I'M. SO. SORRY!

Literally right after I published the last chapter, I was busy nonstop. I took a class at the local college, I redecorated three rooms in the house, I had to fill out scholarship essays, I had to visit most of my family out of state, there were pool parties and birthdays to go to, school shopping, and to make up for all those trips, I had to work ten bazillion double shifts back to back in order to get my regular pay.

Needless to say, I was hugging my freaking pillow every night.

But now that I'm back in school (and have two study halls, SCORE) I'll be more diligent at getting chapters out. For some reason, my creative juices flow better when I'm in a classroom. Whenever I'm in my room, all I wanna do is watch True Blood and read trashy romance novels.

Chapter Five: Lighting A Fire

LPOV

It turns out that there is something much more awkward than dinner and a movie with an ex-boyfriend. Sitting in a close, confined space with a ridiculously gorgeous man who just happened to be your worst enemy at the moment is the very epitome of awkward. Throw in obvious sexual attraction, emotional and financial blackmail, and silence thick enough to make a convent of monks jealous, and I found myself downing a huge cocktail of Discomfort.

Even though I'd promised myself to keep my eyes firmly out of the window, the way he was driving made the quickly passing landscape almost nauseating to look at. I refused to embarrass myself by throwing up in his fancy car, so I turned away and chose to keep my eyes firmly ahead. But eventually, I got curious as to where we were going.

"Where are we going?" I asked, conscious of the speedometer needle slowly rising upwards. It still threw me how slowly it was taking me to get used to the roads of Europe, where everyone drove on the opposite side of the road. I figured I get over it soon enough.

"Penthouse. Near Hyde Park." He replied, his voice blank and giving nothing away.

I was trying to seem sophisticated, like that news didn't phase me. But when I finally registered what he had said, my mouth dropped open unattractively. I think I drooled a bit. Hyde Park meant expensive real estate... Very expensive real estate. I cleared my throat and shrugged nonchalantly. "That sounds nice. Where will we be going next?"

"Monaco. Next week. We're going to be visiting some friends of mine." He flashed me a sardonic half-smile and raised a brow mockingly. "Unless you'll be back in the States by then."

Asshole. If he thought I'd cave first, he had another thing coming. I was going to be such a thorn in his side that he'd be begging me to leave. And the beauty of that plan was that I'd leave with my pride intact, having toured and explored exotic places on someone else's dime. Oh yeah, I knew I was being selfish and vain, and dare I say it, sort of a gold-digger. But that was the price I had to pay. I wasn't that much of a whiny idiot that I didn't see the positives to this situation I'd found myself in.

Pros: touring the world with a gorgeous man, seeing the exotic places I'd always dreamed about exploring, eating the best food, living the high life, networking with his rich friends, and shopping until I fainted from exhaustion.

Cons: the aforementioned moody gorgeous man, constant bickering and sniping, and the ever present tension (sexual and not) between us.

When I thought about it in business terms and removed myself emotionally, it made the situation seem more lucrative than ever.

And since I'd taken off at least a month, I knew I could probably get at least a good amount of pictures to bring back for my father. Sure, I'd have to do a good bit of walking, but when opportunities like this come so suddenly to me, I'd be crazy not to take advantage of it.

"What are you smiling about?" Jacob asked as the city came into view. I wasn't even aware of the small smile that curved my lips, but I knew that I'd felt better about this than I had since I agreed to the whole proposal.

"Oh nothing. Just happy to be in a foreign place with such... Enchanting company." I replied, my smile growing wider when he caught the thinly veiled insult in my words and grimaced.

"Wow. I like it." I said, taking in the spectacular nighttime view through the floor to ceiling windows in the apartment. "This is amazing." I dropped my suitcase and purse and ran to the window, taking in the pool and jacuzzi on the balcony through the glass. "It must have cost a fortune."

"Not really. I just bought it at a good time and let my sister do whatever she wanted with the decorating." He replied, brushing past me to pick up my suitcase. I barely had time to grab my purse and laptop bag when he started walking away into a hallway, obviously taking for granted that I'd follow him.

"You are taking me to a guest room right?" I said warily, aware that he was probably bold enough to try something stupid. It wasn't that I was scared, but just in case, I had a can of pepper spray on the ready in my bag.

"Yes, Clearwater. I meant it when I said I wouldn't touch you." He seemed insulted, but I couldn't find it in myself to care for my immense relief. Even more so, I couldn't find any words to say in response. Forgoing a witty reply, I just nodded and tried to look anywhere but him. Luckily, we stopped at a door not far from the living room and kitchen. "This is your room."

He pushed open the door and led me inside. The room was impressive, decorated in sharp blacks and clean whites, with a burgundy accents. The king-sized bed lay on a raised platform to the left of a huge window with an impressive view of the city. Two small nightstands sat on both sides of the bed, each containing a small, burgundy was a small black desk in front of the bed, on the wall nearest to the window, perfect for holding my laptop.

"The bathroom's right there." He said, pointing to a door directly left of the bed. "And the closet is right there, but you can use this big... thing." He opened the door to a gorgeous oak armoire and placed my suitcase inside. "The extra bed stuff is in this drawer and there are more pillows in the closet if you need them."

"Thanks." I murmured, taking off my jacket and sitting on the bed. The mattress sunk in a way that indicated it would be soft and fluffy and comfy when I finally slept in it. "This is fine."

He was quiet for a long while, just staring at me speculatively. Then he spoke.

"It's not that late. If we hurry, we can probably go out to eat at a place nearby." He said, looking at his expensive watch while I contemplated that. "If you'd like, I mean."

"Is there anyway we can stay in?" I asked. I wasn't really very tired because of the nap I'd had on the jet, but I didn't want to pass out from sudden Jet Lag in the middle of a fancy London restaurant. "I could cook or something."

I looked away and winced at how domestic we sounded. So far from the truth, it was sad.

Jacob must have had the same idea, because he gave me another one of his speculative glances. "Today isn't the day for the housekeeper to restock the fridge. If you can make something edible out of water, baking soda, and salt, go right ahead."

My face felt hot and I looked up to chew him out for being such a dick. "Listen, it wa-" I realized her was smirking. Not meanly or evilly like all the others, but a nice smirk.

He was teasing me. I felt the tension ease from my shoulders and smiled back. I could handle this.

"No. I can't." I continued. "So eating out sounds fine." Moving to my suitcase, I pulled out one of my favorite shirts and my toiletry bag. "Let me shower really quick, and I'll be out in a jiffy."

His lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh. I cringed when I realized what I had said. Jiffy? Seriously? I decided to bite the proverbial bullet and acknowledge my extreme faux pas.

"You can laugh." I said, crossing my arms and raising a brow.

To his credit, he sobered immediately and shook his head.

But the moment I closed the door on his retreating back, I could have sworn I heard a low chuckle fading away as he walked to his room.

Horrible, I know! I'm kind of regretting having them travel to various exotic locations (the places I've always wanted to go but never had the time or money) because figuring out time zones and how to fit them in is as much of a bitch as having writers block.