Page 106 of IOU

I flash Boss an exasperated look. “I had no idea what that meant until the day I was out on my balcony, and the neighbors below me were fighting. It was an exceptionally stressful day and all I needed was a minute of quiet and here they were in a screaming fight. The beer was doing nothing to calm me down, so I poured it out. Coincidentally, it hit my fussing neighbors and they screamed, moving their fight inside. It was the first time I smiled all day.”

Ainsley grins and my chest feels lighter.

“I realized what he meant after that. I could take matters into my own hands. I didn’t need beer or nicotine to calm me, I could do that in other ways. Me keeping those two things around is a reminder that I am not dependent on anything but myself. I, too, have power in my restraint.” I shrug. “And it throws off the poker players when I leave a bottle sitting full on the table or a cigarette unsmoked. They are so busy trying to figure out if that means I have a good hand or a bad one that they give away their own tells.”

Greatest thing Bostic ever taught me, except for how to convert my rhythm obviously.

“Anyway, I cleaned up after all that and took better care of myself thanks to Mitchell over here, who seriously needs a woman to occupy all his hero time.”

I don’t mean it. Mitchell has been a really great friend to me. I don’t think I would have made it this past year without his guidance.

Ainsley throws her arms around Bostic. “I knew you were a superhero!”

He barks out a hearty sounding laugh. “Not quite. But I’ve taken solace in helping kids like you over the years.”

I can see Ainsley’s shoulders shaking as she clings to Bostic for dear life. “Thank you for helping me,” she mumbles.

Fury courses through me. “What about me?” I ask her. “Don’t I get a thank you?”

Those dark tresses swing like a whip. “No. You don’t!”

That’s it. I’m done. Ainsley James will hear me out if I have to force her. I did not break all my rules for nothing.

I take a menacing step toward her and Bostic. “Why not?”

“You lied,” she snaps, still holding on to Bostic like a life raft.

My watch starts beeping again and her eyes go wide as she strains to see the numbers.

Fuck it. If she must be stubborn...

I fall to the ground and clutch my heart.

A car door slams and Bostic yells out for someone to grab the AED, but it’s Ainsley who reaches me first, which is exactly what I hoped.

“Breathe with me,” she barks all authoritatively, dropping to her knees and slipping her hands under my head. Grimacing, I try turning my head away from her. “Stop being so stubborn, Maverick, and breathe with me!” she scolds.

Ha! Me stubborn. That’s rich.

When she’s bent over me, vulnerable and unprepared, I wrap my arms around her and roll, pinning her beneath me.

“Ahh,” she screams, smacking softly at my arms. “You’re an asshole! You tricked me.”

I can’t deny it. I did what I had to do.

“You wouldn’t listen to me any other way,” I tell her, hearing Bostic swear and call off the firefighters behind him.

“I’m sorry,” I say earnestly. “I should have told you about Bostic and his fucking favor, but I didn’t know we would become friends.” It was a shock to me too. “I thought I would let you stay a couple nights and then you’d be gone.” But then she had to ask me to look into her eyes and see if I saw two shits or a fuck. “I didn’t know I would fall in love with you.”

Her face softens as she takes my head in her hands. My watch beeps and she tips her chin so I will show it to her.

I huff like it really annoys me, but I show her.

My rhythm is still fast. Which I think we can all agree is her fault.

“Breathe with me,” she whispers softly.

“Promise you’ll stay and hear me out?” I’m not opposed to dying on top of her.

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