Tongue-Tied Smooth-Talker

Chapter 1:

Wyatt pressed his back against the cold brick wall, lowering his gaze to the phone in his hands. The message on the screen was like so many others he had received before:

Thanx 4 a gr8 nite! i cant wait 2 c u @ logans party saturday!!!  ;)

A smirk mixed with disgust curled his lips. He deleted the message and stuck his phone back in his pocket. He knew he wouldn’t remember her name, but he was a smooth-talker, so that didn’t matter much. He used his right foot to push his weight off the wall.

The thud of Wyatt’s sneakers seemed to scratch the wet pavement, his hoodie keeping most of the water out of his face. Still, brave raindrops dampened the ends of his dirty blonde hair (golden brown near the roots.) His sexy physique welcomed the cool rain. It was always so muggy in Florida; this was refreshing.

His wet clothes seemed to cling onto his body for dear life. His jacket was unzipped, so anyone walking by had a lovely view of his perfect abs, which were very visible through his soaked white tee. His pants, now drenched with water, hung slightly lower, exposing his red and black plaid boxers. But not too much- just enough to peak interest. Of course this was not orchestrated at all! He hadn’t planned to walk through the shopping district wearing the perfect clothing for a rainy day (well, perfect if you wanted to get drenched and look good.)

How was he supposed to know there was a huge thanksgiving sale going on and that practically every female in town would be crammed inside those glass windowed stores? But the thing was, he had planned it. Because Wyatt Braxton was addicted to breaking hearts.

[Oh no, not Wyatt Braxton, any intentions he may have are completely innocent. Of course they are… Poor child he’s soaked to the bone. Because the sight of his wet skin didn’t send shivers down your spine. Wyatt’s business was looking perfect, and Wyatt was very, very, good at it.]

Wyatt ducked into a local discount store and made his way toward the back. He was dripping everywhere. “I’m sorry sir, I know it’s raining but we just cleaned the floors and if you’re not going to buy anything-”

Wyatt turned to face the sales-woman. His green eyes sparked into action, assessing her over-all character in less than 1.5 seconds and without even batting an eyelash.

Height: 5’9’’, Weight: 125, Hair: Platinum Blonde (dyed), Eyes: milky brown, Nails: bitten, Clothes: un-ironed, Age: 28-34

Conclusion: College student stressing over a paper they have not completed yet. Boyfriend dumped her yesterday. Has to fill in for someone else’s shift. The sale is making everything crazy. She just cleaned the floors. By herself.

Immediately Wyatt’s face crumpled into one of shame. He looked down at the floor. “I…. I’m so… sorr- achoooo!”

On cue, he sneezed. Not a disgusting sneeze. A cute adorable, helpless child that was caught in the rain sneeze.

She stopped tapping her foot and stood there awkwardly. “um… bless you…”

“Thank you,” He rubbed his face with his sleeve. “I’m sorry about the floor. Here maybe it won’t be so bad if I…” He began removing his wet blue jacket. His hair flipped out, the ends wet, caressing his flushed damps cheeks. The white shirt clung to his well sculpted torso. The saleswoman suppressed a gasp and turned away to hide her blush, and maybe even give him more privacy. But for what? He only took off his jacket. He fought the urge to laugh, swallowing his smirk.

He grabbed a soda out of one of the coolers and gently placed it on the counter. “Here, I’ll buy this.”

She looked up and he offered her a gentle smile. His green eyes seemed to sparkle like seductive sacred emeralds. Those green eyes were sinful.

“Oh…um… well what I mean to say is… you don’t have to do that… really the weather out there is dreadful… I don’t know what I was thinking–”

Wyatt pulled out a crumpled dollar bill and a few nickels. “I’m afraid… I don’t have enough money…” He offered an apologetic smile.

“Oh no, that’s fine! Really!” She hurriedly fumbled her fingers over the cash register. She was visibly flustered now. “It’s only a quarter or two, I can easily cover the rest of the cost.”

“You don’t need to do that…”

“I want to!” She almost pleaded.

Wyatt was dying to laugh but instead gave her a princely gaze. “Thank you, Miss, I’m in your debt.”

He took the cool soda and strolled out of the store with his jacket slung over his shoulder, leaving the flustered woman to regain control of herself.

It was still raining but not as hard now. The gentle mist did nothing. He was already soaked through. He was numb to their attack. His mother would not be happy. Good thing he’d gotten those new speakers. Drowning her out would be easy.

After he’d walked home, Wyatt stripped off his clothing and took a hot shower, ignoring his mother’s exasperation and questions as he had ascended the stairs. Where had he been? Why was he soaked? He’d catch a cold! Where was he last night? Blah, blah, blah.

The hot water felt good and he let it rush over him. He turned off the water and stepped out, surrounding by steam. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked barefoot across his room’s carpet. Putting on boxers and a “Sleeping with Sirens” tee, he tackle-rolled onto his bed and turned on his iPod. He lost himself in the music. Trying to forget about school tomorrow. Trying to forget about Logan’s party Saturday. He hate parties. He hated people. But no one would ever guess that.