Narrowly managing to catch it before it hits the floor, he half chokes on a follow-up: “Also, I was in chess club.”
“Nerd!” I declare, pointing.
Ears burning, he says, “Y-yes. Well. I did say I was often assailed for my particularly unremarkable activities and character.”
I snort, taking the hat to redress the mannequin. “What a bunch of idiots.”
“Idiots?” he echoes, offering me the white sundress as he strips the mannequin of its hat once more.
I resign to accept the proffered garment. “Sure. I’ve gotten to know you for two days, and I can already confirm that I’d be bored by now if you were anything particularlyunremarkable. I’ll admit, I thought you were dull for a moment, but I’m pretty sure that’s just because I was offended nothing caught on fire your first night with me.” Lifting the hanger, I turn toward a dressing room. “If I like it, I’ll pick up a few extra shifts at Bear’s and pay you back with my tips.”
A beat passes, and I assume he’s headed to retrieve his clothes from the other dressing room until a tickling sensation of fingers runs by my hair, stopping me in place. Breath grazes the nape of my neck. “I’d prefer you pay me back with your blood, sweet saint. Whatever it does to me, my body is ready to become a vessel for you.”
Blood rushes to my face, and he kisses the blotting on my cheekbone as he lets my hair fall back against my neck.
When I dare to look at him, his smile etches itself in my brain. Violent red paints his skin. Hopeful, enamored blue eyes contrast the wild shade. Shamelessly, he drops the hat on my head again. “I like this. It suits you.” Warm, he steps back. “I’ll get you both if you like them together, okay?”
I bunch the fabric of the Ralph Lauren dress in my hands. “O…kay.”
Silent, he turns, and I watch him stride back to the other dressing room.
It…doesn’t make sense.
He’s genuinely considerate, cautious, and clear. The man might be the most sincere person I’ve ever encountered. And I’d never suspect someone like that to fall in love so swiftly or commit so deeply to this kind of insanity.
There has to be more to this story than I can see.
I can practically taste it.
There’s a mystery here.
And I need to watch it unravel in my hands.
Chapter 10
?
Be who you want me to be.
Alister
I can already confirm that I’d be bored by now if you were anything particularlyunremarkable.
In all my life, I’ve never been considered interesting. Never once. I was, as the woman seated across from me said, anerd. But even with that moniker thrust upon me so often, I was too boring to bother teasing. Or perhaps I was too oblivious to realize I was being picked on until after my bullies gave up. I’ve always been on the larger side, after all. And even as anerd, being taller and broader than my foes probably meant they weren’t going to push it if I wasn’t reacting how they expected me to outright.
My entire childhood, I had niche, mundane hobbies, and I wasn’t exactly social, so I didn’t much talk about them even with the other “nerds.”
Not to mention that my “hobbies” revolved around career success, psychology, and neurotic organization—of numbers, people, and concepts. It’s unlikely that the kids my age could have grasped any of the nonsense in my skull untilmy ageno longer described kids at all.
By the time I was in middle school, I’d outlined my plan for Mont Business. In high school, I studied the popular groups feverishly. I didn’t want tobethem; I wanted to emulate their charisma at a far more productive scale than something as fruitless as high school. I read through psychology book afterpsychology book. I compiled all my data into spreadsheets that I studied and practiced well into college.
The summer after I graduated with an Associate in business, I used what I’d learned to build my connections and credibility.
It felt like I’d cracked thepeoplecode, boiled it all down, and created an equation for success. Young as I was, I knew the pain points ofsale, and I used that to sell my services with optimal levels of success.
Now, Mont Business is a little less than an empire. I’ve turned coaching and outsourcing management into a science that I teach to others for considerable amounts of money.
In a lot of ways, I know everything I’ve done isn’tunremarkableat all, but I’ve never thought of my capabilities and my character as a united force before.
