Page 33 of Going Home

"If it's going to save you from having to clean toilets, I suppose I can let you stay."

"Gotta say, I'm not that mad they're not here to tell me what to do. I might not have met you otherwise."

Narrowing her eyes, she says, "You're not the one having a kid, right?"

Snorting, he shakes his head, tossing the hair from his eyes. "No, that's my sister. Mom and Dadwishit was me. At least I'm almost nineteen and technically an adult."

"Gracie's your sister?"

"You know my sister?"

"I know of her. School."

Please don't be fifteen. Please don't be fifteen."How old are you?"

"Seventeen. You graduated last year, then?"

"Barely, but yeah," he says and smirks, relieved to find she's almost legal. "You're in the year behind me, I take it? I feel like I would've noticed you, though. Maybe would've enticed me to actually get my ass to class on occasion."

"That kind of sweet talk get you far with the ladies?"

Her body shifts closer to him until they're barely apart, and he keeps glancing down at her perfectly plump lips that shine with lip gloss. "You have an opinion of me, don't you?"

"You're prospecting for a bike club. Yeah, I have assumptions."

"We're not all like the people you see on TV. We're tough as shit, yeah, but we're not all slutty misogynists."

"Big words."

"You assume I'm stupid."

Her head tips forward, her hair concealing her face slightly, but he catches the smile on Hailey's face. "No offense."

"We're not the most intelligent people when it comes to book smarts, but we're street smart. And street smart keeps you alive a lot better than memorizing all that shit in books."

"Hopefully the doctors in this town don't have the same mentality. I'd like a book smart doctor if I need brain surgery."

She's sassy. "In general. Not specialized areas."

"Oh, okay," she says and looks up into his eyes as she nods.

"You got a boyfriend?"

"You got a girlfriend?"

Gavin chuckles, his eyes still focused on her lips. "Nope."

"Me, neither."

"Boyfriend or girlfriend?"

"Neither."

His tongue slides out and licks his lips, his eyes unable to leave her perfect pout. Perfectly kissable lips. Her chin tilts up, inviting him to kiss her, and he lowers his face slowly. Just as he's about to close the gap between them, the sliding door opens. "Hailey!"

She jumps back before any part of her touches any part of him. "Yeah, Luke?"

"Calla's throwing a fit about her juice."

---