Page 29 of The Devil's Tattoo
He was watching me intently, and I knew I hadhim. “What?”
“I dunno. I might bewrong.”
“Spit itout,Zoe.”
“Chris?” I asked firmly. “Do you like Simone? I mean, likelikeher.”
He tried to hide his blush. Chris was shyer than I thought, and I knew exactly where he was coming from. He was so good he’d even fooled me until this exactmoment.
“What did you notice?” he asked, deflecting myquestion.
“I was going to say I think shelikesyou.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Whynot?”
He reddened again and hung his head over hisdrink.
I leaned over and whispered in his ear, “She likes you.Donedeal.”
He looked up at me in surprise and glanced across the room to where Simone was laughing with Louie and Frank. She turned then, as if she sensed we were looking, and caught Chris’s eye. She smiled a little, and I swore her cheeksturnedpink.
“See?” Ideclared.
“I don’t know what to do,” he almostwailed.
“You’re so cute,Chris.”
“Zoe…”
“Buy her a drink. Talk to her. Tell her you think she’s beautiful. Tell her you like her.” Sounded simple when I put it like that. Why couldn’t I be that coherent where Will was concerned? I fell into a puddle whenever he came into my orbit…that was until he did something to piss me off. I was so mad at him for having a go at Frank, but I still found my thoughts wandering to his eyes, his lips, and his hands and what they could do to me. Just thinking about it made warmth pool in all the rightplaces.
I shook my head to try to clear my mind of its dirty thoughts, and Chris grinnedatme.
“I know how you feel,” hedeclared.
“Am I thatobvious?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Heis.”
“He couldn’t care lessaboutme.”
“Zoe, he almost thumped Frank. You know, the big bear who wouldn’t hurtanyone?”
“I’m still pissed at him,” I saidsullenly.
“Give him the chance to apologize atleast.”
“I’ll take that intoconsideration.”
“Zoe, if you feel thesameway...”
“One, he flirts and feels up everyone but me. I’m not jealous. I feel worthless to him. And two, take your ownadvice.”
He sank back into his chair and took a sip of his beer before coming back with, “I will when you takeyours.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing he was deadright.
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, I still couldn’t help but feel disappointed. How could Will like me like that when he was too busy flirting with everyone else but me? He’d been a class-a jerk of epic proportions, and to date, there had been no exception. Someone who cared wouldn’t do that. Even his attempted apology had seemed halfhearted, which made me believe he never gave them out tobeginwith.
Will Strickland was an a-hole. No matter how I felt, he was not interested in me the way I wanted him to be. Notoneiota.
