"Exactly." I chuckled and said, "But I did say that I've loved all the

BTC girls in their own way. And with you... well..."

Naimh's eyebrows rose expectantly when my voice trailed off, recognizing I was about to say something pretty serious.

“Naimh O'Brien," I began, scarcely believing I was about to ask what I was about to ask. "Will you go out with me?"

HOT TUB....

“Naimh O'Brien, will you go out with me?"

The Irish redhead's eyes got huge as she looked at me in utter shock that I'd break The Rule and actually ask her out. Her mouth gaped open, and within two seconds I realized I'd made a terrible mistake.

I've seen a Lot of shocked expressions before, many in movies but quite a few in real life as well. There are certain shocked expressions that are “good” shocked. You know, like a rom-com where the guy finally asks the girl to marry him, and you can see the joy in her eyes when she claps both hands over her mouth but is too surprised to verbally respond.

At the opposite end of the spectrum was the kind of shocked expression

Naimh gave me right now.

Yeah, that bad.

I was confused. After everything she'd just said about joining the BTC for me and not Sam, about getting together if we really clicked, plus the confirmation I'd seen in her eyes when I'd asked if she was in love with me... Well... I'd sort of taken her agreement to go out with me as a given. So to see the horrified Look on her face took me by complete surprise.

“Matty!" she hissed, suddenly pushing my chest until I pulled my dick out of her pussy and squatted in front of the couch. "We can't do that!"

I blinked, not understanding. "Why not?"

Sitting up straight, Naimh leaned forward and gave me the kind of scolding look Mother would give me as a child had I knocked over and destroyed a thousand-dollar lamp.

“There's a RULE, did you forget that?"

“No, of course not. But... I thought-—"

“You thought what? That after everything I've been through with Alice walking away from the club, you thought I'd take the remaining friends

I have left and throw them away without a backwards glance?"

“What? I never--"

"I'm still coming to terms with the guilt of betraying Alice, okay? I

WILL NOT BETRAY THE ENTIRE BTC!" she barked intensely with narrowed eyes and flaring nostrils.

“'Nobody dates Matty.’ That's not the spirit of The Rule; those are the actual fucking LETTERS of The Rule!"

"I get it, I get it." I held up both hands defensively and muttered,

“I'm sorry! I... I mean... It was an impulsive thought, okay? I've...