by Aly Martinez
“What?” he breathed in shock.
“Yeah, Ash just called. I don’t know exactly what’s going on yet, but she’s bringing him over here. I’ll take him to the hospital.”
“Till? What’s going on?” Eliza asked in the background.
“Hey, I have to go. I’ll let you know when we leave.”
“Flint, wait!” he yelled as I severed the connection.
But I couldn’t. I just . . . couldn’t.
After snagging a T-shirt from the drawer, I made my way to unlock the front door.
While I was still battling with a useless pair of Nikes, my front door swung open and Quarry sauntered inside.
“Holy shit! You moved into Eliza’s old apartment?” He laughed. “You have serious problems, dude.” He turned to look over his shoulder. “Ash, get in here!”
“Not until you tell him not to be mad at me,” she squeaked from outside.
“Oh, right. Sorry. I borrowed Ash’s phone and wrote the texts. It wasn’t her. We were bored and I was curious about where you were hiding out.” He winked.
My mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me? You got bored so you decided to tell me that you were deaf?” I snapped, rolling myself forward.
“No. I asked for your address first. You didn’t bite. So then I told you I was deaf.”
“You son of a bitch. I was fucking worried!” I swung a fist as hard as I could, but Quarry easily dodged it.
“Well, then think of it as a miracle. I can still hear!” He threw his hands up in the air in celebration.
“You selfish little shit. Till’s probably losing his mind right now, and you think this is funny?”
His laugh went silent and his eyes grew wide. “You told Till?” he gasped. “Why the hell would you do that?” He pushed a hand through his thick, black hair.
“I thought you were deaf!” I screamed so loudly that it echoed off all the walls.
“Shit,” he groaned to himself.
“Yeah. Shit,” I repeated, passing my phone in his direction. “Call him and explain. But don’t you dare tell him where I live.”
He dropped his eyes to the floor but took the phone from my hand. “I’m going outside to purgatory for this one,” he mumbled as he walked out the door, dialing the phone.
Stupid kid.
“Soooo . . . is it safe to come in?” Ash said, peeking around the doorjamb.
“For you? Yes. For him? I’m not sure,” I replied, grabbing the back of my neck.
“I swear I didn’t know. He didn’t tell me until we got here. For what it’s worth, he wanted to keep up the act and mess with you, but I refused to play along.”
“Thanks for that.”
“No prob.” She smiled.
And even with as pissed as I was, one pulled at the corner of my lips too.
“SOOOO THIS IS A NICE place,” I said, looking around Flint’s apartment.
The building might have been shit on the outside, but it was obvious Flint had worked hard to transform it into something nice on the inside. It was simple, but everything was spotless. There were no decorations unless the bookshelves that lined nearly every inch of the walls counted. There was a cheap sofa and a chair squished together with a coffee table in the center of the room. As I watched Flint push himself past them, I gathered that their tight positioning was to allow more room for his wheelchair to pass.
“You want something to drink?”
“Whatcha got?” I asked, following him into a tiny galley kitchen just barely wide enough to fit the width of his wheelchair.
Pulling the fridge open, he said, “Milk, water, and . . . pineapple-banana juice.”
“Shut up,” I whispered.
“What?” He looked over his shoulder.
“I’ve never had pineapple-banana juice!” I squealed.
“Um . . . okay, then. Pineapple-banana it is.” He backed up, unable to actually turn around. Then he removed a glass from the bottom cabinet and set it on the counter.
“This might be the greatest day of my life, Wheels,” I announced, watching him fill the glass with sure-to-be-delicious fruity liquid. “First, Quarry took me to a 3D movie. Holy crap, it was ah-mazing. And now, you have pineapple-banana juice.”
“I’m thrilled my juice selection has contributed to ‘the greatest day of your life,’” he said dryly.
“And you should be. This is two newsies today.”
“Newsies?” He slid the glass in my direction then motioned for me to move so he could back all the way out of the kitchen.
