I tossed the pad of paper to the side and pushed myself off the floor, shooting him a reprimanding look. “I just wanted you to see how ridiculous this all is! From spiritual cleanses to spells—a sacrificial ritual in the light of the moon doesn’t seem so out there, does it? You know what I did read? That the universe can work in fucked up ways sometimes. Sorry, but maybe this is what happened to you.”
I groaned, spinning around to walk toward the door. Unable to ignore the clatter behind me, I glanced over my shoulder and found Asher tripping over his own feet as he tried to make his way over to me.
“Huh…guess he did lose his mojo,” I murmured with a shake of my head.
“Mallory, you can’t just leave,” he pleaded.
“I thought we were calling it quits for the night.” As if on cue, I broke out into a loud, un-ladylike yawn, stretching my arms into the air and balling my fists.
He sighed, glancing at the clock. “Will you at least go with me tomorrow to buy that spice stuff?”
A puff of air escaped my nose. “Yeah, sure. Why not? I’m already this invested into this.”
“What time?”
I rubbed at my forehead, cringing as I thought about my schedule for the next day. I had a few hours of rehearsal with Damien, which I was not looking forward to at all, not to mention a remedial Statistics class that I’d put off taking since freshman year. “I have to be at school until about five in the afternoon.”
The corners of his mouth turned down as he rubbed at the scruff on his chin. I could almost hear his fingernails scraping against the stiff facial hair. “Which school do you go to?”
“SDU.”
“SDU,” he murmured thoughtfully. “You’re a music major? Dance major?”
“How did you know?” I tilted my head with interest.
“You mentioned performing before. Kind of took a wild guess.”
“I did?” Initially bemused, my face immediately fell. “Why didn’t you guess theater?”
He frowned. “Are you a theater major?”
I stuck out my front teeth, kneading into my bottom lip. “No,” I admitted. “Music…er…I play the piano.”
“Didn’t think you were.”
“And why is that?” I asked, feeling suddenly irritated.
He lifted his hands as if shielding himself from whatever tirade may come. “No disrespect, seriously.”
“But?”
“But you didn’t come off as a theater major. Don’t get me wrong, you have a face and body that could be plastered all over those celebrity magazines.”
I felt my stomach flutter.
“But actors have that certain something that…well, it commands attention, and you seem to shut down whenever someone gives it to you.” He scanned the length of me. “So music, huh? Do you play in a studio or something? You don’t strike me as someone who likes being on stage.”
“I don’t,” I muttered.
“Play in the studio or like being on stage?”
“Both.” I threw my head back and sighed, turning around. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Mallory, I hope I didn’t offend you.” His tone was sincere and the look on his face genuine, but it didn’t make me feel any better. It was as if he hit all Damien’s critiques right on the head. Maybe they were all right. Maybe I really didn’t have what it takes to become the ultimate musician.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I repeated. My voice came out all gravelly.
“Mallory…”
“I’ll be free after five,” I reminded him as I gripped the door handle, flinging it open with more force than I had anticipated. I stomped my way through the tiny apartment, never looking back, and even ignoring Gerald and some green headed kid’s curious looks as I walked out the door.
Damien, Sarah, Asher…even Jinny and Claudia seemed to have that X-factor under wraps.
“Not you, Mallory. No, you’ll never be a performer.”
Chapter 13
Worst, most horrible day ever!
Once again I had to sit on the sidelines watching Damien lay it on thick as he sung Sarah’s praises. Seriously, those two had to be fucking. Where was the academic ethics committee when you needed them?
On top of that, my morning Statistics class snuck a pop quiz on the chapter I had forgotten to go over because I was busy trying to figure out how to counteract a jinx!
What the hell was my life coming to?
I skipped down the cement steps in front of the music building, barely paying attention to the annoying birds chirping loudly in the trees. It was mating season and those avian creatures probably had nothing better to do than get their freak on. Lucky ducks—no pun intended—they didn’t have to sit by wallowing in shame as someone else got to play Chopin Sonata #3 while they got stuck with lame child’s play.
