Chapter 2

My phone buzzed with a new message. It was from my childhood friend, Alex Carter: [Emily. This is a nightmare. My mom's trying to set me up on another blind date.]

Alex was two years older than me. We'd grown up together since we were kids. We were the real deal.

I'd heard our parents joked about arranging a marriage for us when I was born.

I was the only daughter in my family. It was basically set in stone that I'd be the one to take over the family business.

When I was a kid, I even thought about it for the sake of the company. Our families were a perfect match, so a marriage alliance really did seem like a solid plan.

But then, when Alex hit puberty, he dropped a bombshell on me. He was gay.

Little me was totally blown away. I didn't really get it, but we were tight. As long as he wasn't breaking the law or anything, I'd always have his back.

After that, any thought of us getting married was totally out the window.

Seeing his message, I typed back, [Didn't you confess to your family years ago?]

Alex replied: [Yeah, but now my mom sees all her friends with grandkids, and she wants me to give her one to spoil too.

[Guess what she did? She's asking me to go to a doctor to cure me.]

I tried to keep a straight face. [I don't know if a doctor works, but maybe you should try some miracle baby-making pills.]

Alex shot back: [Get lost, Emily Young. You never say anything nice.]

I tried to comfort him: [Relax, if worst comes to worst, we can always do a sham marriage.]

Alex sent an eye-rolling emoji. [Seriously? Had you really given up on the boyfriend you chased for over half a year? Weren't you totally obsessed with him, swearing you'd never let him go?]

I sighed. [I don't think he ever really liked me. It's like I basically forced him into it.

[I always make him do things for me. No wonder he probably hates me deep down.]

Alex totally lost it and sent me a long voice message. "Seriously, how could he do that? If he didn't like you, he shouldn't have said yes in the first place.

"Now he's with you but still acts like you don't matter? What a jerk.

"Guys like him don't deserve you. He's some broke college kid, not even in your league, and he's the one acting all superior?

"You want younger guys, right? I'll introduce you to a dozen cute boys. Take your pick."

I typed back: [You're making me tear up, but maybe skip the cute boys for now. I'm really not in the mood these days.]

We kept chatting until the early hours. My eyelids were heavy, and I drifted off to sleep.

I was still clutching my phone in my hand.

The screen dimmed for a few seconds, then lit up again.

There was an unread message on the lock screen. [Didn't you always want us to get married? Maybe I'll finally let you have your way.]

The contact was saved as [Adorable Alex].

*****

When I woke up the next morning, Ethan's handsome face was right in front of me.

The blanket felt weird against my skin. I was totally naked under the covers.

I was clinging to Ethan like an octopus, so I quickly pulled away from him.

I slapped Ethan across the face. "Didn't I tell you to sleep in the guest room? Why are you in my bed?"

His head snapped to the side from the slap, but Ethan smirked. "Maybe you should check whose bed this really is."

I blinked, finally coming to my senses, and looked around. Wait, was I actually in his bed?

I stared at him, my eyes practically popping out in disbelief.

Did I really sleepwalk all the way into his bed?

Wait, where did my clothes go?

Did I really sleepwalk into Ethan's bed in the middle of the night and strip myself naked?

My cheeks were on fire. This was so embarrassing. But I had to accept it.

Ethan's the main guy here, after all. He was the guy I finally won over after chasing him for more than half a year.

Once we started dating, I was always making him do stuff for me. He's probably totally fed up with me. He'd love nothing more than to sleep in a different room. He'd never secretly carry me into his bed.

I was hopeless when it came to him, because I was totally a sucker for his face.

After sorting it all out, I let out a silent sigh and put on a brave face. "So what? This whole place belongs to me. I can sleep wherever I want. Mind your own business."

I wanted to bolt. I scrambled out of bed in a panic.

My feet hit the floor. Then I remembered I was naked. After a quick mental battle, I snatched Ethan's blanket, wrapped it around myself, and bolted for the door.

*****

Back in the master bedroom, my phone was sitting lonely on my pillow.

[Didn't you always want us to get married? Maybe I'll finally let you have your way.]

As soon as I unlocked my phone, I saw Alex's shameless text staring right back at me.

I texted him right back: [Get lost.]