Face palm.
Jett rubs his hand across his mouth, probably to hide a smile. “So, you lost a shirt?”
“Not on purpose.”
“Of course not. No one ever loses anything on purpose.”
“That’s not true. Alexis, my sister, used to lose her homework all the time on purpose.”
“Alexis?” He pauses. “Alexis Baker is your sister?”
“My twin actually. Not identical, but that’s probably pretty obvious.” I pause, noticing how uncomfortable he’s gotten. “Do you know her?”
“Not really.” He scratches at his neck with a pucker at his brow. When he notices me observing him, though, he simply offers me a small smile. “I’m going to go check with Ridge and make sure everything’s okay. Holler if you need anything.” Then he darts away so swiftly you’d think I had cooties.
And I’m left wondering what happened between my sister and Jett.
Um Yeah, of Course I Can Dance
I take a longer shower than I normally do, partially to clear my head and partially because the warm water feels good on my aching muscles. I know Ridge said devil’s poison has no side effects but with how achy my body is, I have to question if I react differently to the drug.
After I’ve scrubbed down my body and washed my hair, I step out of the shower to get dressed. Strangely, a crisp black shirt that looks about my size is sitting on top of my shorts and underwear. Weird, since I didn’t hear anyone come in. The idea of one of the guys walking into the bathroom while I’m showering makes my stomach somersault, and not necessarily in a bad way.
As the cold air nips at my skin, I hurry and dry off, put the clothes on and then search the drawers until I find a brush. I also stumble across some cologne and spray myself a few times, since I don’t have any deodorant. Between using Benton’s body wash, shampoo, and cologne, I smell just like him.
“Hey.” Jett greets me with a smile as I walk out into the living room.
The air smells like a mixture of strawberry air freshener and skunk, a lot like Loki’s bedroom used to smell back in his high school days. But the air is smoke free, so I’m guessing Jett smoked a bit ago and then tried to mask the stench with a fruit scented air freshener.
When I enter, his gaze lazily scrolls up and down my body and a lopsided grin tugs at his lips. “I see you found the shirt I left you.”
“Yeah, I did.” I self-consciously tug at the hem of the shirt. “But how did you have a shirt that’s my size?”
“It’s actually Benton’s. He has a whole drawer full of them.” His gaze sweeps up and down me again and something indecipherable flashes in his eyes.
The look makes my tummy flutter.
I inch my way into the room. “Why does Benton have a whole drawer of tiny shirts?”
Jett chuckles. “Because the damn fool didn’t know how to use a washer and dryer properly and kept shrinking all his clothes. He went through like ten good shirts and pants before Wilder finally gave him a proper demonstration.”
I giggle. “How old was he when this happened?”
“It was actually about when he moved back to Honeyton. Right after his…” He trails off and hastily clears his throat. “But yeah, anyway, apparently, he’d never touched a washer and dryer before. His mom always washed his clothes for him.”
I’ve never heard the story of why Benton moved back to Honeyton or where his parents are. From what I understand, he’s lived in this apartment, alone, for a while.
I take a seat beside Jett and tuck my hands underneath my legs. “Can I ask you a question about Benton?”
Wariness crosses his expression. “Sure.”
“Can I ask… I mean, do you know why he moved back to Honeyton? And if his parents moved with him?”
“His parents didn’t move back with him.” He restlessly drums his fingers on top of his knee. “As for the why, you’ll have to talk to him about it. And I’d be careful when you do… Benton… He gets kind of uncomfortable talking about his past.”
“I won’t ask him then,” I say. “I don’t want to make him uncomfortable.”
“No, you should ask him,” he insists, fiddling with a lighter he picks up off the coffee table. “It’s good for you to get to know everyone, especially since you’re supposed to be all of our girlfriends.”
“So, then, what’s your story?” I say bluntly then instantly want to retract my statement. “Never mind, that was way too blunt.”
“You need to quit being so polite.” He playfully tugs on a strand of my damp hair and then sighs heavily. “I can tell you my story, but it’s not very pretty.”
