

“Let’s go,” he whispered. “Mess up your hair.”

We both disheveled ourselves before stepping out. I gasped in shock when he suddenly reached over and yanked one of my bikini straps down my shoulder. My entire body flushed hot the moment he did that. Why the hell was he starting to look attractive to me? Gross!

“Are you two exhausted? I have some snacks ready for you here.” The old lady’s smile was absolutely brilliant.

“I’m still a bit spent.” 

Wow! The guy was a natural actor. Well, I wasn't about to lose to him!

I put on a performance, limping heavily as I walked over. 

“Aww!” I groaned in pain as I sat down.

“My goodness! Sounds like my grandson is packing heat, huh?” 

I couldn’t even tell why she was getting so excited. Grandma is lowkey a pervert.

“Oh, absolutely, Grandma. He kept insisting on all these different positions. I feel like I've been torn apart inside.”

She rushed over to my side and poured me a glass of juice. 

“Why did you have to go all out on the first round, Rowan? You still have tonight for a another performance. Here, dear, drink up.”

Rowan and I locked eyes, both of us grimacing in horror. Another performance tonight?! What kind of sin did I commit to deserve this kind of punishment?!