Perfectly Toxic (Sterling Shore 9)

When all else fails, go with humor. Chicks dig funny guys, right? I’m not really all that funny.

After a few minutes, I expect her not to respond. But she finally does, and I read with an arched brow.

BELLA: A pig in mud.

There’s weirdly a photo under it of a pig in mud. What the—oh. Something dirty. Fucking hilarious, I think dryly.

ME: Cute. Now send me the real thing.

BELLA: Go duck yourself.

That one has me smirking. Girl has some autocorrect issues.

BELLA: FUCK. Go FUCK yours

elf!

ME: Tempting… But I’d rather fuck you. What time am I picking you up?

BELLA: I should have sent you to the psych ward.

My lips twitch, and I lean back, ready for some more. This is actually pretty fun.

ME: Chinese? Pizza? Delivery or takeout?

BELLA: Fine. I’ll grab dinner with you.

I sit up, a little wary. Hell, that was almost too easy—

BELLA: We’ll swim by the police station on the way to the restaurant.

BELLA: SWING by. Not swim. Stupid ducking phone.

It takes me a second to realize I’m laughing, then I shake my head.

ME: You’re less intimidating with typos, just so you know.

BELLA: You’re a total creeper, just so you know.

My phone rings in my hand, pausing the sparring match when I see Tag’s name flash across the screen. Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Yeah, I’m on my way” I answer, standing up and stretching before grabbing my keys.

How’d I forget all about him inviting me over? It’s the first time I’ll get to hang with the group as a whole since I’ve been back.

“You should have been on your way over an hour ago,” he grumbles.

“Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Just getting used to not having an assistant to remind me what to do for the day.”

“Not a good excuse,” he points out as I lock my door and head to my car, hurrying my pace.

“On my way,” I tell him before hanging up and getting in my car.

Smirking, I rev my new baby and drive like hell. Having a vehicle wasn’t feasible in Chicago, since I never had time to actually drive a vehicle. I lived right beside my company, and I pretty much lived there instead of my actual apartment.

Here, I had a BMW that I drove when I was visiting. Although I still have that one parked in the garage of the home I bought over two years ago, I also made a new purchase the second I landed back in my hometown.

It doesn’t take long before I’m arriving at his beast of a home. I don’t know how his son doesn’t get lost in this damn thing.