Page 102 of Nodus Tollens
“Dude, she’s in a sweatshirt. She’s fine.” Mal’s broody voice interrupted my chuckling and caused me to roll my eyes.
“Why don’t you let my girl answer?”
“Whatever.” Mal grumbled silently as his head fell back with a thump against the headrest. Dark waves of hair fell through the gap between the headrest and the seat. His hair was much longer than when I had seen him at the hospital. Down to his shoulders, my eyes landed on the silky strands that were visible. How could a guy have such perfect, silky waves? I bet he used Suave, too.
“Blue.” My nickname caused me to rip my stare away from Mal’s hair and focus back on my writing. “You’re not cold, are you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
My heart hammered wildly, and although it wasn’t a big deal that I was looking at Mal’s hair, I definitely didn’t want to be caught doing it by either of them. Mal was a grumpy bastard, and I could only imagine the expression on his face if he saw me looking at him.
“See, told you she’s fine.” Mal commented.
Only forty minutes into the drive, and it was already tense in here. More awkward than anything, but it helped that I had the journal in my lap to focus on.
“Alright, so if, by some crazy fucking chance, you had a girlfriend and she was in the car, you wouldn’t ask her if she was cold or not?”
The mention of Mal having a girlfriend made my ears perk up, but I laughed off the ridiculous possibility. Unfortunately, the muffled sound of my chuckles were louder than I had thought, causing Hayes’ amused eyes to meet mine in the mirror and Mal’s head to turn.
Shit.
My stare was now laser-focused on my lap. I couldn’t stop the blossoming heat from forming in my cheeks.
“What the hell’s so funny back there, Doe?” Mal grunted in annoyance, but more than anything, I was tensing from the nickname. The name he had called me at the bar.
Doe.
And Hayes just heard him call me that.
“Doe?” Hayes asked curiously, but I quickly interjected before Mal could answer.
“You having a girlfriend.” I threw it out there. “Doesn’t seem very…plausible.”
Dammit. Why did I say that? Why did I even open my big mouth?
Mal then shifted his large body around in the seat until I could feel his heavy stare on me. Without even looking at him, I could sense his annoyance directed straight at me. It was palpable to the point I was squirming in the spot.
“Yeah, and why do you think that?” He questioned with irritation laced in his tone.
“Come on, Mal. She didn’t mean it like that.” Hayes instantly cut in, alleviating some of the tension clouding the tiny car.
“Then, how did she mean it?”
Oh god.
“You know how you are with chicks.” He glanced over at his best friend, who was watching him with a severely clenched jaw. “I’ve never once seen or heard you say anything about being interested in a girl, let alone want to date one.”
“How the fuck do you know I haven’t been interested in a girl before?”
My heart galloped, and a thin sheen of sweat broke out across my face. Silence broke out in the car as I watched Hayes dart his eyes over to Mal before his brows dipped in confusion.
“Well, have you?” He asked. “Because if you have, you’ve never told me.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
His words penetrated my heart, but I couldn’t let them affect me. I couldn’t let them get to me, so I began writing. I tried my hardest to concentrate on something other than the two men in front of me, but I was drawn back in when Hayes spoke.
“Of course, it matters, Mal. Why wouldn’t it?”
