The Bad Boy Next Room (Charlie and Taylor) novel Chapter 33

“You really could use a little more practice,” Taylor suggested.

Charlie froze mid-blink. She frowned. “Me?”

“Yeah, the kiss was just… okay.” Taylor shrugged, making a so-so hand gesture.

“Okay?” Charlie’s jaw dropped. “Well, you weren’t any better!”

Taylor narrowed his eyes. Then, suddenly, he leaned back and smirked, and that’s when Charlie knew she was in trouble. She’d been living with Taylor for almost two weeks now, and if there was one thing she had learned, it was that his smirk meant trouble.

“Alright,” Taylor said smoothly, “let’s set boundaries.”

Charlie folded her arms. “Boundaries?”

“Yeah, about the kissing,” Taylor answered.

Charlie nodded quickly. “Right, good idea. Boundaries are important.”

“Rules are important,” Taylor restarted. “It clarifies things for both of us as to when we can kiss, who kisses first, and how.”

Charlie shifted uncomfortably, suddenly aware of how warm her face was. “Yeah, sure. Makes sense.”

“So, here is what I think we should do.” Taylor looked very serious as he moved forward. He rested his elbows on his knees and said, “To keep Luke riled up, we both agree that kissing will eventually play a key role in our pretend relationship.”

“Um.” Charlie bit her lip. She wavered, but eventually, she remembered how Luke doubted her and tried to reinsert himself in her life. She said, “I supposed.”

“And we both agree that our kisses were just, okay, right?” Taylor asked.

“Um.” Charlie’s stomach did an unnecessary backflip. Actually, she thought Taylor’s kisses were sweet and nice, but she did not dare voice it out. Instead, she said, “Yeah, it was just okay.”

“See, that’s the issue. Okay, won’t cut it,” Taylor said. “If Luke doesn’t believe us, he will keep coming after you—like some desperate ex in a bad rom-com.”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t get him,” Charlie groaned. “But, yeah, I want him off my back.”

“Exactly.” Taylor nodded. “So, we need to make our relationship look stronger… Going back to the boundaries.”

“Yeah, the boundaries,” Charlie echoed.

“First rule - if we see Luke looking at us, either of us can kiss the other. No hesitation.”

Charlie hesitated. “O-okay…”

“Second rule—if you feel like declaring our relationship in public, just go ahead and kiss me.”

Charlie stilled, her eyes rounding.

“And thrid rule,” Taylor continued, completely unfazed, “if you’re still hung up on Luke and need a distraction, just grab me and kiss me. I’ll take one for the team.”