Down for Her by Melissa Chambers (best electronic book reader .txt) 📕

you staking your claim on her with Jack last night, anyway?” Tori says, picking up her cup.

I know I was out of line putting my arm around her waist like that, but I don’t want Jack anywhere near this girl. “So, you’re cool if she gets with Jack?” I ask.

“This isn’t about me. This is about you pissing on her like a dog marking his territory then pulling away.”

I shift in my seat, my stomach full. “There’s no need to get attached.”

“She’s a person, not a puppy. And she’s our new co-worker.”

“She’s not working with us at Kids Company, is she?” I meet Tori’s gaze.

“No.”

Good. I’m drawn to this girl. I wouldn’t want her in my workplace distracting me. “What job did she take here?”

Tori lifts an eyebrow. “You haven’t asked her yourself?”

“Forget it,” I say, taking a drink of my soda. I sit back, moving my plate toward the end of the table.

Tori gives me that look like she knows every inch of my brain, which is fair at this point in our lives. “Why do you have to always be such an ass to girls you like?”

I huff a laugh. “Girls I like. Who said I like this girl?”

“I say it.”

“Why?”

“Because you didn’t want Jack anywhere near her. You respect her,” Tori says.

“That’s ridiculous.”

She lifts her eyebrows at me.

“You know what I mean.”

She sits back, considering me. “Just be careful, there, Romeo.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“We’ll see about that. She’s rich, you know.”

“How do you know?” I ask, though I suspected the same thing. “I know she drives a luxury car, but if she’s rich, why the hell is she staying with me and not in a hotel?”

“I’m talking about her family. Have you checked out her Insta?”

“Of course not.” I don’t dare tell her I tried but didn’t want to request to follow her private account. “What were you doing checking her out?”

She gives me a guilty look. “Trying to figure out why in the hell she’s starting work here as a pool attendant.”

I blink my shock. “A pool attendant?”

“Yep.”

I try to blow it off, but now I’m too interested. I assumed she was taking some cushy business office job. “What’s in her Insta?”

She puts her fork down and pokes on her phone while she chews and then shows it to me. It’s a picture of Kylie in a nice dress with a guy in a suit standing in front of what looks like a fancy hotel or a country club. My stomach groans. The greasy hash browns were definitely a mistake.

“That her boyfriend?” I ask, trying to sound unthreatened.

“I assume. Or an ex.”

“What’s the date on that post?” I ask.

She pulls her phone back to her chest, grinning at me. “You are into her.”

I sit back, holding up both hands. “Fuck it.”

“All I’m saying is be careful with this girl. There’s something going on with her, and we don’t know her or anything about where she comes from and who she’s involved with.”

“Got it,” I say. “You done?”

She tosses her napkin on her plate. “Yep.”

We pay, head to the car, and then ride in silence until I spot a bagel place and pull into the parking lot.

“Still hungry?” Tori asks.

“If she doesn’t have enough money to stay in a hotel, I’m guessing she doesn’t have a lot of money for food.”

“There’s a sucker born every day, isn’t there?”

I put the truck in park. “A thank-you for cleaning the house. Don’t you think my mom would approve of that kind of gesture?”

“Just as long as you’re watching yourself. I get tired of doing that for you.”

I glower at her as I get out of the car.

I drop Tori off and then trod up the steps to my unit. When I open the door, the scent of cleaner has replaced the stench of sweaty feet. I find her in the kitchen putting a plate in the cabinet. She squints at me. “It’s possible I may have rearranged some of your dishes, but not on purpose.”

I hand her the bag. “I come with bagels.”

She looks at it like it’s a pot of gold. “You’re kidding?”

“I wasn’t sure which kind you’d like so I got some different ones.”

She digs through the bag and looks up at me with almost weepy eyes. “There’s cream cheese in here.”

“I just got plain. There were too many flavors to choose from.”

She throws her arms around me, hugging me to her like the end of it all is upon us. “Thank you.”

I pull away before I get a big head. “It’s just a bag of bagels.”

“But it’s…” She shakes her head, pinching the bridge of her nose like she’s trying to think through emotions.

I want to ask her why a woman who drives a late-model luxury vehicle is tearing up over a bag of bagels, but I don’t need to know the root of her problems. I’ll just get sucked in. “Okay, well, I’m just gonna head to the beach. There’s a spot where a lot of staff hang. It’s right in front of the Dolphin’s Fin…that’s a restaurant, not an actual… Never mind.” I head out the door, my heart pulling me back to the room like gravity taking hold, but I push through the pain and make it out the door without even so much as a beach towel.

7

Brett

As expected, a group of my co-workers hang in our usual spot—hotties in bikinis batting off the dudes. This is what my weekends should look like. All is symmetrical with the world except the girl back at my house who won’t get the hell off my brain.

Cohen stands at the shore watching his cousin Logan skid across the surf on his WaveRunner. I sidle up next to him. “Does he have buyer’s remorse yet?”

“He will. I told him he’d be better off just renting one when he wanted to ride, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“He probably bought it to spite you.”

Cohen eyes me like he hadn’t thought of this option. “You’re probably right.”

Logan