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A huge grin split his face, making him that much more handsome. Damn, but when he grinned like that, I became spellbound. It wasn’t fair. Guys shouldn’t look that good—ever.
“My mom will fucking love you,” he muttered, shaking his dark head. “My last name is Thornton.”
Oh shit.
My sharp inhale told him I’d put it together, and he only laughed. “Yeah, Jesse Thornton is my dad. Luca Thornton is my twin brother.”
“Luca means nothing to me. I’m not even sure why you would bring him up.” I touched my ribs where the verse of my favorite Demon’s Wings song was tattooed. Dear Lord, Lyric’s dad was the drummer of my all-time favorite band.
Fuck, I’d only had one shot of the Spirytus…right?
This couldn’t be real life. A girl like me didn’t hook up with the son of the richest drummer in the wo
rld. I had to be dreaming…or hallucinating.
“You must not follow football, then,” he said, not seeming in the least offended I didn’t know who his brother was. “Luca just went into the draft this spring. He was a first-round pick for Tennessee.”
“My brother would understand what you just said, but none of that makes the slightest bit of sense to me.” I wasn’t going to pretend to know what kind of draft his twin had been in or what team Tennessee was. I knew there were a few pro teams in California, but other than that, football was not a language I spoke.
His laugh vibrated through him and into me, making my chest swell at the sound. “I love that you don’t know who he is, or understand anything about football. Means I can teach you and you haven’t ever salivated over my bro like so many others have.”
“Well, I mean, I’ve been kind of drooling over you for a good thirty minutes now,” I told him with a teasing smirk. “You’re identical, so that kinda means I have been. No!” I squealed when he started tickling me. “Okay, I’m sorry,” I giggled, but I didn’t try to get away from him. “Please. I didn’t mean it.”
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he growled, lowering his head to touch his lips to the sensitive skin directly under my ear. “And that giggle. Fuck, I’ve never heard a prettier sound in my life.”
Gasping for breath that had nothing to do with laughing so hard, I turned my head and brushed my lips over his. It was just a quick touch of our mouths, but when I pulled back and licked my lips, all I could taste was him.
“Wh-what job did you land?” I stuttered, needing to put our minds on something other than how much we wanted each other. “You… You said you got your…erm, dream job?”
His tongue skimmed over his bottom lip, as if savoring my taste just as much as I had his. “I start working with Dustin Branch at Branch House of Ink on Monday.”
“You what?” I half screamed, so damn excited for him, I was practically bouncing on the bench seat.
No tattoo enthusiast in the country could say they didn’t know who Dustin Branch was. The man was a legend and didn’t hire just anyone. If Lyric had scored a job working under the genius artist, he must have some sick skills. “That is phenomenal, Lyric. I’m so proud of you. My dad owns the only ink shop in Creswell Springs, but he would give that up in the blink of an eye to work with Branch for a single weekend.”
“Is your dad hiring?” he asked, making me laugh so hard, I snorted.
“That’s hilarious.”
“Yeah, hilarious,” he muttered, not even cracking a smile for a moment before changing the subject. “You work at your pop’s place?”
“Sometimes. I run the front on the weekends or when things get really busy in the evening after school. I have no artistic skills. Those traits only passed to Maverick, who started apprenticing the second we turned eighteen a few weeks ago.”
“You’re freshly eighteen?” he asked with a raised brow.
“I’m legal,” I rushed to assure him. “Don’t think you’re with jailbait, okay?”
“Wouldn’t have mattered,” he said, but it was almost like he was talking to himself, he spoke so quietly. “I’m lost, and you’re still turning me in circles, my Mila.”
Chapter 5
Lyric
Stephen lived in the city, had grown up there, and probably would die there. But his apartment was small, and we were both bulky guys. I didn’t want to trip over him every time I turned around, so I was staying in a hotel until I found my own place. When I group-texted Mom and Aunt Emmie earlier to tell them I got the job, my aunt said she was already looking at apartments and would send me the details.
But I would worry about that later. Tonight, all my focus was on Mila.
With a buffet of room service spread around the sitting area of my hotel room, she was shamelessly eating everything in sight, and I fucking loved it. Most girls I shared a meal with would order a salad and pick at it, as if they were afraid of showing me they actually ate. It was annoying and boring.
