The Bad Boy Next Room (Charlie and Taylor) novel Chapter 51

He kept reading and was consistent for the first two pages, but suddenly, he groaned, “Fuck, this is boring. Why am I doing this again?”

Charlie, who had been concentrating, shot him a glare. She reminded him, “I won the swimming contest, remember?”

“Yeah, because someone cheated,” Taylor pointed out. He sighed but kept reading. “The Intersection of Force Majeure Clauses and Frustration of Contract in International Commercial Agreements. You know, you’re lucky you’re my favorite person right now. I wouldn’t be caught dead reading business books for anyone—”

Charlie grabbed the book, scolding, “If you’re so unwilling, I’ll just study in my—”

“I’m willing!” Taylor yanked the book back. “I’m very willing. If there were a ‘Most Willing’ award, I’d have already won it—twice!”

Yet, when he flipped through the book, he looked like he was in physical pain. “Force majeure clauses are particularly vital in international agreements…”

Charlie chuckled at his reaction. She muttered, “Oh, Taylor. I don’t know what to do with you.”

“What do you mean, Babe? There’s only one way to do me,” Taylor said with his usual smirk.

“Are you reading or not?” Charlie snapped.

“I’m reading. I’m loving this! Force majeure, baby!” He even raised his fist, pretending to enjoy it.

As Taylor read aloud for the next few minutes, he put an arm around Charlie. Then, absentmindedly, he started stroking her hair. The small gesture sent shivers down Charlie’s spine.

She turned to him, wondering if he knew what he was doing, but he looked serious reading the book.

She smiled and let him be, forcing herself to focus. She took notes while he read. In between studying, they had dinner. Since the book was five hundred pages, they didn’t finish until around nine in the evening.

“Finally!” Taylor exclaimed. “I’m done serving a bet that I was blatantly cheated out of!”

“I swear, I didn’t cheat,” Charlie said, chuckling.

Charlie let out a soft gasp as her body reacted instinctively. She dropped her things, her hands slipping around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair.

She kissed back.

Taylor kissed harder.

Their lips moved in sync, their tongues dancing together in a heated kiss, their bodies impossibly close. Their heads tilted from side to side, their breathing hitched.

Charlie simply melted into the warmth of his kisses, into his touch, into him.

When he finally pulled away, she was breathless, her lips tingling, her legs weak. Her heart pounded, not just from the kiss, but from how Taylor looked at her.

“Charlie, please. We can’t deny the chemistry here,” Taylor’s voice was soft, pleading. “Can we just stop pretending to be a couple and make this real?”