Page 30 of About That Pact

She waved him off. “Welcome to the new age where digital platforms rule the world.”

No need to add she’d specifically gone to his Instagram to see what he was up to after she read his blog. Okay, and to see when the last pictures occurred of him and another woman. She was also not telling him she celebrated the lack of women in his pictures. Not that it concluded anything, he could just be private about his dating history, but it had been months since anything had been posted.

“You don’t need to be ashamed. I’ve been checking your social media since Facebook only accepted people with a college email,” he admitted to her.

“Stalker,” she teased, sitting on the new couch. “This really does look great in here.”

He stood in front of her with his hand out for her to grab. “Don’t get comfortable yet. I want to show you my whole apartment.”

How quickly she’d forgotten about seeing the rest. She hopped up, ready to explore. “I can’t wait to see the other rooms I had no say in decorating. It’ll be nice to have some ammo to tease you with.”

“I’ll let my rooms speak for themselves,” he responded, taking her hand in his. “But you should know I’m not some incompetent slob who still decorates like a college kid with beer cans and broken curtains.”

“We shall see.” She tapped his nose.

He stopped, not letting her move away from him since he still held her hand. “Want to wager another bet?”

Charlotte was actually enjoying all the favors he had cashed in so far. It would be nice if he was the one owing her for once. There was no way he’d been able to decorate his apartment to look as great as the living room. If he had, he wouldn’t have needed her help to begin with.

“Absolutely,” she said with confidence. “But this time, let’s only do one big favor. Like, you’d have to clean my place for a year. Or be responsible for feeding my cat if I travel.”

“You have a cat?”

“No. I just like to be prepared.”

“To have a pet cat?”

“You never know what the future holds. Anyway, let’s up the bet to make it a big favor.”

Rafe raised her hand to his mouth and lightly kissed her palm. It shouldn’t have affected her. It was only for a second and was just a quick touch of his lips, but it didn’t matter. She shivered at his touch regardless.

“You are about to be significantly indebted to me,” he said cockily.

She moved her hand from his to pretend to fix her hair—her subtle way of covering up how affected she was by the simplest of touches.

They moved into the kitchen across from the living room. The area was large, and she noticed his ongoing theme of dark colors and wooden floors. A special touch was near the oven and stove. He had a rack of pots and pans hanging above it. It opened to a dining room with a table pre-set for four people. This was definitely not a slob’s apartment.

“Your kitchen is above average.” She did her best to keep a straight face.

“Well, it’s not an eyesore,” Rafe tossed back with sarcasm. “I like to cook and spend a lot of time in here.”

Next, they walked down the hall, and she appreciated all the artwork he had hanging. She was losing her faith in winning this bet. She doubted the rooms behind the shut doors were going to disappoint her.

He opened one door. “Bathroom, pretty standard.”

She peeked in. Pretty standard her ass. The bathroom wasn’t overly large, but it was all neutral tones and smelled like the beach. The standalone sink had a pedal to push for the water to come out of the faucet.

“Not sure about having to do all this work to wash your hands.”

He gently tugged a strand of her hair. “It’s actually easier. Perfect for a lazy slob like myself.”

“Obviously.”

Charlotte looked up at him. She loved their playful conversation. Relaxation didn’t come often since she was known to have something to do every minute of every day, and spending time with Rafe was like putting all her stressors on hold while they were together.

He grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the bathroom.

What was that about?