As I walked by a couple practically swallowing each other’s heads whole, I came to realize that it was not only birds looking to bone. Guess all of SDU’s campus was itching to relieve some winter follies, which was ridiculous as San Diego didn’t even technically have a winter.
Feeling my cheeks burn at the prospect at being caught staring, I glanced away, feeling my stomach tie in envious knots. I was not unlike most people my age. I, too, wanted to wake up to that certain someone beside me, pushing my hair back as he gazed into my eyes with that good morning flair only true lovers had. Though I’d been in some relationships in the past, none of them ever worked out due to lack of time. Apparently, boyfriends needed attention, and all of the ones I’d ever had never understood why practice was so much more important to me than watching a dumb movie with them. Sorry that I’d rather trade in a bucket of sloppy popcorn for the delectable stylings of Beethoven.
It seemed that until further notice, piano would be the only lover in my life. Those ivory keys would be the only things I’d be caressing and the piano bench the only thing I’d be…er…sitting on.
I shook my head, feeling a shiver run down my spine. Despite my focus, I couldn't truthfully say that being single didn’t get lonely from time to time.
Lost in thought, I almost didn’t hear Asher calling for me. “Earth to Mallory! Hello!”
I skidded to a stop, almost causing a frantic freshman to topple over me. Luckily, he was able to spin around, saving us both a fall over the remaining cement steps. Ignoring the freshman’s string of curse words, I straightened myself and frowned. “Asher, what are you doing here?”
He shrugged as if sitting on the bottom step of the music building was nothing extraordinary. “You said you’d be free by five, so here I am.”
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, kicking at a pebble with my blinding white Keds. “How did you even know where to find me? I assumed we’d just meet up at your place again.”
“SDU? Music major? It doesn’t take a genius. Besides, it would take too long waiting for you back at Gerald’s place. Figured this was much faster.” Asher stood up, brushing off the butt of those faded blue jeans of his, which were quickly becoming my favorite piece of apparel. Just as he began to take a step toward me, Sarah, that bitch, wiggled in between us.
“Hi! You’re Asher, right?” her sugary sweet voice cooed. I stared incredulously at the raven-haired vixen as she twirled her hair around that long finger of hers. Like mine, her nails were clipped short as to not get in the way of playing. However, for some reason her hands seemed longer than my baby looking ones.
Asher shot me a frown, but I couldn’t do anything but shrug helplessly. “Yeah, that’s me. Um, do I know you?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she answered, eliciting a more confused look on his face. “But I saw you in a few movies and saw you compete in some battles.”
He flinched, his breath hitching. “Any recent battles?”
She shook her head. “No, they were a couple of years ago. My ex was a breakdancer and I attended a few competitions to cheer him on and stuff.” She snuck me a sly glance and smirked. “So you know…I know more about b-boyi
ng than the average girl.”
My eyebrow arched at the way she enunciated the word ex, practically screaming for Asher to take notice of her. Leave it to Sarah to try to wriggle in, taking what wasn’t hers. Not that he was mine or anything, but she didn’t know that.
I was still standing about three steps higher than the two of them when Asher looked up at me helplessly. Acting as if it were the first time she noticed me, Sarah took a few steps back, falling in line with him. Making sure her arm rubbed against his, she dropped her jaw in feigned innocence. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mallory! Did I interrupt something? Were you and Asher together?”
I narrowed my eyes, not at her implication, but more at the fact that she laced her statement with disbelief. “No…I mean yes…I mean…”
“Well, which is it?” she snapped, curling her lips together in an uneven smirk.
Asher rolled his eyes and stepped around her, reaching for my arm and yanking me down the remaining steps until my body crashed into his. Throwing his arm across my shoulders, he pulled me close to him. “She’s with me and we’re late.”
I had to consciously fight a swoon.
