Faking with Benefits : A Friends to Lovers Reverse Harem Romance

My cheeks burn as I slide into the booth next to Zack. Humiliation is thumping through me.

That attempt of flirting went horrendously, even by my standards. The worst part is, I legitimately was trying. I wouldn’t have agreed to do this if I wasn’t going to give it my all. I just got really nervous.

Before I pissed him off, the guy seemed nice enough. He sat me down and offered to buy me a drink. He seemed interested in my work. We were chatting normally, and then he put his hand over mine, and I just froze.

Josh tilts his head, studying me. He’s dressed up today, in a black collared shirt that brings out the gold in his skin. He looks hot as Hell. “Tell me what happened,” he orders.

“I just… couldn’t think of anything to say. My mind went blank.”

“Was he a minger up close?” Zack asks loudly, his voice echoing through the dim bar.

“What?” 

“Did he smell rank, or something?” He demands.

“No? I didn’t notice how he smelled at all. Do you have to shout?”

“Then why were you looking at him like you thought he’d give you the plague?”

“What are you talking about?”

Zack points at the first item on my scoresheet. He’s written 0 next to the body language column. “You were sat like…” Zack pauses, then frowns at me. “Well. Like you are now, actually.”

I look down at myself. I’m sitting precariously on the edge of the leather booth. My arms are crossed over my chest, and my body is thrumming with tension.

Taking a deep breath, I force myself to relax. “I didn’t realise. I was definitely attracted to him.”

“That’s interesting,” Josh notes clinically. “This is something subconscious for you, then. Your brain is on the defense, even if you’re trying to be friendly.”

“I…” I blink. “Yeah. I guess.”

“It looked like the conversation started off well, though,” he adds. “Was there a moment where things went downhill?”

I think. “I guess when he got really close to me. He touched my hand and I just froze up.”

Zack frowns. “You don’t like being touched, pet?”

“I don’t think I have an issue with it,” I say honestly. “I don’t know why it suddenly bothered me so much.”

Josh ruffles a hand through his hair. “I don’t get it,” he says. “I’ve seen you bring guys home before. I’m assuming you must flirt with them. How do you pull when you’re just looking for a one-night-stand?”

I didn’t know he’d noticed me bringing guys back. I shrug. “I go to a bar. See someone I like. Go up to them and ask if they’re single. If they say yes, I ask them if they want to sleep with me.”

There’s a few seconds of silence. Both men stare at me.

I tense under the attention. “What?”

Zack flops back against the booth and howls with laughter. He laughs so hard he almost falls out of his seat. People at nearby tables start turning and staring.

I glare at him. “What? It’s effective.”

“Yeah,” he sputters. “I bloody bet. It’d work on me. God, you’re lucky you’re so damn pretty, cupcake.” He wipes at his face. “You’re crap at this.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Did you just ask me out here to laugh at me, or are you actually planning on helping me?”

“Both,” he wheezes, slapping his thigh.

My cheeks heat. “Whatever.” I stand up, reaching for my coat. “Forget it.”

“Okay,” he gasps, grabbing my hand and pulling me back down. “Okay. Sorry, sorry. Let’s fix this. First off—body language.” He clears his throat, pointing to the space between us. “This is all wrong. If a girl sat next to me like this, I’d assume she thinks I smell bad.”

“You don’t,” I say, before I can stop myself. “You always smell great. Sort of… warm and spicy. I like it.”

Zack’s eyes twinkle. “See. You’re gettin’ better at this already.” He stretches out a huge arm. “Come cuddle your boyfriend, biscuit. Let’s see if we can get you used to some touching, eh?”

I shuffle closer to him, and he scoops me into his side, pulling me close.

I’m pretty sure he has an ulterior motive, here. Zack loves hugs. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten through a movie night at his flat without him wrapping his arm around me or laying his head in my lap. It’s hard to complain, though — he’s so big and muscly. Warmth radiates through his side as he cuddles me up close to him. “Aw, this is nice.” He pats my cheek. “You’re well soft. Aight, next up,” he points at my list. “Eye contact.”

“It’s important, right?”

“Aye, but you were starin’ that poor guy down like you were a snake about to gobble up a deer. You gotta make it seductive. Guys and girls tend to do this kinda differently.” He reaches up, nudging my eyelashes with the side of his finger. “You gotta use these. Try this.” He dips his head demurely and looks up at me through his lashes.

I burst out laughing.

He grins. “Okay. I look dumb doing it, but you won’t. Give it a try. Just catch my eye, look down, and then look back up at me, all coy.”

Feeling like an absolute idiot, I do as he says. I hold his gaze for a moment, then drop my eyes, waiting a couple of beats before looking back up at him.

He pulls a face. “Again, but like. Try to look less like you lost a contact.”

I try it again, squinting through my mascara.

“That was even worse,” he says, sounding impressed. “Damn, doll. You really are bad at this.”

“How do you do it, then?” I demand. “You don’t bat your eyelashes at girls like a cartoon skunk.”

“Nah. I’m a man. I smoulder. Check it.” He takes a sip of his beer, then tosses me a side-ways look so full of heat my mouth goes dry. My insides knot as his icy-blue eyes fix on mine, then flicker down my body. Sparks prickle across my skin. He’s looking at me like he wants to peel my clothes right off me.

He holds my gaze for a few beats, then turns back to his pint. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to hypnotise you, lass. My smoulder is pretty potent.”

I swallow. “How did you do that?”

“I imagined my face between your legs,” he says casually, taking another sip of beer.

I choke on air.

A throat clears across the table. I look up to see Josh watching us both impassively. “This is supposed to be about Layla,” he reminds us. “Don’t you think we should be focussing on her?”

Zack dips his mouth by my ear. “Josh is so jealous right now,” he whispers, before raising his voice. “Alright. C’mon, mate. She’s got two sides.” He pats the empty space on my right.

Josh considers. At first, I think he’s going to refuse; but then he stands and moves smoothly out of his booth, joining our side of the table. As he sits next to me, his knee presses against mine, and my skin suddenly warms. Wordlessly, he lays his hand palm-up on the tabletop. After a moment, I thread my fingers through his.

“Perfect.” Zack leans closer on my left, reaching for me. As his arm wraps around my waist, I immediately start to hyperventilate, blood thumping through me.

This is too much. I’ve curled up with Zack plenty of times, and I suppose I must have sat squashed next to Josh in a car, or something. But I’ve never been jammed between them like this. It’s doing things to my insides. My belly feels heavy.

I glance around the pub. Can people tell we’re on a date? They must be able to, right? This isn’t how friends usually sit.

God. I can’t catch my breath. My throat is tight and dry. I’m hot all over.

“Okay?” Josh murmurs, looking at me strangely.

“Yeah.” I squeeze my thighs together and clear my throat. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I need to pull myself together. “So… what do we do now?”

“Now,” Zack says, “we get you another drink.”