Page 38 of Lines

Sighing, I sit straight on my bed and scratch the back of my head. So much for readingPride and Prejudice.

I look down at the book sitting in my lap. I took it from Amelia’s room while she wasn’t looking. Maybe reading it would help me get a clearer picture of who she is, and more importantly, what she wants in a guy. Chicks like that shit, don’t they?

The cover is well worn like it was read a hundred times before now. I wouldn’t surprise me if it really is true, but it’s also well taken care of. There is no writing inside the book, or god forbid, dog ears.

Like he can sense my train of thoughts, Ace wiggles his tail and jumps off the bed. He looks at me expectedly with those almost ice-like eyes—I’m telling you, this dog is more intelligent than most of the humans—waiting for me to get up.

Since I took him home—something my mother still isn’t too happy about—he gained some weight.

A bath and a trip to the vet gave him a presentable look. The doctor said he had some bruising and was malnourished, but nothing that a regular meal, rest, and care couldn’t cure. So far he was right.

Ace still isn’t 100% comfortable with strangers, and sometimes he looks at my parents like he expects them to kick him or something, but he took a liking to me, for whatever reason that may be.

Giving up, at least for now, I leave the book on my nightstand for later. Even if I never finish it, I can use it as an excuse to go back to Amelia’s place outside of our project meetings and say I took it by accident so I’m returning it now.

On my way to the door, I look at all the clothes thrown on the floor of my room. I’m not much of a tidy person. I only clean when I know I’ll have company, which is almost never.

If guys come to my house, we stick to the game room, or man cave how my mom likes to call it, that is downstairs. The only person who is actually in my room is Andrew, and he is practically a family so he doesn’t count. I should probably pick it up and throw it in a laundry basket so when Magdalena comes in a couple of days to clean the house it’s not such a mess. Deciding to do it after dinner, I get out of my room.

Just as I come down the stairs with Ace next to me, the doorbell rings. He doesn’t bark, but I can hear a soft growl coming from him.

I look at the door frowning. We don’t usually have company at this hour.

“I’m here! I’ll get it!” I yell at my parents who are probably in the back of the house where the kitchen is.

Our house is a traditional, two story house. It has more than enough room for the three of us and it also has a big yard with a pool and a small pool house in the back. It is small but big enough to have casual pool parties with friends during the summer.

I open the door and stop in my tracks when I see the person standing in front of me. “Diamond,” sighing, I’m not able to hide my annoyance. “What do you think you are doing here?”

The need to look over my shoulder to ensure that my parents are not behind me is huge, but I keep staring at her. Every lock of her blond hair is curled to perfection and her makeup is in place. She’s wearing some kind of dress and high heels, although it’s an October evening and it’s starting to get pretty cold at night.

“Hey, you!” She smiles and leans into me to kiss my cheek. I don’t reciprocate, but she doesn’t seem to care. “I was in the neighborhood so I thought—why not stop by and say hi?”

“We don’t live anywhere near the center or mall, Diamond.” I point out, just wanting to make her go away. She didn’t try to come to my house before. Why now?

“Well,” her hand squeezes my upper arm, her smile big and sugar-sweet, “we haven’t hung out in a while, so I decided to drop by and see if you want to hang out.”

She’s so close to me that her strong perfume asphyxiates me. I disengage her fingers from my hand and push her away from me. I know what she means by “hang out”, and I’m not interested inhanging outwith her at all.

Not now or again.

One time was two times too many. I’m also not interested in my parents coming out to check who’s at the door and finding her here.

No bringing girls home—that is my only rule. The only girl I plan to bring home and want my parents to meet is the one who matters.

That sure as hell isn’t Diamond Morgan.

“I’m not interested. I thought I told you that already, Diamond.” Getting out of the house and quietly closing the door behind me, I leave Ace behind the closed door. I know he won’t like it, but I don’t want him near Diamond. “What happened between us was one time thing, nothing more, so you should really go now. My folks are here and we are having this thing…”

Her eyes narrow at me, and for a split second I think I can see angry fire burning in their crystal blue depths, but with a few quick bats of her long, dark eyelashes there’s nothing there.

“Ohh, I see.” Her smile is sweet and understanding. Maybe she finally gets it. I’ve been telling her since the end of the summer that I don’t want anything with her, but she sticks to me like a lost puppy. “Don’t worry, we can hang out another time. See you at school!”

Then she marches away as fast as she came here, leaving me standing glued to the spot and watching her go.

I’ll give her that; she isn’t stupid, not even close.

Diamond is a girl who likes to mess around with guys, all of them popular athletes who like to talk in the locker room. It isn’t a big secret or anything. When they talk about her they always drool over her hot body and excellent oral skills, but nobody mentions her brains. And she has them. She isn’t so ignorant or silly enough to ignore my requests to leave me alone, no. She knows what she wants, and she is going to do anything to get it.

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