Zacharias smiled. âA couple always share a room, donât they?â
âBut weâre not a real couple!â Shirley protested quietly.
âThen weâll become one,â replied Zacharias seriously. Quietly, Shirley requested, âCanât you ask them to free up two rooms for us?â
Zacharias answered hoarsely, âNo. Theyâre going to tell everyone weâre not on great terms.â
âThey wonât.â
âJust deal with it and share a room with me for a couple of nights.â Zacharias wouldnât help her.
Speechless, Shirley bit her lip. She couldnât exactly say if she was looking forward to this, but she wasnât insisting on getting another room.
They had a candlelit dinner that night. There were only two of them, but they were served with more than twenty dishes. They werenât big enough to fill the couple, but they tasted good.
Shirley had a nice time. After dinner, she went through the art gallery and jewelry exhibit to wash her food down. At nine, she came to the master bedroom. She saw a pink, revealing nightgown on the hanger beside the bed and a gray pair of menâs pajamas draped beside it. Shirley stared at the nightgown, stunned. Zacharias crossed his arms, staring at her challengingly. âI challenge you to wear that nightgown.â
*Challenge accepted. After all, I have a nice body.â Shirley would not refuse a challenge, and she was easily riled up. Zacharias leaned down. âWear it for me tonight.â
Shirley regretted taking on the challenge and tried to find an excuse. âItâs pretty chilly tonight, though.â
âIâll make sure the AC is warm enough.â Zacharias made sure she couldnât weasel her way out.
Shirley had no more excuses. She stared at the nightgown again. No woman can resist this. Itâs gorgeous. I guess Iâll just wear it for him. Weâre already here anyway, and weâre sharing a room now.
Thereâs nothing I canât do now.
âI have some work to do. You do whatever you want. Zacharias led her to the couch.
Shirley had nothing to do, so she watched as Zacharias took his laptop out, put it on the table, and stared at the screen. He typed away on the keyboard, sliding on his mousepad. His hands were beautiful. Ah, men are really hot when they work. Zacharias proves just that. Also, he has no idea how hot he is. He never cares about his looks, but thatâs why men like them are more charming.
Shirley looked at the time, deciding not to disturb him. When she picked up her phone, she noticed a text from her mother asking if she was having fun. Shirley put her phone on silent mode and chatted with her mother.
The clock struck ten. Zacharias was done with work, and he closed his laptop. He then asked Shirley, âAre you using the bathroom first, or should I go first instead?â
Shirley looked at him. âGo ahead.â
âI challenge you to come in with me.â Zacharias smiled.
âNo.â Shirley didnât fall for it this time. She realized she had to think every time before she answered Zacharias.
Zacharias laughed and got up for a shower. Shirley couldnât even pretend to watch the news. She was distracted by the sloshing of the water in the bathroom, and she got nervous. She stared at the bed that looked incredibly inviting. I have to share that bed with Zacharias tonight. Can I even fall asleep?
Shirley became nervous upon thinking about that.
She looked at the couch. Hey, I can sleep on the couch. If worse comes to worst, Iâll do that.
She was engrossed in her thoughts for a while, and the bathroom door creaked open. Zacharias didnât take his pajamas with him. He came out wearing nothing but a towel around his lower body, revealing his muscular build for Shirleyâs enjoyment.