Dead Pretty - Samantha Towle Page 0,41
am I kidding? He always looks hot.
That is the reason I’m sitting here with him. Because of his damn hotness.
And his kindness. And sweet personality.
Jack drums the fingers of his free hand on the tabletop. “If you want to try and make this work, Audrey, then give me something that’s actually true, not a hypothetical.”
I sit up straighter. My brows pulling together in confusion. “For what to work?”
“Your attempt to turn me off you. That is what you’re going for here, right? What you said a moment ago.” He leans forward, elbows on the table. Holding the bottle by its neck, he brings it close to his lips. “So, hit me with your worst. What is the worst thing about Audrey Hayes? Something so closet-hiding hideous that even I, the guy who thinks you’re the single hottest woman I have ever seen in my life, would be turned off by it. And make it a good one. Please.”
His eyes appraise me. Almost goading me.
“People have died because of me.”
Jack’s eyes seem to freeze. Like when you pause the channel on TV. He’s just staring at me for what feels like the longest moment, which is probably, in reality, mere seconds.
But then I did just drop that bomb on the table.
Holy fuck.
I actually said that.
I can’t believe I said that.
I’m reeling.
Where the hell did that come from?
My heart is going nuts in my chest.
I’m going to hyperventilate.
Well, I did want to put an end to this thing between us. And that was a surefire way to do it.
It’s like calling out the wrong name during sex.
Nope, it’s worse.
Telling a guy on the first date that you attract death?
A definite no-no.
He’s going to think that I’m crazy.
Good.
Really, Audrey? Is that honestly what you want? For this thing with him to stop?
Maybe not.
But what I want and what is necessary is not the same thing.
Jack finally blinks and puts the bottle to his lips. He takes a drink and then places it back down to the table, cradling it in his big hands.
“And here I was, thinking you were going to say something like … you’d cheated on an exam.”
I laugh out loud. It’s a maniacal-sounding laugh.
Cheated on an exam. Ha. If only.
“Nope. Never cheated on an exam. You?”
“Once. Tenth grade. I was failing math. Some kid in our school hacked into the school computers and got the answers. I paid him twenty bucks for a copy.”
We go from talking about me being a harbinger of death directly to talking about his tenth-grade math test.
If this isn’t weird, then I don’t know what is.
“Did you get caught?” I ask.
“Nope. And I’m also not proud of that fact either,” he emphasizes.
“So, is cheating on your school test your worst?” I ask him.
Jack shakes his head, eyes fixed on mine. “No.”
You can tell a lot from one word. And that singular no he just said spoke volumes.
“Want to tell me about it?”
His gaze lifts to mine. “Want to expand on you being the reason people have died?”
I shake my head.
“That’s what I thought.”
There’s a beat of silence before I ask, “So, did it work?” My voice is scratchy. Sounds like it hasn’t been used in years.
“Putting me off you?” Jack checks.
“Yes.” I take a swig of my beer, trying to appear unaffected by whatever he might say.
But the truth is that I am going to be affected by his answer either way.
Yes or no.
I want him. I shouldn’t want him.
The dark, broken parts of me want Jack’s light so very badly.
But the smart part of my brain says no.
If you like him, then stay away from him.
I can’t win this war that is waging in my head when it comes to Jack.
I guess there is nothing left for me to do but accept whatever is going to happen.
Jack laughs a soft, sad kind of sound. “We’re not so different, you and me, Audrey.”
“In what way?”
“People have died because of me too.”
The rest of dinner went as it should. Normal conversation. Likes, dislikes.
No more talk of death.
I was careful to make sure it didn’t stray into the path of my past. Even though I was desperate to know about Jack’s. Well, more so of what he’d said.
“People have died because of me too.”
But our waiter appeared with our meals, interrupting before anything more could be said. And once our food was served and we were alone again, I opened my mouth to ask just exactly what he’d meant with that statement, but something stopped me.
Because hadn’t