Chapter 17: Boyfriend

The bedroom suddenly fell into a frightening silence. 

Blaine Jackson stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. His face betrayed shock and disbelief in equal measure. 

"Pretty funny, isn't it?" Chloe Grace inhaled deeply, then let out a long sigh. "Go ahead, laugh if you want. At least I've said it. But you don't have to feel awkward about it. Liking you is my problem, not yours. And I already know you like someone else. So... if you're feeling uncomfortable, I'll just move out tonight." 

"You said you've liked me for five years. What's that supposed to mean?" Blaine's brows furrowed as he stared at her. He had only known her for less than five days, and now she was talking about five years? Wasn't that ridiculous? 

"It's literal." Chloe's voice was muffled as she burrowed deeper under the covers, trying to hide her embarrassment. 

Confessing to a man she knew didn't like her was humiliating enough—especially when they were living under the same roof. 

"Chloe, explain yourself clearly. What's going on?" Blaine demanded, reaching into the blanket to pull her out. But instead of grabbing her arm, his hand landed somewhere it absolutely shouldn't have—soft and warm against her chest. 

Both froze. 

Blaine withdrew his hand as if it had been electrocuted, quickly stepping back. The atmosphere became unbearably awkward. 

Under the covers, Chloe was holding her breath, afraid to make even the slightest noise. She genuinely felt like she might suffocate. 

Just then, the shrill sound of a phone ringing cut through the tension, pulling both of them back to reality. 

"It's your phone," Blaine said, glancing at the source of the noise. 

Of course, she knew it was her phone. The ringtone made that obvious. Chloe rolled her eyes under the blanket, then sat up to grab the phone off the desk before heading into the living room to take the call. 

Five minutes later, she returned to the bedroom and began rummaging through the wardrobe. 

"You're going out?" Blaine asked as he watched her pull out clothes. 

Chloe nodded in response. 

"You're not fully recovered. You shouldn't be going out." It was almost 10 p.m. Where could she possibly be going at this hour? 

"I told you, I'm fine." She tossed a dark plaid mini-skirt and a sleek jacket onto the bed before fishing out a sequined camisole and some accessories from her jewelry box. 

"You're going to a party dressed like this? It's freezing outside! Are you trying to turn your cold into pneumonia?" Blaine marched over and replaced her skirt with a pair of dark jeans that matched her jacket. "Wear this instead!" 

"Huh?" Chloe blinked in surprise, staring at him. "I'm going to a party, and you want me to wear jeans? That's way too conservative. People will laugh at me!" 

"Jeans are conservative? I don't think so. Anyway, you have a great figure and a beautiful face. You'd look good in anything," he said matter-of-factly, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. 

"Is that a compliment?" Chloe asked, genuinely stunned. 

"Of course! Now hurry up and change. Are you going or not?" Blaine growled, his tone tinged with irritation, though he couldn't quite pinpoint why. 

"I'm going, but why are you still here? Are you planning to watch me change? Because I don't mind," she teased, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. 

Blaine raised an eyebrow, smirking. "If you don't mind, then go ahead." 

"…" Chloe's ears burned as she shoved him out of the room. 

---

To her surprise, Blaine insisted on accompanying her. Initially, he claimed it was because he didn't feel comfortable letting her take a cab alone so late at night. Then, once they arrived at the venue, he said he was worried she might faint at the party since she hadn't fully recovered. 

So, there he was, by her side, attending a party he had no interest in. 

It was maddening. For someone who supposedly didn't like her, Blaine was infuriatingly considerate and sweet—enough to make her heart race and her thoughts spiral. 

"Chloe, what's taking you so long? Stop dragging your feet!" Blaine called over his shoulder, snapping her out of her daze. "Which room is it?" 

"Follow me," she said, leading him through the familiar corridors to a private lounge. 

"You seem to know this place well," Blaine commented, a hint of suspicion in his tone. 

"They always throw their parties here. It's hard not to be familiar with it," she replied casually. 

Blaine opened his mouth to ask something else but stopped short when they stepped into the room and saw the crowd of people mingling inside. 

"Chloe, you're finally here!" A stylish girl greeted her in flawless English, her tone warm and welcoming. 

"I'm sorry for being late. I've been recovering from a bad cold. I couldn't make it to your birthday the other night, and I really wanted to apologize," Chloe said sincerely. 

"You were sick? Are you feeling better now?" The group surrounding them perked up at her words, quickly gathering around to check on her. 

"I'm much better now, thank you for asking," Chloe said with a smile, bowing slightly to show her gratitude. 

As she did, the attention in the room shifted to Blaine, who stood silently behind her. 

"Whoa! Chloe, is he your boyfriend? He's so handsome!" exclaimed a Japanese girl named Kyoko, her Osaka accent thick as she fluttered her lashes at Blaine. 

Blaine's expression darkened. He found Japanese women—especially the overly flirtatious ones—particularly grating. 

"Chloe, you didn't tell us you had such a good-looking boyfriend!" one of the guys teased.