The Do-Over (The Rooftop Crew #5) - Piper Rayne Page 0,11
you can do your business.”
I slide out of the bathroom and he doesn’t move, which means my breasts run along his bare arm.
“Don’t run off, Little Red Riding Hood. I’m not the Big Bad Wolf.” He chuckles at his own joke and heads into the bathroom.
I wait for the door to shut, but it doesn’t and the sound of him peeing rings through the quiet apartment. Water runs from the faucet afterward. At least he practices good hand hygiene, I guess. I back up toward the bedroom. I should’ve just locked myself inside.
But the guy heads to the kitchen, speaking to me. “I’m Jax.” He opens the fridge and grabs a water, holding it up in offer to me.
“Sure. Thanks.”
He throws it at me, and I barely catch it out of surprise. Most people would just hand it to someone. I’m about to step through the doorway of the bedroom I’m staying in when he clears his throat. I glance over my shoulder and he eyes the couch. What is with this guy?
“Knox doesn’t usually pick up strays except for me and our buddy Dylan. What’s your story?”
I don’t want to judge, but Jax doesn’t look like someone who really cares about someone’s backstory. He looks like the guy who lives his life how he wants, and people who get in his way are just nuisances to be dealt with.
“He’s just helping me out for the night.”
“What’s your name?”
I fidget with the water bottle. “Kamea.”
He nods. “Cool. Sit down. I’ve been struggling to sleep lately, and now that I’m up, I’m bored.”
I eye the game console. “Play a game?”
“Are you saying you don’t wanna talk to me?”
My stomach growls, and since there’s no other sound in the apartment, Jax laughs. He heads to the freezer, pulls out a frozen pizza, and pre-heats the oven.
“Oh, I’m not—”
“No. I am.” He never looks at me.
What is with these guys? Knox gives me a room to sleep and this guy is making me pizza in the middle of the night.
“‘Cause I’m not hungry.”
He nods. “So you said. But I am.”
I let it go.
“How about I start this get-to-know-each-other session and if you feel like saying anything, you can.”
“Start what?” I ask.
“I’m a tattoo artist.” His gaze falls over my body. “I’m thinking you don’t have a tattoo.”
Joke’s on this guy. Like everyone else, he thinks I’m a good girl and there’s nothing more to me. I pull up the sleeve of my sweatshirt to show him the three lines around my forearm.
He nods, looking impressed. “Awesome, what are the lines symbolic for?”
“Why would I tell you?”
He holds up his hands. “Yeah, you don’t have to tell me, but next tattoo, you come to me. That fill-in looks like shit.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, okay.” I lower my sleeve.
“I work at Ink Envy, and I’ve known Knox since he was a virgin. Unfortunately for me, my buddy Dylan lives across the hall with his girl, Rian, and we have two friends who live down the hall who are shacked up too. And another girl who’s with a damn prince.” He holds up his hand before I can say something. “I can’t make this shit up. I was a foster kid who bounced around my whole life. I come here to ground myself for a bit and I end up surrounded by all these people who think love is real and shit.”
“And you don’t?” I crack open the bottle and sip the cool water. The oven beeps and he puts the pizza inside.
“Believe in love?” He huffs. “I’m not saying my friends aren’t in love. They probably are, and they look happy and shit. Don’t get me wrong. But… I don’t know. Maybe it’s not for me. I can’t even conceive of someone depending on me, let alone trusting someone enough to open up my chest and let my heart fall out. As if they could heal all the cuts and scrapes I’ve collected over the years…” He shakes his head. “I guess I have a hard time buying it, is all.” He looks me over again. “You look like you like rom-coms and shit.”
I sit on the recliner, propping one leg up. This is the weirdest exchange I’ve ever had with a guy. At the same time, I’m fascinated. “I do like rom-coms, but I also like thrillers and a little sci-fi.”
“But you believe in true love and shit?”
“Um… yeah, I guess. Doesn’t every girl believe there’s someone out there for her?”