If only I had a chance to snap a picture of Sarah’s face. It would have appeased me for all the sleepless nights I spent practically sobbing over my sheet music. I beamed at her and wiggled my elvin fingers at her as we walked away. “See you in class on Wednesday.”
“Erm…yeah.” Her eyebrows pulled together as her gaze bounced between Asher and me. “See you.”
Asher tugged at me again so we were practically speed walking toward the parking lot. At the rate we were going we’d probably qualify for the next summer’s Olympics.
“Your friend seems nice,” Asher commented in amusement. He led me to a tiny black two-door, which was plastered with the oddest bumper stickers, including one of a naked woman’s silhouette.
“She’s not my friend.” I cringed, eyeing what I could only think of as vandalism. “Interesting car you have here.”
“It’s not mine,” he replied almost automatically. “It’s Mahone’s beater.”
“Mahone?”
“The kid with the slime colored hair you probably saw last night.” My mouth circled into an O as he nodded. “I’m always traveling, so there’s really no use for me to have a car anywhere. It’s usually Ubers or taxis for me.”
“Sounds about right.”
He shot me an odd look as we both climbed inside, buckling our seatbelts. I scrunched up my nose at the stench of pot and tobacco which drowned the interior. It hung heavy in the air between us.
“What’s the deal with you and the brunette back there?” he asked, interrupting our silence.
“What do you mean?” I really didn’t want to get into it with him. It was bad enough living the nightmare on an everyday basis. I didn’t want to rehash it.
“I don’t know. It’s just that the vibe you two both gave out was like two kids fighting over the last cookie in the jar or something.”
“Are you calling yourself the cookie?” I asked with a smirk.
“Do you want me to be?”
I gulped, running my hands up and down my thighs, a nervous tick of mine. Feeling Asher’s eyes on me, I glanced over and saw him slowly running his tongue over his lips, eyeing my every movement. The hunger on his face caused a not entirely unwelcome warmth to build up in my core. As his gaze traveled up and down my leg, I couldn’t help but imagine the way his hands would feel upon me again, caressing every inch of my body. The electricity between us crackled almost painfully, but before I could allow myself to delve further in that arena I cleared my throat, crossing my legs to apply pressure between my thighs. “So…where are we going?”
Blinking as if just woken up from a deep slumber, Asher shook his head. “There’s this all natural store toward Ocean Beach. They sell all that weird stuff you told me about.”
“Even virgin blood?” I teased.
“It’s not like we have any in this car,” he shot back.
“Touché.” Once again the vision of him thrusting into me entered my mind. Crap. Spring fever really had hit.
I became so consumed with my thoughts that I hadn't realized we'd been driving for a while. In a sort of time jump moment, Asher brought me back to reality when he announced, “Looks like we’re here. Come on, let’s get this over with.”
“All right…” My voice trailed off as I struggled to wake up from my daze.
Despite having a parking lot the size of Alaska, there were no free spaces anywhere near the store. Apparently, the store was a mecca for vegan and gluten-free lovers who seemed to come by the dozens. We pulled into what had to be the last spot in the lot and climbed out, preparing for what felt like a three mile trek to the store. I gazed up and scowled at the dark clouds looming above us. It’d figure the one time I decided to take a ‘hike’ would be the one day out of the year California would decide to open up its skies.
A shiver ran down my back, causing my body to tremble all the way to my fingertips. Asher glanced at me and frowned. “Cold?”
“No,” I lied. Frowning further, he began to unbutton his flannel shirt, leaving me to gawk at him. “What are you doing?”
I sighed with relief when I realized he had a white t-shirt underneath, which did nothing to mask the muscles that made up his core. In one swift movement, he placed the brown patterned shirt on my shoulders. “Here, this should keep you warm.”
The shirt practically swallowed me up, feeling like a gigantic fluffy blanket. “Um, thanks,” I murmured, pulling my arms through the large sleeves. A tremble ran up my spine as the soft material settled around me.
