The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,92
“What about your social media accounts?”
I snort a laugh. “That’s the funniest joke you’ve told yet, Blondie.”
His lips part, and then he tilts his head to the side. “Did you just call me Blondie?”
Huh, I think I did. I guess I’m not opposed to nicknames.
“Yep. And I think it’s pretty fitting.” Grinning, I wink at him.
He narrows his eyes, but it’s a playful move. “Why do I get the feeling you’re secretly making fun of me?”
“How can it be a secret if I’m doing it right in front of you?” I bat my eyelashes innocently at him.
Instead of retorting, he smiles. “Aw, look. You did listen to what I said earlier.”
I’m beyond confused. “Huh?”
His grin widens. “When I told you that if you batted your eyelashes at someone, you could get whatever you want.”
I scrunch my nose, realizing he did say that to me. “That isn’t why I batted them. And I wasn’t even trying to get anything.”
He muses over what I said, resting his arms on the back of the seat. “You’re right, but still, I think you should get something out of it for looking so damn cute. So, what do you want? New shoes? A car? How about a unicorn? I think you mentioned something about that yesterday.”
I make a big show of rolling my eyes. “Yeah, Blondie, I did, yet I still don’t have one. Guess you’re not as badass as you thought.”
His smile is so bright I swear he’s about to throw up rainbows all over me. “Give me a few days, and I’ll make it happen.” He flashes me one final grin before turning around, opening the door, and hopping out of the car.
Zay climbs out, too, as Jax flips up the seat but pauses before he gets out. “Take the phone out of the box and bring it in with you. We’ll help you set it up while we’re taking care of this other shit.” Then he gets out without waiting for me to answer, as if expecting me to do what he says.
Part of me wants to leave the box on the seat, wants to keep my ass planted where I am, wants to put up a good protest; be badass, stubborn Raven. Because, while I’ve spent a lot of time being lonely, I’ve never wanted to be the sort of girl who just follows other people around. I was taught to be tougher than that. Like how my dad taught me how to throw a mean right hook, he also taught me how to be independent, to not rely on people, which has come in handy over the years.
But, as I get out of the car, I start to wonder if maybe I was just really good at being by myself because it was my only option. Or maybe I’m just curious about these guys. Or maybe the loneliness has finally broken me.
Twenty-Four
Raven
“Holy crap, it smells amazing in here,” I say as I follow Zay and Hunter into the diner with Jax trailing along behind us.
The place is pretty empty, except for a waitress standing behind the counter and an old man drinking coffee in one of the leather corner booth. The air smells like coffee and waffles, and I breathe in the scent as I wander farther inside with my new phone in hand, waiting for it to power up.
I felt kind of stupid when I had to ask Hunter how to turn it on, but it’s way fancier than I’m used to. Hunter smiled when I grudgingly asked for help and made a remark about me being cute before showing me which button to hold down.
I’m quickly realizing that, out of all of them, Hunter’s the one who’s going to be the nicest to me. Although, he does have a mean streak. I briefly witnessed it when we were at the bridge. But I don’t think he’s nearly as intense as Zay, and definitely not as intense as Jax. And unlike Jax, Hunter is a rulebreaker. I can still feel him on my lips when he broke the rules only a handful of minutes ago.
Zay seems like a rulebreaker, too. And I definitely am, which makes me question what’s the point of even having rules.
As I wander inside the diner, my phone screen lights up with a message about entering the login information for my account. Since I don’t have one, I move to tap the new user button, but then Hunter lightly swats my hand away.