Best Dating Rules: A Romantic Comedy (The Best Girls Book 2) (24 page)

“Yes,” Emily explained. “Our rule is if he pays for something or—Ow, Charlie! Why’d you kick me!”

“What’s the rule?” Josh urged.

“It’s none of your business,” said Charlie. “It’s a family thing. And you’re not family.”

“What’s a family thing?” said Spencer, returning from his successful climb.

“Our family dating rule,” Emily said.

“Oh, the one where it’s a date if the guy buys you something or kisses you?” Spencer asked.

“Yes. I was saying technically it would be a date even if the girl paid. Charlie doesn’t want to have that as a prize for their contest because she doesn’t want us to be able to claim she had a date with Josh.”

“But, we’ve already had a date,” said Josh. Everyone turned to stare at him, while Charlie felt her face burning. “Yes, indeed,” Josh winked at Charlie. “Saturday night, Charlie paid for our dinner.”

She glared daggers at him. He grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

“No,” Grace said. “That doesn’t count. She used Gherring’s credit card. So technically, you had a date with Steven Gherring.”

Josh waggled his eyebrows at Charlie. She closed her eyes and imagined them being on an actual mountain so she could push him off the cliff.

She fled the embarrassing scene, rushing to set up for the difficult climb. Josh came up behind her as she threaded the rope. “Stay back,” she growled.

“But we still haven’t agreed on a prize.”

“How about if I restrain myself from kicking you?”

He winced. “I’d truly appreciate that, but I had something else in mind.”

“What this time?”

“What if I promise not to tell everyone about that little kiss we shared last night if you promise to give a repeat performance tonight?”

“That sounds like blackmail to me.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Look Josh, those two girls that were talking to you earlier? Both of them looked like they were willing to not only kiss you, but probably jump your bones as well. You could probably go to the bar next door and find at least ten other girls to chose from. Why don’t you kiss someone who wants to kiss you?”

“Maybe I’m not attracted to those other girls.”

“Or maybe it’s because I turned you down. You just like the challenge. If I’d fallen all over you and kissed you willingly, you wouldn’t even be interested. And you’re only interested now until you can make the conquest, put another notch in your belt. Well, I got news—it ain’t happenin’! I’m not interested in being a mark on your wall, a notch on your belt, or a name in your black book.” She lowered her voice to a whisper as Spencer came to join them. “I’m not interested.”

For once, Josh appeared to be speechless. He nodded, set his lips in a grim line, and walked back to join the group on the bench. He sat down next to Emily and watched silently as Charlie started to climb.

“What do I do?” Josh asked Emily in quiet voice. “I’ve never not known what to do with a girl before.”

Emily studied him for a moment. Was he sincere? Did she really even want to help him? “First you have to decide if you’re interested in Charlie or if you just don’t like to lose.”

His sigh was audible. “Both. I don’t like losing. But there’s something about Charlie—I don’t know what it is.”

“Well, there you go,” said Emily. “When you figure out what it is, you tell her. When you can convince her you’re interested in her for who she is, you might have a chance. And frankly, I don’t think you know her well enough.”

“She’s leaving tomorrow. If I can’t get her to be at least slightly cooperative, I’ll never see her again.”

“True.”

“Should I let her win? To make her happy and put her in a good mood? I know she likes to win as much as I do. I could sacrifice myself and let her win.”

She pondered the question. How she could best be a loyal sister? “I think you should figure that out yourself.”

He watched Charlie struggle as she reached the under-hang. Her muscles were straining as she braced her legs, trying to reach as far as possible before she had to climb using only her arm strength.

“Look at her. If she were a guy, I wouldn’t stand a chance.” Then he shook his head. “Of course, if she were a guy I wouldn’t be in this mess.” He blew out a breath through his lips. “I’m afraid I can’t win this one. Can I?”

Emily shrugged and gave him a sad smile. “Doubtful. Whoever wins my sister is going to have to work a lot longer than one or two days. You really never stood much of a chance. Don’t take it personally.”

Charlie was hanging by her hands. Shaking, she pulled herself upward with both hands before letting go with one hand and lunging for the next hold. When she missed it, she fell back onto the belay and signaled to descend.

Josh approached as she unwound the rope from her harness. “You almost had it. Are you too tired to try again?”

She held up a trembling arm in answer. “No. Your turn. Let’s see what you can do.” She watched as he prepared for the climb, eyeing the route from below.

“Got any advice?” he asked.

Surprised, she regarded him from the corner of her eye, trying to decide if he was sincere. “Go up on the left and then move to the right side before you start under the ledge. I watched Steven do this one. You have to reach out and hang from those two mini-jugs. And then the red one looks good from there, but it’s a sloper. See it? So you need to grab that yellow one instead. It’s a crimper. From there you’ve got to use your arms to pull up and get your foot on the nib on the edge.”

“Good luck, Josh!” said a feminine voice behind her. Charlie looked over her shoulder at the two blonds who had come back to watch him climb. Charlie bit back a chuckle when Josh’s expression turned to annoyance. He ignored the girls, and attacked the climb. She was pleased when he followed her advice to a T. Soon he reached the point where Charlie had fallen. He hesitated, and for a moment she thought he was going to let go. She eyed him suspiciously. His muscles weren’t even shaking yet. Then he adopted a determined expression, and pulled himself up before reaching to grab the yellow crimper. For a moment he had to hang from two fingers as he grabbed the next hold. He’d passed her up, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t help rooting for him—that’s what climbers did.

