Mr. Perfect (Sinister in Savannah #2) - Aimee Nicole Walker Page 0,21
wasn’t deterred by the labor-intensive work the house needed; he was inspired by it.
“Home sweet home.” Felix closed the door long enough to retrieve the Fusion’s fob and ignition key. When he reopened the door, Todd had joined the driver on the porch. The two of them were murmuring, and Todd wore a shit-eating grin on his face. He thought he got something over on Felix. Again.
He was wrong. Again.
Felix raked his teeth over his bottom lip to keep from laughing at Todd. He’d never turned the cheek when it came to the bully. Felix just found smarter ways to get even and make Todd’s life hell. Like the time in high school when he’d overheard the bully bragging about skipping school and stealing the absent notices out of the mailbox before his mother got home from work. Felix imitated the principal and called his mother at work to ask if Todd was okay since he’d missed so much school. Since he’d also known Todd’s girlfriend was pulling the same stunt, Felix had made sure her older brother found out about it. He’d had a tough time hiding his smug joy when Todd had showed up at school the next day with a busted lip and a black eye. To make it even better, Todd had ridden the bus to school because his parents took his car keys away.
“Here you go,” Felix said, jangling the keys to catch the men’s attention. The tow truck driver snatched them from his hand, then turned and walked down the porch steps. Felix shifted his focus to Todd. “You have keys for me?”
The bully narrowed his eyes for a few seconds. Did he really think his childish antics would get a rise from Felix? After an awkward pause, Todd placed the keychain in Felix’s outstretched hand, careful not to let his fingers touch Felix’s, of course. “I’m supposed to go over the features on the SUV to make sure you’re comfortable with it.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Felix replied. “I can figure it out.” Modern vehicles resembled airplane cockpits with all their bells and whistles these days, but Felix was confident he’d be able to operate the SUV. He only needed to figure out how to turn on the radio and air-conditioning.
“Suit yourself,” Todd said before turning and walking away. He climbed up into the passenger side of the tow truck and shut the door.
Felix remained on the porch, supervising Skeet as he loaded the Fusion onto his rollback. Felix was prepared for the dealership to find opportunities to get even with him for giving them a hassle, but he wouldn’t make it easy for them to pull off.
“Have a great day,” Felix called out right before Skeet climbed into his rig. The man turned and spat another glob of tobacco juice into the yard. Felix could see Todd smirking at him in the side view mirror and barely suppressed the urge to flip the man off.
Once they drove away, Felix donned rubber cleaning gloves, then retrieved a rake, a shovel, and extra-large lawn trash bags from his garage. He raked the trash into a pile before shoveling it into the bags. It didn’t take long, but Felix spent the time to his best advantage—plotting revenge and coming up with a strategy for handling Jude.
Afterward, he went inside and showered for a second time. It didn’t matter that he’d worn rubber gloves, Felix still felt dirty. He spent an additional fifteen minutes figuring out what to wear. Silly, but necessary. He didn’t want to look like he was trying too hard. Felix ended up choosing his favorite denim button-up shirt, khakis, and his favorite brown ankle boots. Everyone said the faded denim paired well with his amber eyes, but he just liked how soft the fabric felt against his skin. Felix knew for a fact the khaki pants hugged his ass exceptionally well, and he’d be a liar if he said he didn’t want Jude to notice.
Next, he studied his appearance in the mirror. Should he shave his dark brown stubble or leave it? He wanted the look that best said, “I don’t care what you think.” Felix left the scruff, added some product to his damp brown hair, then got the hell out of there before he lost another forty minutes to inconsequential wardrobe decisions. No matter what he wore, Jude would look at him like he was a snack, and Felix would like it.