“Yep. I try to do something new every day. And today, I’m getting to do two! I can’t wait to cross pineapple-banana juice off my list.”
“You might be the weirdest person I have ever met. You have an actual list with pineapple-banana juice on it?” he asked with a slight smirk.
It was a rare glimpse at the man hiding under the patchy beard and angry, blue eyes, but amused looked good on Flint Page.
Really good.
“No, it’s not technically on the list. But when I get home, I’m going to write it right below ride a roller coaster, and then guess what?” I lifted my eyebrows, tipping the glass to my lips. I held Flint’s eyes as I took a gulp of the cool, fruity drink before setting it on the counter. “I’m gonna cross it off.” I tossed him a smile, and much to my surprise, he returned it.
Now that was better than really good.
It was gorgeous.
And because I possessed absolutely no filter, I felt the need to inform him of that.
“You know, if you shaved that fuzz and smiled more often, you would be really hot.”
Then it happened.
Something more elusive than the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot appeared in front of me.
Flint Page’s lips parted and a real, honest-to-God laugh erupted from his throat. His shoulders shook and his blue eyes lit up so bright that I almost needed to look away.
I couldn’t though.
I was mesmerized.
“Thanks, I think?” he said, rubbing his chin.
And for some unexplainable reason, my eyes drifted to his mouth. I regretted it the moment it happened, because even though his eyes heated, his smile fell. As sexy as that smolder was on him, nothing could top the laugh.
“Soooo . . .” I spun to face his bookshelves. “You like to read, huh?”
He cleared his throat. “Yep.”
“Are you going to school?” I asked, dragging my fingertip over the dust-free shelf.
“Yeah. I’m starting my second semester. What about you?”
“Nah, not really. I’m just taking some classes online right now.”
“Well, that’s cool too,” he said awkwardly, following me as I inspected each of his shelves.
“I guess. I’d rather be in an actual class every day. Sitting behind the computer can get pretty boring.”
“Yeah, well, sitting in class can be pretty boring sometimes too.”
“True.” I suddenly turned to face him. “Hey, which one’s your favorite?”
“Favorite what? Class?”
“No, I mean book. You have to have a favorite.”
“Shit, I don’t know. I’ve read so many that I wouldn’t even know how to choose.”
“Okay. You’re stranded in a deserted train station during the zombie apocalypse. Quick, which book do you have with you?”
“Hopefully The Zombie Survival Guide.” He laughed again, and I’ll be damned if my eyes didn’t jump right back to his mouth.
What the hell was with my subconscious’s sudden obsession with those two perfectly plump lips?
As if he’d read my mind, his tongue darted out, moistening them and magically drawing the slightest moan from me. Embarrassed, I glanced up to find that his eyes were sparkling with humor. Perfect!
No, really. It. Was. Perfect.
He was flirting. And it made my goal of seducing him that much easier.
Suddenly, Quarry stomped back into the room, interrupting o
ur connection. “Well, that went over like a warm bag of shit.”
Flint stared at me for a second longer before dragging his gaze over to his brother. I, however, wasn’t quite ready for the moment to be over yet, so as he began talking to Quarry, I continued to watch Flint.
“Was he pissed?” Flint asked.
“First, he was relieved. Then he was mad, and then . . . he handed the phone to Eliza.” Quarry stopped and blew out a loud breath. “She was pissed.”
I should have looked away.
If I could go back in time, that might be the exact moment I’d go back to, and in that alternate universe, I would have immediately looked away.
At the mere mention of Eliza’s name, I was forced to witness something utterly painful. I watched the gorgeous man I’d just been flirting with shut down. He didn’t say anything or even flinch. But as if he had been hit by a massive wave of destruction, he disappeared right in front of my eyes.
His mask and attitude snapped firmly into place. “Well, good. You deserved it.”
I wasn’t a fan of this version of Flint, but I was determined to lure the other him back out.
I had to.
“Okay, Q’s a jerk. Moving on. Since we’re here, you wanna watch a movie?”