Charlie took a moment to admire the muscles flexing on his arms and back as he climbed. His foot found the hold on the corner, and he was effectively past the under-hang. Now his muscles were fatigued, and his whole body trembled as he continued the climb. He lunged for the top and fell back in relief. He rappelled down, while the blond girls clapped and cheered for him. Charlie moved back to join the others on the bench, leaving Josh to his fans. She almost laughed when he sought her out over the heads of the two girls who were giving animated praise to their hero.

“You lost,” said Emily. “What do you owe him?”

“I’m paying for his climbing. I’ll live with the ribbing—you can call it a date.”

“Okay, but you know I won’t let you live it down, right?”

“I can handle it. I’m going to pay, and then I’m ready to go.”

“Really? It’s early and it’s your last night in New York.”

Charlie looked over to where Josh was still attempting to extricate himself from the girls. “You can stay with Spencer, and I’ll go back and visit with Mom and Steven. When you come home, we’ll have hot chocolate chip cookies and milk.”

She stood up and dug in her purse for some money, which she handed to her sister. “Would you mind paying for me so I can slip out now?”

Emily screwed her lips sideways. “If that’s what you want, Sister.”

Josh watched Charlie as the two girls continued to ply him with questions. “Yeah, sure,” he answered absently.

“Cool. We’ll wait while you change clothes,” said the taller girl.

“Uhmm, what? What are you waiting for?”

“For you to change so we can go to the Lookout Club,” she answered, obviously frustrated at repeating herself.

“Oh. No. Sorry, I can’t. Excuse me.” He pushed past the girls, rushing to the bench.

“Where’s Charlie?”

“She left this to pay for your climbing and took off.” Emily held up a handful of money and pointed toward the exit with her eyes.

Josh saw Charlie disappearing through the door without a backward glance. He couldn’t believe it—she wasn’t even going to wait around to say goodbye. He couldn’t understand why it bothered him so much, but it did. It made him furious.

He ran toward the door and burst outside, spying Charlie as she moved to the limousine. She slid inside, but he caught the door before she could close it. Without a thought, he climbed into the back and sat beside her.

Her eyes were wide. Was that guilt? Remorse for running out on him?

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’ve come to collect. I won, fair and square.”

“I paid for your climbing. I left the money with Emily. And I’m not kissing you again.”

“You didn’t even stay to congratulate me,” he muttered.

“You were busy,” she pointed out. “I didn’t want to intrude on the fan club meeting. But, it was a nice climb. Well done.”

He searched her face, but she betrayed no emotion. What was she thinking? It was so frustrating. He absolutely couldn’t predict her thoughts or her actions.

“So you were just going to leave? Without even telling me?”

She groaned. “Josh. I’m not sure what you expect from me. We barely know each other. I’m leaving tomorrow for Colorado. And we obviously don’t think the same way about relationships.”

“How do you know that?”

“Really? I’ve seen you in action. You pick up girls all the time. You were going after my sister yesterday, until you switched gears and went after me. You picked up two extra tonight. And I don’t date at all. I think guys are great for carrying heavy gear and belaying me on my climbs. Otherwise, I don’t have much use for you.”

Josh stared at her, speechless. He’d never met a girl who aggravated him as much as this one. His life would be easier if he forgot all about her. And duller. Boring. What was it Charlie had said?
Straight walls are easy and boring. I don’t do boring.

She cleared her throat, the noise snapping him back to the present. “If you don’t mind, get out of the car, so I can go home.”

“I can be useful.”

“What?”

“I can be useful for more than just carrying heavy gear and belaying your climbs, if you give me a chance.”

“Josh, you’re only interested in me for the fight, for the challenge. If I didn’t fight with you, you’d lose interest and move on to the next girl. You proved it when you switched your focus from my sister to me.”

He shook his head. “I know you don’t believe me, but that’s not true. I admit I was playing a game when I pursued your sister. But you’re different.” He watched her shaking her head. He was losing her.

“Please!” he said desperately. “I said I wanted to kiss you again, and I do. But what I want even more is for you to stay with me. Don’t go home yet. Come and hang out with me. Let me buy you dinner. We’ll all hang out together. Totally safe.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea—”

“It’s a date already. You paid for my climbing. It won’t hurt you. Just try it. If you don’t, we’ll never know. But what if you’re wrong? What if I could be good for you, and you gave up without even trying?”

He could see she was wavering. She pursed her lips, and he resisted the urge to lean over and kiss them. How strange. He’d never resisted an urge with a girl before. It felt awkward and uncomfortable. Maybe he should kiss her like he had the night before. But something told him if he did, she’d be gone from his life forever. It felt like that would leave an awful hole. How could it hurt to lose someone you never had? Someone you just met? She was still considering. Should he say something else? Try a different tack?

He felt her piercing stare cutting into his eyes. She crossed her arms. “Just hanging out? Not sex? Not making out? Not even kissing?”

“Hanging out together—that’s all I’m asking for.” He felt a rock lift from the pit of his stomach. She was going to stay. He had her for a few more hours. He’d never felt so happy about being physically rejected before. He wasn’t sure he’d ever actually been rejected before. Hmmm. Not since high school, anyway.

“Okay, but you can’t tell anyone we kissed last night, either.”

“Can I just tell Brad? You know, it’s a guy thing. I like to brag.”

“You can brag about the last climb. Leave me out of it.”

“All right,” he teased. “But can you and I talk about it? Just between the two of us? ‘Cause it was a pretty nice kiss.”

“Josh!”

“Okay, okay.” He climbed out of the car with what must be a silly grin on his face and held out his hand. “Shall we go?”

Spencer was accepting congratulations on successfully completing the climb with the overhang, when Brad let out a surprised, “I can’t believe it!”

Emily turned to see what had caught his eye, and found Josh with an absolutely triumphant smile, leading an obviously reluctant Charlie by the hand to join them. He refused to relinquish her hand when they arrived at the bench.