TOUGH ROMANCE || scoups || BOOK ONE

42

Seungcheol

I had things to do. Businesses to run. Employees to yell at. But I wasn't thinking about all that. I was thinking about her.

And here I was in the library, ignoring everything else because I woke up thinking about her and wanted to see her.

I'd spent a lot of time thinking about Lee Hani since she blew into town. I was surprised that it only got worse the more time I spent with her.

She looked entirely too pretty today, standing there behind her desk, lost in some mental to do list, wearing a curve hugging sweater in a ridiculous female pink.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her surprise turning to happiness. She closed the distance between us, stopping just shy of touching me. I liked how she was always leaning toward me, into me. Like her body wanted to be as close to mine as possible at all times. It didn't feel clingy like I'd always thought it would. It felt...not terrible.

"I thought I'd take you to lunch."

"Really?" She looked thrilled at the invitation, and I decided I didn't mind that either. Having a woman like Hani look at me like I was the hero of her day felt damn good.

"No, Rose. I just showed up here to mess with you. Yes, really."

"Well, I am hungry." Those plush lips painted a deep pink curved in an invitation I wasn't going to ignore.

"Good. Let's go. How long is your break?"

"I get an hour."

A minute later, we were walking out of the library and into the September sun. I steered her toward my rover with a hand on her lower back.

"So where are we going to eat?" She asked when I slid behind the wheel.

I reached into the backseat and dropped a paper bag in her lap. She opened it and peered inside.

"It's corndogs." I explained.

"You got me corn dogs."

"There's a drink there too." I said defensively. "And that biscuit you like."

"Okay. I'm trying not to be charmed by the fact that you packed me a picnic lunch."

"It's not a picnic." I said, turning the key.

"Where are we going to eat our lunch?"

"The park. And I brought a blanket."

"A blanket and a packed lunch? Definitely not a picnic." She teased.

"We could just go back and eat in the break room at the library." I threatened.

She reached over and gripped my arm. "Cheol?"

The seriousness in her tone had my guard going up.

"What?"

"This doesn't feel like we're pretending."

I thumped my head against the back of the seat. I'd known this conversation would be coming soon and I still didn't want to have it.

As far as I was concerned, we'd both stopped pretending almost as soon as we started. When I touched her, it was because I wanted to. Not because I wanted someone to see me doing it.

"Do we have to do this, Rose, when you've got a meter running on your lunch break?"

She looked down at her lap. "No. Of course not."

I gritted my teeth. "Yes, we do. If its something you want to talk about, then talk about it. Stop worrying about pissing me off because we both know it's bound to happen."