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Repositioning myself onto my side I punched at my pillow to fluff it and stared at the window where light filtered in from a street lamp down the block.
When all the moans and cries finally died down, I muttered, “Thank God,” and I forced my eyes shut.
But it still took me forever to fall asleep. I was too busy thinking about dark brown eyes and deeply pitted dimples.
I wasn’t sure what to do about Oaklynn Vargas, though. If she could really help me with Thalia’s unsolved murder, then I definitely needed to have another conversation with her. Yet I had no idea how to approach her again without keeping my damn attraction at bay. I’m surprised I hadn’t sprouted wood out the front of my jogging shorts last week when I’d met her. And that just wouldn’t do in the middle of talking about dead sisters.
So until I figured out how to remain cool-headed in her company, I needed to stay away.
5
OAKLYNN
Iwoke to the sound of fighting.
My roommate was definitely watching some kind of combat movie.
“Ugh…” I groaned and flopped onto my back, wishing I could go back to bed because I’d stayed up late editing whatIconsidered to be the best article I’d ever written, but someone was really getting into it down there.
“Okay, alright,” I murmured, shoving the blankets down to my lap. “I’m up.”
Rolling out of bed, I grabbed a pair of pajama pants I had draped over the foot of the mattress and slid them on over my panties. Then, I rearranged my boobs inside the cami top I’d slept in, ran my fingers through my hair a couple of times, and grabbed my phone before starting downstairs.
My roommate was on one end of the couch, curled up under a blanket and avidly watching—
I stopped dead and blinked before pointing. “Is that—?”
“Yes. My brother and I watched this the night it released.” Thalia flashed me a wicked grin. “Don’t tell him, but I snuck us into the theater without paying. He’d been dying to see it, though, so I made sure he did. I even nabbed us some popcorn from some loser in front of us who left his tub sitting there unattended when he went to the bathroom.”
My eyebrows arched at her story, but I held up a finger. “Speaking of your brother… I met him.”
“Did you?” A fond smile lit her face. “Isn’t he just the cutest?”
“Er…sure.” I mean, who wasIto tell her that her hunk of a brother had probably bypassedcuteten years ago? “But you kind of misled me about thelittlepart.”
Casting me an incredulous glance, Thalia gaped a moment before narrowing her eyes and hissing, “Did you just fat shamemybrother?”
“What?No!” Good God, a person would have to have impossible standards to do that. I probably had twice the body fat that Damien Archer did, anyway, if not more. “Not even,” I added, still shaking my head in confusion.
“So I meantyoungerwhen I said that,” Thalia muttered, still seemingly irritated with me as she returned her attention to the television. “Whatever.”
“Yeah…” I answered slowly, feeling as if I was on eggshells all of a sudden. “I figured. But, uh… You never mentioned thathewas actually the one trying to rent this place out and that you hadn’t even been around for quite some time.”
“Well...” She shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Now you know.”
“O…kay,” I said.
Remembering how intent and seeking Damien had looked when he’d asked about his sister, I continued to push the issue. It felt important somehow. “Were you aware that he didn’t know how to reach you in that time you were gone? And that he’d really like to talk to younow?”
“Shh…” Thalia lifted a hand, blocking me as she kept her gaze glued to the television while a big green guy on the screen grabbed the man in the cape and started flipping him around, pounding him against the floor.
After he delivered an epic one-liner and strolled off, Thalia released a breath. “God…I see why that was Damien’s favorite scene ever. It really is legendary.”
“You know, maybe instead of remembering fond times, you could justcallhim,” I suggested as I started past her, leaving the base of the stairs and crossing between her and the television to enter the kitchen.
Thalia sighed impatiently and sent me a hostile glance. “I’ll see him when I see him. Gah, what is your problem?”
“Wow. Sorry.” I lifted my hands in surrender. “He just seemed super surprised that you were back and acted as if he’d love to reconnect with you, that’s all. But I’m butting out now. Don’t worry.”