“Neither’s mine,” I tell him. “Or well, the last few years of it anyway.”
He offers me a sad smile. “Mine hasn’t really been since the start. But that’s okay. It’s decent now.” He rises to his feet and makes his way over to an iPod dock balanced on top of the flat screen. “Look, Zhara, I know I said you should get to know everyone, but I don’t think telling you my entire story all at once is a good idea.”
“Because it’s too personal?”
“No, because it’s too painful and I don’t want to make you sad.” With his back turned to me, he picks up the iPod and begins scrolling through songs. “But how about this. Every day that we hang out together, I’ll tell you one thing about me if you tell me one thing about you.”
I nod. “That sounds doable.”
“Good.” He still doesn’t turn around, seeming extremely fixated on the iPod. “So, here’s one thing about me. I grew up without a family.”
The crack that’s permanently been in my heart since the day my parents died, splits open even further. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
He holds up a hand. “It’s okay. No one died or anything. I just never had one.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, my mom gave me away when I was about three years old and I grew up in foster homes from then on.”
My heart aches even more. Yes, my parents are dead, but at least they took care of me until then. “Jett, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He finally turns around. His eyes look a bit red, and I’m uncertain if he’s tearing up or still stoned. “Everyone has their bad shit to deal with.”
“Yeah, I know.” I swallow hard. “My older brother’s been raising me since I turned fifteen.”
He gives me an empathetic look. “Yeah, I know.”
I wonder how he knows. If he heard the rumors around town or if maybe Alexis told him, since he seemed to know her. I want to ask him how he knows and why he seemed like he knew my sister, but a song clicks on.
“Okay, enough sad talk.” He sets the iPod down in the dock and faces me, rubbing his hands together. “So, I was instructed to give you some bad girl training lessons while everyone’s gone.”
“Wait, everyone left?” I ask, suddenly realizing how empty the apartment seems.
He nods, making his way toward me. “Benton, Xavier, and Jackson haven’t come back yet and Ridge and Wilder got called out on another job. They’re actually not that far away, so they shouldn’t be gone for too long. But I was instructed to keep an eye on you and give you some training.”
“You want to give me some bad girl training?” I ask skeptically, then glance at the clock. “At three o’clock in the morning?”
“Hey, the first rule of being a bad girl is that they don’t worry about how late it is.” He stops in front of me. “In fact, the later you stay up, the more bad you are.”
I have a feeling he’s teasing me, but find myself smiling.
“Well, if that’s the case, then I’m not very bad.”
“Oh, but we’re about to change that.”
“By doing what?”
He offers me his hand. “By teaching you to dance.”
I shoot him a doubtful look. “That’s your magical teaching lesson to making me a bad girl?”
“Yes,” he replies simply. “All bad girls need to know how to dance.”
/> “But I already know how to dance,” I point out.
Now he’s the one to give me a doubtful look. “Really?”
I nod. “I’m a cheerleader. Of course, I can dance.”
He considers this with an amused grin. “Maybe that’s true. But I don’t really think the kind of dancing I’m talking about is the kind of dancing cheerleaders do.”
“You mean, sexy dancing?” Warmth creeps across my cheeks and I mentally curse myself for blushing over something so ridiculous.
Jett smiles amusedly. “You know what. Wilder was right. You’re cute when you blush.”
It’s always cute. Cute, cute, cute. I guess it might be time to accept my cute fate. And hey, it could be worse. He could be calling me Pink Cheeks.
“But anyway,” I change the subject and Jett chuckles. “I know how to sexy dance.”
His brow quirks upward. “Really?”
“Yes really.” I square my shoulders. “Taylor taught me.”
“Taylor.” He pulls a face. “I forgot you were friends with her.”
“You don’t like her?” Weird, since most guys do. Well, except Ridge and Benton.
“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say dislike so much as loathe.” He offers me a semi-apologetic look. “Sorry, I know she’s your friend, but the girl does a lot of bitchy stuff to people who don’t deserve it.”
I frown, realizing the truth. “She wasn’t always that way. Up until a few years ago, she was really nice.”
“I’m not surprised.”