“No,” he answered. “I want you guys to leave so I can go to bed.”
Okay, so maybe luring him back was going to be a little more difficult than I had originally thought. But I was up for the challenge.
“Oh, so I had a dream that it’s going to storm tonight. You wanna go outside and watch the clouds roll in? We can even make a bet on who feels the first raindrop. It probably won’t be you since you wouldn’t be able to feel it on your legs and half your face is covered with hair. Ya know, less surface area and all. So I’m going to put my money on Q.”
Both Quarry and Flint turned to look at me as if I had suggested sitting at the base of a volcano.
“What?”
“Right. You had a dream or you watched the weather this morning?” Flint snapped.
“I had a dream, thank you very much,” I sniped back, lifting my eyebrows to pointedly note his attitude.
“The rain better hold out for a while longer. We have over a hundred dollars’ worth of spray paint in the car,” Quarry said as he pushed the table out of the way so he could flop down on the couch.
“Spray paint?” Flint questioned, swinging his gaze between us.
Quarry propped his feet up on the table. “Tell him, Ash.”
I was going to kill that kid. A long, torturous death where I squeezed lemons into his eyes and made him recite poetry. I shot him an angry glare he seemed immune to. Then I made a mental note to talk to him about getting one of those force fields it seemed I would need if I was going to pursue Flint.
And I was absolutely going to pursue Flint Page.
I’d made that decision about two point one seconds after he’d dived out of his van in an attempt to protect me.
Me.
A girl he barely knew, yet a girl he was willing to do anything for to ensure my safety.
He could be broody all he wanted, but I knew deep down that an amazing man existed.
I smiled tightly. “We . . . um. We were just gonna go tag a few buildings.”
Flint narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. I recognized that look. He was about to shift to full-fledged asshole.
“Quick! Take cover, Q. Incoming!” I yelled, diving behind the chair.
The room filled with laughter, but judging by the lack of my moan, none of it was Flint’s. I peeked around the chair to find him sitting as stoically as ever.
“Oh, come on, Wheels. That was funny.” I stood back up and walked toward him.
He cracked his neck, and the muscles in his jaw twitched. “Stop calling me Wheels.”
“Maybe Legs, then? It doesn’t really fit, but I like the paradox.”
His eyebrows almost hit his hairline. “Paradox?”
“Yeah, it means contradictory to what—”
“I know what it means. I just didn’t figure you did.”
“Wow. Judgy McJudgerson strikes again,” I deadpanned.
“I didn’t mean . . .” he started only to stop and huff.
“Right. Well, anyway. Yes, I’m taking your brother out to tag a few buildings, but before you get all preachy on me, they are being torn down next week. No harm, no foul.”
“No harm until you get arrested,” he bit back.
“Oh please. No one cares about those buildings. Besides, Max and Donna said they’d pull lookout in exchange for some burgers. Don’t you worry about a thing. I have it all planned out up here.” I pointed to my head. “If you’re worried, you could always come with us.” I bounced on my toes and waggled my eyebrows. “You know, just to make sure we stay out of trouble. I mean, I totally understand that you’re allergic to fun. But you could always pop an antihistamine or something.” I tossed him a smile, which went unreturned.
When he didn’t offer any kind of retort, I did what I did best: I kept talking.
“Also, I would like to formally retract my earlier statement. You can keep the beard.”
His dim eyes perked the slightest bit, and a tingle traveled over my skin.
There he was.
“How generous of you.”
“It really gives you a certain worldly, terrorist feel.”
“Perfect. That is exactly what I was going for.” He smirked.
Sarcasm wasn’t what I wanted, but it was a step in the right direction.
“I now believe it’s actually the bad attitude holding down your hotness. I think if you just stepped up your happy factor a smidge, you could really be a ten.” I was trying so hard not to laugh, but a small giggle escaped before I could catch it.
His lips finally lifted at the corners, sending excitement thrumming through my body. I was winning the war he didn’t even know we were fighting.
Victory was within my reach.