“Don’t mention it.” Just as I was beginning to bask in his sweetness, he ruined it by adding, “Don’t know why you girls insist on wearing such skimpy clothes. You’d get a guy’s attention even if you were just wearing a potato sack.”
I screeched to a halt. It took Asher a few more steps before realizing I wasn’t walking beside him. Glancing back at me, he spun around and jogged back over with an irritated look on his face.
“What the hell, Mallory? Time’s a wasting.”
“I do not wear skimpy clothes, and I especially couldn’t give a crap whether I get a guy’s attention or not.” To make a point, I yanked at my baggy concert tank top, a fifty dollar splurge from when one of my favorite bands came to town.
“So that shirt you wore to my house yesterday wasn’t skimpy? I could almost see your whole bra underneath!” he exclaimed.
“Why are you so angry? I can dress however I want. I don’t answer to you.” Though I was feeling increasingly irritated, I couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed that he even remembered what I was wearing the day before. Back in the day, none of my exes would have noticed if I chopped off my hair and colored it magenta.
Asher cracked his neck, finally allowing the tightness in his face to go slack. “Never mind. Sorry. I’m just really wound up right now.”
“I can see that.”
He swallowed, glancing at the warehouse-looking store in the distance. “Let’s just get this over with, okay?”
“Fine by me.” I picked up my feet as I mumbled, “You’re the one who dragged me here.”
As we dodged random shopping carts, baby strollers, and customers hauling stacks of reusable cloth bags, I couldn’t help but notice the tension between us. I didn’t know if it was just me imagining things or not, but there was definitely a charge there, which was stronger than the one we had the night we met at Club Mal. I wasn't entirely sure if it was sexual or something else.
Nah, he’s just getting to you.
Once we finally made it through the sliding double doors of the store, I got my first whiff of what smelled like aged cheese, pungent incense, and dragon fruit.
“Ugh, why does it smell like this?” I crinkled my nose, taking in the barrels of nuts, stacks of fruit, and jugs of freshly squeezed juice surrounding us. “There’s a lot of good stuff in here, so why does it smell like anus?”
>
Asher’s full lips twitched up in amusement. “Didn’t realize you were an expert in the smell of anuses.”
“Nope, just assholes.” I narrowed my eyes at him pointedly.
He snorted and reached for a metallic shopping basket that looked straight out of 1965. “Let’s just grab some stuff and leave. I’m not a fan of butts either.” He paused and shot me a sly grin. “Well, most butts anyway.”
Once again I felt my cheeks warm, which seemed like a common occurrence around Asher. Without thinking, I placed my fingers on his bare forearm, feeling my fingertips sear into his skin. I quickly yanked my hand back and smiled sheepishly. “Let’s go get your sage, yeah?”
Chapter 14
Asher
Do you know what the hardest thing about sleeping with a jinx is? Trying to convince yourself not to do it again.
I desperately wanted to partake in round two, only this time I’d fuck her so hard she wouldn’t want to leave me the next day.
Scratch that. I didn’t want to fuck her. I wanted to make love to her, slowly and passionately. I wanted to run my hands up and down her body, taking both of her breasts in my hands and then her nipples in my mouth. I wanted to squeeze and lick every inch of her until she cried out in pleasure. Then I’d take my time, paying close attention to each of erogenous zones as I rode her ’til morning, making her feel like the queen she was.
Too bad I couldn’t.
At the risk of ruining my b-boying career as a whole, I needed to put that temptation to the wayside…but it was hard.
It wasn’t just because she was beautiful—though she was undeniably striking—because pretty faces were a dime a dozen, especially in California. There was just something about her that was unlike any other girl I’d met. She was a paradox; a spitfire that didn’t hesitate to call me out on my bullshit, but was simultaneously unsure of herself; growing anxious at unwanted attention and questioning.
Breaking Hearts (B-boy #3) Page 7
