Right Hook (Gaslight series) COMPLETE

18| Heating up

Max ♕
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The next few days are devoted to working, which means I rarely get a second in the gym. It doesn't stop me from thinking about it, though; it doesn't stop me from thinking about her.

Mostly, I think about the things that irritate the hell out of me, like how she talks too much, or the skintight outfits she chooses to train in, or the fact that my brother is obsessed with her. But sometimes, when I least expect it, I think about the things I like, like her giggly laugh, or her smile, or how she talks too much.

Then, on Wednesday, when I'm in the middle of cooking dinner, the doorbell rings. I open it and there she is, standing on the porch in a fluffy yellow jacket with the cutest damn smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

She steps forward, past me, and into the narrow hallway. "Kino invited me. We're working on a project together for English."

I'm so surprised to see her standing in my house that all I can do is look at her. The hallway is too small for the both of us, so she's practically pressed to my chest. Her eyes meet mine, dark and inquisitive. When I glance at her lips, she smirks.

"What project?" I ask.

She looks at me through her lashes, and I swear, she's doing it on purpose. "Romeo and Juliet. He said you guys don't have a laptop fast enough to use, so I brought mine." She waves her pink laptop case as if I can't see her holding it. Then her eyes fall on the photo frames lining the wall behind me. She steps even closer, studying a picture of me, Kino, and Dad.

"That your dad?" she asks.

I tense, still looking at her. She's got her long hair pulled into a high ponytail, which makes her cheekbones look even more pronounced. "Yeah."

She looks at me now, and I hold my breath. "You look just like him."

I give her a look. "Don't tell me that."

"You don't want to look like him?" she asks.

"I don't want anything to do with him." She looks at me expectantly as though waiting for an explanation, so I sigh and add, "He ran out on us a few years ago. Took my mom's savings with him."

Her eyes soften. I have to look away, because those doe-like eyes do something funny to my chest. She reaches out to touch my arm, causing me to freeze.

"If that's the kind of person he is, you're better off without him," she says.

It's not the usual, I'm sorry to hear that, bullshit that people usually give. Somehow, it's a lot more comforting.

"Wait here," I say, moving past her. "I'll see if he's ready." Without another word, I head upstairs and knock on Kino's door, needing some space from her. "Alyssa's downstairs," I call through the door. "You want me to send her up?" I open the door without waiting for an answer and see him stood in front of the mirror, in the process of styling his hair.

"Give me one second," he says, reaching for the gel.

I lean on the doorframe, watching him. What is it about this girl that has men acting stupid? "Your hair is fine, and you couldn't have done your project at school?"

He glances over and grins. "You're the one always telling me that I need to put myself out there. Well, that's what I'm doing. For once, I'm putting myself out there." He turns back to the mirror and frowns. "Do I look okay?"

My eyes darken. This is not good. "I've changed my mind," I say. "You can study in the kitchen."

He rolls his eyes but doesn't argue. He knows it's futile with me. Instead, after another glance in the mirror, he runs downstairs like an excited kid and greets Alyssa. I run a hand down my jaw in frustration. This is getting complicated.