AMELIA POV
Swinging open the front door, Jayce quickly sneaks me upstairs and into the hallway bathroom. Just before I shut the door, already feeling my hair beginning to frizz uncontrollably from the water, he shows me where his bedroom is and to join him when I'm finished. Passing me a towel, a sweatshirt and some trackies he ran to grab, he leaves me be.
Strange guy.
His bathroom is nice and fairly domestic. Brown square tiles and white wood panel walls, with a porcelain sink and HUGE mirror spanning almost the entire side wall.
The shower is rather large, with clear doors, in the corner of the room. Just as I turn to the mirror to assess the monstrosity my curls have become, I hear shuffling from the room across the hall.
Listening carefully, it's almost as though Jayce were rushing around his room... cleaning up? Or hiding something? Probably both.
Tucking away the information for later, I decide to take a quick shower, brushing out my hair with a comb until it resembled a slightly tamer mess and changing into his heavily oversized sweatshirt.
It's thick, white and cotton, making me feel as though I were dressed in a cloud, and the sleeves were so long they fell past my hands with the hem falling to mid-thigh. The trackies weren't much better, needing to be rolled at the ankles and tightened with the string.
I enter his room, ignoring the unfamiliar fluttering within my chest, and turn to find a very red-faced, gaping Jayce. With a blank face I thank him for the clothes.
Swallowing, he replies, "um... yeah all good." He coughs, seeming to compose himself the slightest bit, "so uh, you sure you don't want that ride home?"
I tilt my head slightly, pursing my lips and watch him. He sits on his bed, one leg bouncing up and down so furiously the floorboards shudder. I make him nervous. Interesting.
"No it's ok," holding up my dripping clothes between us, "do you have a plastic bag?"
He turns quickly, scrambling around his room and pulling one from his closet of all places. During his search I notice his desk draw half closed, paper sticking out of the edges.
Are those... drawings? Pulled from my thoughts, he hands the bag to me, rubbing the back of his neck with a goofy smile.
Ignoring how that smile made my insides flutter, I allow the slightest twitch of my lips as thanks before schooling my features once more. "Thanks, I'll see you around."
As I begin to turn away, "Wait! You're gonna wear my clothes and not even give me a name?"
Looking back, I notice he's moved both hands into the pockets of his shorts and continues to give me that frustratingly cute smile. Before I can overthink I simply grip the bag and turn around, opening the door and whisper, "Amelia" before shutting it behind me.
But not before catching his mega-whopping grin.
~~~
I need to stop it. What am I doing? Coffee? His clothes?
This boy is simply a means to an end. If this Auction goes ahead and he's somehow involved in his father's business, I will kill him. No question.
I should never have told him my name.
Having just come down the stairs on silent feet, I begin to round the corner before pulling to a stop at the sound of a familiar voice.
"You cannot pull out! I had one hiccup with one file..." Mr Parker? "Besides, it was one girl in a game of hundreds, there will be many more up for bid I assure you.... Yes, I can be trusted! How long have you known me!"
Sliding against the wall, I can just make out his figure sitting at his office desk with a whiskey tumbler in hand. He puts it down and begins to pace as the client on the receiving end grows agitated.
"...No, the date remains the same... You don't want to miss out on the prizes I have this year, some of the girls would make a lovely addition to your collection..."
I decide on my plan quickly, grabbing a decorative ornament from a table nearby and chucking it toward the kitchen before silently hiding in an alcove. Just as suspected, Parkers ears perk up like a meerkat and he leaves the room.
Finding nothing, he again zones in on his conversation.
"Oh sorry... Yes of course I'm listening... Great... the Auction is set for the 22nd... See, I knew you could see reason... I'll see you October then."
October 22nd? That's three months from now.
Parker then begins to walk back toward his study, completely unaware I had just secured the final piece to my puzzle in phase 1 of taking the Auction down.
---
Well damn, what did Amelia find?
And Auction's coming up!
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Her Shadows
Romance~ A World Painted Grey: Book 1 ~ Already incapacitated, I drag his limp body toward the smoking car. Fastening him back into his seat, seatbelt back in place. Then I grip his skull with my glove-clad hands and ram his head into the steering wheel. O...
