Page 13 of No Interest in Love

I sigh and fumble under the seat for her wallet. My fingers graze over a smooth, round surface, and at first glance I think it’s a mirror. But then I see the little hole at the top, and though I probably shouldn’t, I crack it open anyway to see what it is.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…Oh…

I snap the birth control pills shut with a laugh and toss them in the purse. Good for her. Didn’t know she had that going on, especially after our conversation earlier. Thought she’d be a bit more lax if she was getting some. Man, I’d hate to see her when she’s not.

My belt digs into me weird as I bend again, and I guess the sex train of thought has Woody excited. Damn horny fool. I adjust and ignore the fact that it’s pretty sad that my buzzkill agent is getting more than I am.

I finally get to her wallet, and the snap has popped open. Looks like a few cards are missing, and I fish around for those as I look at Shay’s license.

“Oh,fantastic.” I laugh to myself as my eyes drift over the picture. No one takes good license shots, but I think she takes the cake for worst one ever. She’s short, so her chin is cut off. Her hair is stuck up with a pen, but the angle of the shot makes it look like she just fell out of a tree. Her mouth is open, as if she was saying something to the person taking the picture—probably telling them they were doing it wrong—and the cherry on top, there’s an ink smudge on her cheek that looks like Florida.

There’s no way I’m not giving her crap for this.

I push the cards back in the empty slots, noticing she has a membership at Equinox, the same gym I went to till it became ridiculous to fork out the money. Huh. Never would’ve pictured Shay as an Equinox girl.

Right before I go to snap the wallet shut, I notice the birth date on her license. April 1. Same as mine, only two years before me. I’ve been the butt of every April Fool’s joke for as long as I can remember. Can’t believe I’ve known this girl for seven years and never knew we shared the same birthday.Shehad to have known. She files paperwork for my shit all the time. Wonder why she never said anything.

Instead of putting the license back in her purse, I stick it in the center console so I don’t forget to (a) make fun of her about that photo and (b) ask her why she’s never wanted to party with me on our birthdays.

I can already see her suppressed grin and that twitch in the corner of her mouth. That soft mouth that wasreal damn closeto my face just a bit ago.

I shake my head, pushing her wallet back into her purse, then double-check the floor to make sure there’s no more crap, and attempt to zip the thing up. I tug on the zipper, cutting into the skin on my finger. It’s not gonna work, so I toss the bag up on the dash and lie back into the seat.

The rain beating on the roof sounds like a song, but I can’t place it.

Wonder if I put my feet on the dash, a sixth sense will wake her up so she can nag.

If I tilt my head, the rain running down the windshield looks like it spells “sad.”

Dear Lord, I’m bored as hell.

My eyelids shut, and I try to picture what it’s gonna be like when I get to Alabama. I’ll have my own room, that’s for damn sure. Won’t be sitting in a flooded rental car on the side of the road in the middle of a thunderstorm. It wouldn’t be so bad if I was stranded here with someone who might want to pass the time with some heated activities.

I smirk and peek back at Shay passed out in the back.

“Hey,” I whisper. She doesn’t even flinch.

“Shaaaaay,” I lilt. Her breathing is still steady as a drum, shoulder bumping against her chin every time she breathes in. My hoodie swallows her torso whole and ends right above her knees. Through the black curtain of her hair, I can see pink cheeks. At least she’s warm. And she looks like a normal girl when she’s asleep. Like the Venus flytrap…one poke at the innocent-looking thing and you awaken the beast.

Ah, forget it. I’ll tease her when she’s awake.

I rest my hand on the seat release to lower myself into a more comfortable position. My fingers pull very slightly, and I ease it down with my upper back. Better go slow, because Shay’s feet are right under—

BOOM!

My hand slips on the seat release and I fly back with another banshee scream. But it’s drowned out by the intense thunder and simultaneous crash of lightning right outside the car window. Shay shoots up and taps the top of my head.

“Movemovemove,” she chants at me, and I hoist myself and the seat back to our original position. She wraps her small hands around her ankle, muttering in Korean under her breath.

“Oh shit, did I hurt you?” I ask, rubbing the throbbing in the back of my head. Shay reaches behind her, pulls open the car door, and climbs out into the rain.

“I’m sorry!” I shout after I climb out too. She’s limping up and down the side of the road, hands set firmly on her hips as she takes deep breaths. “Get back in the car. I’ll look at it.”

“I’m fine!” she calls back, rain wetting my hoodie that she’s wearing so much it looks hard to move in. “Just got to walk it off.”

Blowing out a frustrated breath at her stubborn ass, I duck back into the car and grab her open bag. I’m pretty sure I stuffed some sort of first-aid kit in here.

“Will you just come here?” I say, popping my head out of the side door.

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