And he was my prize.
“Yeah? How much is a smidge, exactly?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m not an expert or anything. Maybe like . . .” I paused, tapping my chin. “Maybe just increase it by say . . . ninety-nine percent or so?” I finished as seriously as I could.
“Really? Ninety-nine percent?” He busted out laughing.
I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath as if I could physically absorb the sound. I didn’t need the extra laughs; I produced more than enough of my own.
But that one was his.
I wanted to keep it forever.
“I think you have problems,” he teased when he sobered.
I absolutely did. And the newest one of them was sitting directly in front of me.
It was no coincidence that I was standing in his apartment. Sure, Quarry thought it was his idea, but I’d planted that seed days earlier. It had started out with subtle questions here and there about where Flint had disappeared to, but by that morning, I had talked Q into a full-blown conspiracy theory in which Flint was lying about his injuries in order to collect disability checks from the government. Sweet, naïve Quarry had fallen right into my trap. He’d no longer been able to resist knowing the truth about where his brother was really hiding out. It had taken a few days longer than I would have liked, but I’d patiently sat back and let Quarry lead me to Flint.
“Come on, Flint. Go with us. Just think about it. We can paint all of our troubles on that building then watch ’em knock it down.” I crossed my arms over my chest, pushing my breasts up.
And like a moth to a flame, his eyes dropped.
Flint raked his eyes over my breasts and slowly up to my eyes. I gathered my long hair and twisted it, pulling it over my shoulder. Holding it with the ends just above my nipple, I led Flint’s eyes right back down to my chest.
“Ash, if you think he is going to graffiti a building, you have lost your fucking mind. He once turned himself in to the principal at school for accidentally making a pencil mark on
the desk,” Quarry said, falling into hysterics at his own joke.
But I was focused on the guy in front of me, who seemed just as interested in my boobs as I was in him.
“You have to come,” I whispered, and his lips twitched. “It can be your newsie for the day. And I’ll even let you have first pick of the paint colors,” I added.
“Seriously, give it up. He’s not coming.”
Oh, he was coming.
I innocently batted my eyelashes as I pressed my bottom lip out in a pout.
“You’re ridiculous,” Flint said, shaking his head.
My shoulders fell as I feigned defeat, but I was nowhere near done.
His eyes flashed wide as I took a step forward and leaned down. Stopping just a breath away from his mouth, I raked my teeth over my bottom lip before I whispered, “Please come.”
“Ho. Lee. Shit,” Quarry gasped behind us. “You told me you were a lesbian.”
“Nope. Just didn’t want you getting any ideas,” I answered without tearing my eyes off Flint.
The side of Flint’s mouth tipped up in a mischievous grin, and his eyes twinkled with something else completely. Leaning in even closer, he said, “Fine. I’ll come.”
Game over!
A huge smile spread on my face, and I started to back away, but Flint caught the back of my neck, dragging me forward.
“And eventually, Ash, you’ll come too.”
My breath hitched.
I was wrong. I might have conned Flint into hanging out with me, but as he backed away, holding my gaze with a sexy-as-hell smirk, I realized that Flint Page had just completely hijacked my victory.
Cheater.
THE DRY SPELL WAS OVER.
Thank.
Fucking.
Christ.
I had no idea what the hell Ash Mabie wanted or, better yet, why she wanted it from someone like me, but I knew with one hundred percent certainty that I was going to give it to her.
She was hands down the strangest woman I had ever met. The jury was still out on her sanity, and her social awareness might as well have been nonexistent. She simply said whatever-the-hell thought was passing through her brain at the moment her mouth opened.
But God, she was gorgeous.
She was terrible at flirting, and she’d more than proved that back at my apartment. But then again, that might have been the best part. Even as she licked her lips and awkwardly thrust her boobs at me, she was unbelievably confident. Watching her try to get me to go out that night had been as humorous as it’d been cock hardening. She was a woman with a clear mission and didn’t give one fuck what she had to do to complete it.
