Despite the fact he must know he has company, he doesn’t stop. Much to Harley’s delight.
“Suddenly, I don’t care so much if he’s an asshole.”
He must hear her words because he lowers the carton and places it back inside before swinging the door shut and turning his eyes on me.
My breath catches as our gazes lock. His eyes are as cold and angry as I remember, and they send the same shiver of fear down my spine as they did before.
A smirk curls at one side of his lips before his eyes drop from mine in favor of my body. My blood heats the second he begins checking me out. I hate that I react to him. My fists curl and my teeth grind.
By the time he gets back up to my eyes, his smirk is spread wide across his face and it only infuriates me further.
“Have you about finished?” I ask, suddenly finding my voice and wrapping the front of my hoodie around myself to cover up with the hand not full of pizza.
“Oh, little one, I’ve barely started.”
Tingles erupt within me at his use of his little nickname for me. But as much as I hate it, I remember all too well how it sounded falling from his lips right before he... no. Nope. Do not go there.
After a second, he rips his eyes from mine and instead focuses on Harley over my shoulder.
His smile gets wider as he gives her the same treatment he gave me, only Harley isn’t currently hiding behind oversized clothes, her curves are on full display.
“Hey, baby,” he purrs, taking a step forward. “I don’t think we’ve met before.”
“I... uh... no,” Harley stutters.
I roll my eyes, turning toward her. She stares up at him like he’s an ice cream freaking sundae she wants to devour, and I just about manage not to groan.
“So, are you going to Ethan’s party on Saturday night?” he asks Harley, his voice all deep and sexy. Damn him.
Wait... how does he know about Ethan’s party.
“How do you—”
“I will be. You?”
“I am now.”
“Oh my God. Harley, will you get a grip, please?” I beg, reaching out, wrapping my hand around her upper arm and pulling her toward me.
“What? I just—”
I cut her words off with a look.
“I’m starved, do you mind?” Ashton asks, plucking one of the boxes from my hand and flipping it open before I find my voice.
“Yeah, actually, I do.”
“That’s a shame because I don’t really give a fuck.” He pulls a slice from the box and takes a massive bite before winking at Harley and disappearing around the corner.
“Well... safe to say that Instagram does him absolutely no justice,” Harley mutters, walking to the refrigerator and pulling it open. I half expect her to pull out the same bottle he was just drinking from. I’m about ready to kick her out when she pulls out three cans of soda and slides them over to us.
“Thanks,” I mutter, collecting the pizza box back up and walking toward the stairs. Part of me doesn’t want to follow him, but the other part screams that this is my house and that it’s my bedroom and he shouldn’t have the power to make me second guess my actions or where I want to hang out.
The second Harley and Poppy follow me inside, I kick the door shut. Hard.
I climb onto the bed and immediately open one of the boxes, diving straight into my first slice.
“I’m sorry, okay,” Harley mutters. “He just took me by surprise.”
“Yeah, whatever. Can we not talk about him?” I know Harley would never do anything to intentionally hurt me, and I know he’s mouth-wateringly hot, so I guess I can’t really blame her for losing her damn mind.
“So, Ethan’s party,” Poppy starts, but her face falls when she immediately realizes her mistake.
5
Ashton
I’m still smiling to myself hours later, long after Ruby’s friends have left, and the pounding bass of my music is the only thing I can hear.
The look on her face as I leaned into her friend was priceless. I couldn’t have planned a better first time to meet again if I tried.
She’s going to make this easier for me than I’d originally thought. After she disappeared last night, part of me wondered if she was over it. But it seems that is certainly not the case.
I blow out a stream of smoke and press my head farther into the pillow.
I might fucking hate this house, but I can’t deny that Dad’s home gym almost makes up for it. I spent all afternoon in there trying to outrun my demons. Pretty sure it did fuck-all for those, but my muscles are now aching nicely and reminding me that despite all the bullshit, I am alive.
My bedroom door swinging open makes me look up and when I find her standing there with her brows raised and her hands on her hips, I can’t help but prop myself up on my elbows to get a better look.
A smile tugs at the corner of my lips as I watch her silently fume. Although, if she were to say something then I’d be unlikely to hear it because of the music that’s rattling the walls right now.
My lips part as I watch her storm into the room and slam her hand down on the top of my speaker, silencing it in an instant.
“Problem?” I ask, my voice low.
She turns to me, her eyes narrowed in anger and her shoulders pulled tight with tension.
“You need to stay out of my bedroom and away from my friends,” she warns.
“And what if I can’t?” I ask, bringing my joint to my lips and taking a hit.
“What is your...” She shakes her head as if she can’t compute my words. She stares at me for a few seconds before her eyes betray her and drop down my bare chest all the way to my low-hanging sweatpants, but I don’t miss her lingering on the bruises that cover my ribs, the only evidence left from that night in Mom’s car.
By the time she makes it back up, I’ve got a shit-eating grin on my face and my blood is starting to boil from her attention.
“Listen...” she starts. “I’m really sorry about your mom and everything you’ve been through. But you don’t get to walk back in here like you own the place and do what you like. That is my bedroom, my space, my photos, my journal.” My lips twitch in amusement. “You have no right to march in and do what you like with it.”
Pushing so I’m sitting on the edge of my bed, I rake my eyes up the length of her body and run my thumb across my bottom lip.
“You mean, much like you’re doing to me right now. You didn’t even knock. I could have been doing... anything.” I tilt my head to the side and raise a brow.
“I did knock, asshole. Your music was just so loud that you couldn’t hear me.” Her face begins to turn red with anger, her tiny fists curling at her sides.
“Careful, little one,” I say, standing and taking a step toward her. “You look like you’re about ready to blow.”
“Ashton, I’m tired, I’m already bored with your bullshit, and I—” Her words are cut off by a gasp when I take her chin in my hand.
“And you, what?”
“I hate you,” she seethes, despite the fact my grip tightens, and her lips pop open.
“Huh, and here I was thinking I might get a free pass, you know, with the dead mom and all.” Her eyes narrow once more.