Free The Valentine Date: Long Distance, Billionaires and Former Bad Boy's Collection by Mel Ryle, N.K. Pockett, Ashley Winters

 
     
    “It’s Valentine’s Day, and I don’t have a date,” Arabelle grumbled, planting her elbows on the island and sending me a pout.  “This is so depressing.”
    “Hey, it’s not that bad,” I said from my spot in front of the stove, where I was stirring a pot of mac and cheese noodles.  “You get to pig out on chocolate and binge-watch Netflix with no shame, which I think is pretty spectacular.”
    “Says the girl who’s getting ready for her date.”
    I pressed my lips together, trying to come up with a retort, but unable to find one.  She had me there.  I mean, I was getting ready for a date.  Will and I obviously couldn’t go out to a restaurant, seeing how he was all the way in Washington, but we could make the same meal and watch a movie at the same time, which worked almost as well.  Mac and cheese with hot dogs probably wasn’t the most romantic of meals, but it was the only thing we could both cook.  And by “both” I meant me.  Will could cook a large variety of things.  I, on the other hand, could not.  It was a life skill I had yet to truly acquire.
    I guess I would just have to add cooking to the list of things Will had to teach me before we died.  He could teach me how to make cute friendship bracelets and other foods besides pasta before then, right?  Maybe.  Hopefully.
    Okay, probably not.  I was basically a lost cause in those departments.
    “What movie are you guys watching, anyway?” Arabelle asked, traveling over to the cabinet and retrieving the jar of peanut butter.  As she grabbed a spoon, she sent me a brief look, waiting for my reply.
    “We haven’t really decided yet,” I said with a shrug.
    “Are you going to make him watch a movie he hates but you love?”
    I pondered this for a moment before shrugging again.  “We pretty much have the same taste in movies, so that might be a bit difficult,” I replied.  And I kind of wanted to watch a movie we both liked.  While watching him cringe and make irritate comments about movies (The Lion King, in particular) was amusing, tonight I didn’t want him to be miserable.  Maybe another time.
    As though Will knew we were talking about him, my phone vibrated in my butt pocket, signaling a call.  With a small grin on my lips, I tugged the phone out, pressed Accept, and brought the phone to my ear.  “You tickled my butt,” I said.
    Arabelle snickered.
    “What?”
    “You tickled my butt,” I repeated, unable to help but laugh now.  “Were you aware you could tickle someone’s butt from such a great distance?”
    Will paused like he didn’t quite know how to respond.  “My girlfriend is weird,” he eventually settled on.
    “Is she?  I thought she was pretty amazing, but, hey, that’s just my completely unbiased opinion.”
    “Unbiased, huh?”
    “Completely.”
    Will chuckled.  “Well, I just called to see if you’re almost done making the mac and cheese because I’m starving and about to start eating without you.”
    I gasped.  “Okay, first you don’t agree that your girlfriend is amazing, and then you go and threaten to eat without me.  Dammit, Dyer!”
    While Will laughed at me again, I switched off the stove, moved the pot over to the sink, and dumped the pasta into the strainer.  Arabelle sauntered over to the fridge and pulled out a stick of butter.  She cut the stick in half before throwing it into a plastic bowl and into the microwave. 
    I smiled.  “Thank you!”
    “No problem.”  Arabelle grinned and backed toward the hallway, peanut butter in hand.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with Mortal Kombat.”
    “Please try not to throw the remote,” I called after her.
    “No promises!”
    I grinned and returned my attention to the task at hand.  I rinsed out the pasta and then dumped it back in the pot before ambling over to the microwave, where the butter was now melted and ready to go.  “If you can wait, like, one more minute, my food will be done,” I