“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I’m just…tired.” I was more than tired, I was premenstrual and stressed the hell out with the assignment I should have been doing but had put off for the third night in a row. Apparently, painting my toenails was way more important.
I lightly touched my nails, making sure the first coat was dry and then started on the second. I was just starting on my second foot when the front door opened again, but I knew it wasn’t Quinn this time. My body was starting to have a sixth sense when Brody turned up, alerting me to his presence before I could set eyes on him.
“Jesus,” his rough voice said. “What the hell has Hut been doing now?”
Goose bumps spread over my body from his voice alone, and it took every bit of concentration I had to paint within the lines of my nails and not the skin on either side.
“It’s Lola. She’s making art on her feet.”
“Making what?”
He was even closer now, and I only had two nails left. All I had to do was concentrate and not get distracted by his voice, or his legs that had come into my line of sight, or the aftershave that was whipping around us, enveloping me.
“I’m painting my toenails,” I said, my voice lower than it had been when I’d said the same thing to Ford and Quinn. One last stroke of the brush and I was finished. All that was left was a final top coat of clear polish, and they’d be chip-free for at least four days—I hoped.
I stretched my legs out, the bottoms of my leggings only coming to mid-calf, and wiggled my toes. A hand reached down, grasping both of my ankles and a fire I’d never felt before ignited inside me. Brody was touching me, his fingertips skimming across my ankle bone as he lifted my legs and sat in the seat.
I expected him to let go so I tried to move them, but he held on tighter, placing them in his lap as he said something to Ford. I couldn’t comprehend any words he was saying. All I could do was stare at his long fingers that gripped my ankle. His thumb rubbed back and forth, making me want to squirm in my seat, but I kept deathly still.
What the hell was going on? And why hadn’t Ford said anything?
Brody pushed his chair forward, scooting down a little in the seat, and readjusted my feet on his lap. I wasn’t sure I could even pull in a full breath at this stage. My legs were now covered by the table, and his hand ventured a little farther up, stopping just before my knee and working its way back down.
My gaze shot up to his face, but he was staring intently at Ford as Ford told him about a meet that was about to go down. I needed Brody to look at me, I needed to see his eyes to know what the hell was going on, because I had no idea—none in the slightest.
“Hut said he’d meet us there with Ted and Jace.”
“Good,” Brody answered, his rough fingertips once again grazing my soft skin. “I’m fuckin' starving, though.”
“Quinn is getting us takeout, but you missed out,” Ford said, reaching for the nail polish and unscrewing the top as Brody shrugged, not bothered that he wouldn’t get any food. He lifted it up, sniffed it, and screwed up his nose. “This stuff could ignite a fire. Fuck me.”
“Not used to girly shit, Ford?” Brody asked, leaning forward and gripping my ankle tighter. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, and he had no intention of stopping.
“Yeah, my cousin—” He cut himself off as Quinn barged back into the house, a box of takeout in his arms, and only then did Brody glance at me. I didn’t know what I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t the wink that he flashed me.
We were skating on thin ice, but I couldn’t bring myself to care if it fractured and we both plunged into the freezing cold water.
Chapter Ten
LOLA
My brain was working overtime, the cells begging for a break from studying, but I couldn’t afford to give it one. I’d been locked away in my room since I got home last night at 10 p.m., and hadn’t ventured out.
My assignment was due in two days, and I wasn’t even a quarter of the way through it. I knew I needed sleep to be able to focus more, but it just wasn’t an option right now.
I’d let my schoolwork slip a little over the last couple of weeks, my mind not really in it fully. I even had to cancel my tutor session for tomorrow just so that I could make the deadline. But it’d be worth it. If I could get a top grade on this paper, then I’d be in the front running for the grant, which meant I could be out of this house and away from everything that consumed it even sooner.
I’d heard Hut come home around an hour ago and leave not long after. It may have been four in the morning, but that was the perfect time for him to conduct business. The darkness gave him protection that he took for granted, but that was his downfall. He didn’t realize it didn’t protect him from everything, but then it hadn’t mattered in the past because nothing ever stuck to him. Hut was good at what he did, but he was better at showing everyone the mask he liked to attach and becoming their best friend. It made people trust him, and most importantly, meant no one crossed him.
I flopped back on my bed and groaned. Every possible thought I could have had entered my brain: Hut; wondering where my dad was; guilt for canceling Cade’s tutor session. And then there was Brody. Why the hell could I not stop thinking about him? It wasn’t like we’d spent days upon days getting to know each other and declaring our love. We’d had snapshots of moments, but sometimes that was all that was needed to ebb the spark into a roaring fire.
I pushed up off my bed and yanked my door open. If my brain were intent on taking a break, then we’d take one, but only if it sorted itself out so I could go back to my work and get it finished. Everything balanced on the edge of this assignment, and I wouldn’t let myself down.
The stairs creaked as I walked down them, the entire house empty and eerie. Some people hated being home alone, but I loved it. I liked it to be so silent that it was too loud for my ears. I lived for that shit.
I moved into the kitchen and slammed my hand on the coffee machine, the newest addition that Hut had installed, and waited for it to churn and make that squeaky-spitting noise. Once the steaming brew was poured, I grabbed it and sat at the table, blowing on the edge and sighing. Why was it that now I wasn’t surrounded in work, my thoughts quieted? Maybe my brain was trying to tell me something that I didn’t know?
Knocking echoed on the front door, and a second later it whooshed open. A huge figure stepped inside, his hair dripping wet and clothes stuck to his body.