Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts 1)

The flight to LA was good. As we walked through the airport at the other end, I was careful to keep her close and check for danger. The thought of not having a far guard was a little worrying, but I didn’t doubt my ability to protect her. Also, it would help that no one knew she was here with me, apart from her parents and a few guards. As far as everyone else was concerned, she’d dropped off the face of the earth; even the name she travelled under today was fake.

As we made our way over to the car rentals desk, Anna was grinning like crazy. “Hi, we have a car reservation under the name of Taylor,” she informed the attendant.

His face lit up. “Ah, yes! Very unusual request for a rental. It’s right outside in bay two. Here, I’ll get the keys.” He turned and fished through the cupboard.

Once he’d found what he was looking for, he slid a form across the counter to me. I looked it over, noticing there were no details other than ‘special request’ written across the top. I signed it wearily, and he led us back through the depot. Anna was practically skipping at my side. I frowned, wondering why she looked so excited.

As we walked out of the door, I burst out laughing when I saw what she’d done. She’d rented me a brand spanking new yellow Camaro, an exact replica of the one from the Transformers movie. That was something else I had said to her when we’d joked around about buying a car for us to use at school. The car was beautiful, and my hands were itching to run across the top and feel the shiny paintwork.

“Seriously? You rented this for the weekend? Damn, these are expensive!” I laughed, shaking my head at her thoughtfulness.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t turn into a giant robot though. I tried my best…” she shook her head, faking sadness.

I pulled her into a hug. “You are too funny. This is incredible. Honestly, I’ve never met anyone as thoughtful as you. Thank you,” I gushed, holding her tightly against me.

She hugged me back. “You’re welcome. No speeding though,” she replied, giggling.

I grinned and popped the trunk, putting our suitcase inside. When I went to pick up the other one containing the ‘girlie stuff’, she pulled it away and lifted it herself, carefully setting it next to the one we were sharing. “That one’s mine, so hands off, okay?” she instructed, playfully tapping her finger on my nose.

“What the hell is in there?”

“None of your business,” she replied, grinning wildly.

I frowned but decided to let it go. “Let’s get to my place then, and we can order some food.”

She rolled her eyes. “You ate two hours ago.”

Pulling open her door for her, I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a growing boy.”

She chuckled, and I pushed her door closed before practically skipping around to the driver’s side.

As I drove down the familiar streets, worry started to settle into the pit of my stomach. My place wasn’t exactly a palace, and Anna was used to living in luxury, I definitely should have booked a hotel or something for the weekend. “Um, Anna, my place isn’t exactly what you’re used to. It’s not really what you’d call a nice place,” I said, grimacing.

“You think I care where you live?” she frowned, looking a little hurt because I was kind of implying that she was shallow.

I shook my head quickly. I didn’t think of her like that at all. “No, I know you don’t. It’s just a little embarrassing, that’s all. I mean, it’s okay, but it’s nothing like our place,” I explained, shrugging and pulling into an empty space in the parking lot outside my apartment block. I winced as I looked around at the other cars; this car was going to stick out like a sore thumb. “This car is insured, right?”

She laughed at me. “Yeah, Pretty Boy, don’t worry.”

I sighed as I climbed out; waving her out of the car after checking it was safe. When I popped the trunk, she was too preoccupied with looking around and smiling to notice me get her case out of the trunk too. My hand closed over hers, pulling her close to my back as I led her across the parking lot and towards the rickety, old elevator in the lobby of my apartment building.

When we got to the third floor, I guided her along and stopped outside the door to my place. I held my breath as I pushed the key into the lock, silently praying that Nate had tidied up a little. Once the door was open, she stepped in first, and I followed behind, barely able to breathe. Nate was a total slob and liked to live in his own filth. For the last few years that we’d shared a place, I’d been the one to tidy up. The images I had in my head of what we were going to walk in on were horrifying. But, much to my surprise, it actually didn’t look too bad.

As I stepped into the lounge, I felt my body relax. There were no dirty dishes or clothes anywhere, and no slutty magazines on the table; he even looked like he’d run the vacuum around. It wasn’t too bad at all for a bachelor pad; I was actually quite impressed with him.

Anna smiled as she looked around. “I thought you said it wasn’t a nice place, this is great.” She went straight over to the photos on the wall and started looking through them. “Are these your friends?” she asked, motioning to one of me and my boys at the races last year.

“Yeah. That one’s Nate,” I confirmed, pointing out my best friend.

She whistled appreciatively. “Right, I can see why he gets the girls.”

My heart stopped. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of her liking Nate. He was a good-looking guy and all the girls fell at his feet. I felt sick, jealousy coursing through me. What the hell would I do if she liked my best friend?