Page 14 of No Interest in Love

But she ignores me, throwing her hands into the downpour. She’s shouting a lot of Korean, but some English empties out with it.

“Tell me I didn’t sign up for this, because I take it back! I want Rae’s life or Jin’s. They can deal with this one from now on!”

“Will you get your ass in the car?” I shout at her. She’s gonna end up as roadkill if she steps any closer to the lines. Her wet hair sticks to her cheeks as her eyes move from the sky to me.

“I’m allowed to be mad, Jace! I’m allowed to have a freaking moment when the cherry falls onto the pile of shit.” She gestures to her ankle, and I get out, slamming the car door shut.

“Man, I apologized. It’s not like I meant to squish your damn foot.”

“I’m not mad atyou.”

“Then why the hell are you yelling at me?”

“It’s raining!” She spreads her arms wide. “Don’t people yell in the rain?”

She manages to get a laugh out of me, but it disappears into the thunder when she rips her bag from my clutched fingers.

“You’re a damn liar,” I say, smile fading. “You’re mad at me.”

“I’m mad because we’re stuck on the side of the road and not in an airplane. I’m mad because my ankle is killing me. I’m mad because why is it raining so much? I’m mad because Barry got promoted before me, and it’s because I’m piss-poor at my job.” She swipes furiously at the wet hair clinging to her cheeks, finds her glasses and jams them on, and then goes back to digging through her stuff.

Stressed-out Shay is someone I’m familiar with, but I’ve never heard her say her thoughts out loud like that. She’s always seemed confident in her work. She gets me auditions I’d never be able to get myself. It’s my own fault I botch them.

I take a step toward her, putting my hands over hers before she tears her belongings to shreds. “You’re great at your jo—”

“I’m mostly mad because you were right.” Her brown eyes blink up at mine, water dripping down her glasses. She tugs her purse away from me again and shakes her head. “And Ihateit when you’re right.”

“I’m always right,” I tease. “But what about this time?”

“We should’ve stayed at the hotel. I should’ve listened to you. I’m so darn impatient all the time and if we’d just stayed maybe…and now…what if I totally just screwed this up? What if I never get their approval, huh?”

My brows pull in. “Whose approval?”

Her eyes widen like she didn’t realize she was speaking out loud. Rain pours down her glasses, off her quivering bottom lip. She stares at me for half a second or half a lifetime, I can’t tell anymore, before her tongue snakes out and swipes off the drops of rain. Her gaze goes back to her bag and a small growl escapes from the back of her throat. “Ugh,why can’t I find it?”

I reach for the bag, since I’m the one who jammed everything back in, but she pulls it away. A frustrated growl barrels through my own throat and I go for it again. I’m fighting over a damn purse.

“Let me help you, damn it.”

She spins around, whipping my arm with her wet hair. I blow out a breath and reach around her, manage to grab hold of the thing, and pull.

She pulls back.

“Let go,” she says.

“You need to calm down.” I tilt my head expectantly, and her eyes narrow to slits.

“I’m. Fine.” She gives her bag one giant tug, and the contents fly out, some rolling down the road. The bag itself washes to the edge of a very large storm drain, and before I can even move it’s suctioned down into the abyss with the rainwater. Her thick wallet pushes out of a puddle and starts following the same path. Shay’s breath hitches…and then stops.

My feet trip over themselves to go after it before it goes down with her clothes, and I get tangled up in my own haste. The world blurs and whooshes past my ears. I smack the road hard, loose gravel digging into my stomach and my thighs. My face lands in a puddle, splashing rainwater up into my nose. Sharp pain attacks the back of my throat as I sputter out the water I’ve inhaled. I peek an eye open just in time to see the wallet tip over the edge, and I reach into the drain before it falls.

Nothing.

My fingers grab at nothing.

I feel Shay kneel down next to me, her knees sending puddle water up my arm. Her upper body leans over my head to peek into the darkness of the drain. After two seconds, she clutches at her chest as if she needs help to breathe.

“Shit,” I grunt out, pushing myself to my knees to see where all her other belongings went. Even though it’s midday, it’s too gray and foggy to make out much detail. But through the rain I can see her broken tablet, the Q-tips all along the road, and the roll of Ace bandage across the mud.

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