Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Easy was shaken from his reverie out the passenger window and glanced at him. “What?”
Chris rolled his eyes. “She said you were hot and it…may have tweaked my temper. A little.”
Easy stared at him until he finally snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“No, that’s what she said. That you’re easily the hottest in a group made up of only hot guys. And I guess I should be grateful just to be lumped in as a ‘hot guy’ but still…”
Easy grinned. “I am the hottest.”
“Well, no shit, Sherlock, but she doesn’t need to be rubbing my nose in it!”
Easy’s grin widened. “You got jealous.”
Chris’ grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Negative. I do not get jealous. Especially not jealous of a grunt who needs a shower and a shave, and needed it like two months ago.”
Easy sat in silence for a moment. “So you’re saying if I cleaned up I could steal your girl out from under you?”
Chris’ head snapped toward Easy and Easy laughed out loud at the anger on his former lieutenant’s face. “She’s not my girl,” he declared.
“Awesome. So there’s no reason I can’t nail her. Since I still have my dick and all.”
“Stop busting my balls over that. I was pissed.”
“Grateful I have both balls, too.”
“Oh my God!” Chris yelled. “Let it go. It’s bad enough you stole that blond from me that time at that bar in Germany.”
Easy smiled knowingly. “You said you weren’t into her.”
Chris glared at his squad mate. “Fuck you.”
“Maybe I’ll steal two girls from you,” Easy mused. “One for each of my balls.”
“God damn it!” Chris bellowed, the boom reverberating in the cab.
**************************
Hayley turned the doorknob lock on the front door and quietly slipped out, shutting the door behind her.
“So I’m an asshole and you just run away?”
She shrieked, spun around and clutched her duffel bag to her chest. When she regained her composure, she said, “What are you doing out here? It’s the middle of the night!”
“Waiting for you to do something stupid. Which you are.”
She bristled. “I’m not ripping you off,” she snapped. “I left money and the key on the kitchen table!”
“I didn’t think you would rip me off.”
“No. You just think the scumbag con artist is ‘shopping’ your friends, trying to get her hooks into one of them!”
Chris blinked at her. “What?”
“I’m not running some kind of scam on your friends. I mean, I wasn’t- It’s not like I was going screw one of them so I could steal from them or something.”
Chris ran a hand through his hair. “Well. Good to know I’m an even bigger asshole in your head. That’s comforting,” he muttered. Louder, he said, “Sit down,” indicating the porch steps.
Hayley didn’t move. Chris grabbed the bag from her. “Hey!” she protested but he was able to wrestle it from her easily.
He pointed to the steps. “I’m used to having my orders followed, remember?” He sat down.
Hayley took a seat on the top step, as far away from him as she could get. He eyed the space between them and sighed. “Hope you’re over there ‘cause you’re mad at me, and not because you’re scared of me.”
She glowered. “I’m mad,” she said quietly.
“Good,” he said, setting the duffel down on the step in front of them. “Slick, you have every right to be pissed at me.”
“I thought we were friends,” she replied.
He sighed. “We are.”
“Just so long as I stay away from your real friends, with my money grubbing hands and my questionable morals,” she grumbled.
He laughed suddenly and for some reason that angered her more than anything. She pushed off the step but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back down, and closer to him. “Sit,” he commanded. “Slick, I didn’t lose my temper at you because I think you’re a gold digger.”
She shuffled her feet on the step to avoid looking at him. “Yes, you did.”
“No, Hayley, if you think back, you’ll recall I lost my temper approximately 2.5 seconds after you called Jimmy the hottest guy ever.” Her heart knocked in her chest and she immediately tried to pull away, but Chris caught her hand and held it. “Sit, and listen, and let me finish. Nothing can happen between us. For a lot of reasons. I know it. You know it. But that doesn’t mean I like it when I catch you thinking about other guys, my guys, that way.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “I didn’t. I wasn’t really. I was just…” she sighed. “I didn’t have a lot of friends in Denver. Or…any. And I forget sometimes that some stuff is better off staying in your head and not said out loud. I only wanted to know about Tex. And only because he said more than once that I wasn’t his type. And I’ve seen him at the bar. The girls he goes home with, well they don’t seem to have a lot in common with each other except for being really pretty. And I know it’s stupid, but I kind of thought maybe he was saying I wasn’t his type because I wasn’t pretty enough. Not that I want to date Tex.” She snorted. “Especially not now.