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No. My vagina was pulsing, and I still had to work. The rest of the day.
“Fine,” I told him truthfully. “Other than being tired. And wondering how I got six days behind when I was only gone a day, I’m actually better than fine.”
He tilted his head sideways, and my eyes automatically went to those perfect lips again.
They were so distracting, in fact, that I focused on their movement instead of what was coming out of them.
“Baby?” Cassius smiled, revealing a row of straight, white teeth. “Are you listening to a thing I’m saying?”
No, no, I was not.
“Yes,” I lied. “Why?”
“Because I just asked you if you wanted to go on a date, and you have been looking at my lips for the last five minutes,” came Cassius’s reply.
Bullshit.
It was two, tops.
“No,” I answered him, feeling funny. “I don’t want to go out on a date with you.”
In fact, I’d rather go out of my way to stay away from you.
His lips quirked up at that. “Is that right?”
“That’s right,” I confirmed.
He smiled that shit-eating grin that had me thinking things that I shouldn’t be thinking about. Walls that I thought were tall, also weren’t quite tall enough.
I needed to build them up, taller and stronger, until his smile had no way of breaking down my defenses.
“We’ll see about that when I get back,” he said as he walked the length of his boat. “See you soon, baby.”
Baby.
Why did him saying that make my tummy feel all weird?
And why did the anticipation of possibly seeing him ‘soon’ fill me with so much excitement it almost had me bouncing on my toes?
“Bye,” I grumbled, glaring at him.
He was laughing as he pulled away.
I watched him until the only thing I could see was a speck on the horizon where I knew him to be.
“You need to stay away from him,” Coran growled.
Growled.
At me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, stepping away to once again put some distance between me and him. “But I’d really appreciate it if you butt out of my personal business. If it happens again, I’ll be sending my dad a message to let him know that you can’t follow directions, and he might need to let you go.”
Coran didn’t like hearing that. “Yes, ma’am.”
Then he was once again leaving.
This time, I hoped, for good.
CHAPTER 9
I’m hot, but I’m also not a full-time hot person. I’m hot when I want to be. I choose my own hours. I make my own schedule. I do freelance hotness.
-Alice to Cassius
ALICE
The last customer was out the door, and I was finally able to lock up.
It was well past ten in the evening, and I was so ready to fall into bed that I could practically feel the sheets against my skin.
Today had been long, drawn out, and exhausting.
“Sure would be really nice if my sister could figure out how not to be so stupid,” I muttered to myself.
I stomped up the steps, kicked my brother’s door on the way past, and headed to my own place.
The apartment door closed behind me with a slam, and I had just enough energy to lock it, head to the kitchen, and sit down at the counter.
Luckily, I’d left the Fruit Loops out, meaning I didn’t have to starve. Because I wouldn’t be moving for a solid eight hours if I could help it.
I dumped a generous portion of the cereal out on the counter and absently started to separate the colors into separate piles.
“Do you think I’m weird, Cassius?”
Though he wasn’t here, I honestly wondered if he’d think I was a weirdo. I couldn’t be the only person that liked to separate my colors out of my meals before I ate them. Green was always first. Because green generally meant ‘good’ and ‘good’ didn’t always taste that way.
Red and orange were next, followed by yellow and blue.
When there was nothing left on the counter but fruit loop dust, I swept it onto the floor. Then shuffled to my bed, where I collapsed face first.
I was out within seconds.
Sadly, I woke up what felt like a minute and a half later to my cell phone shrilly ringing next to my face.
I blindly reached for it and answered it before I could think.
“Darlin’,” Dad said. “You awake?”
I squinted at the clock and noticed that I’d gotten a whole lot more sleep than I’d realized. “Barely.”
“Can you go fuel up the sheriff’s department boat?”
Dad’s words caused a moan to leave my throat. “Really?”
Or more like a whine and not a moan.
“Really,” he said, sounding forlorn. “I’m so sorry.”
I groaned and pushed myself up to my knees, then crawled off the bed. “I’ll be down in an hour.”
“Alice.” He chuckled. “They’re already there.”
Of course they were. Because why else would Dad be so urgent?
I sighed. “All right, all right. You so owe me for this.”
