Page 31 of Keep Your Guard Up
I shrugged, tossing the washcloth over the tap. “I don’t know, somewhere outside of a small town I’m assuming you’ve spent your entire life in,” I replied smoothly.
“Like I said, where else would I be? I’ve been here forever; my life, my family, my identity—is here.” She folded up the towel before placing it on the counter beside her. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
A soft, small smile picked up on her face.
Her lips, blooming and pink and shapely, started a domino effect across her face. I have no fucking idea how, but her freckles sparkled. The dusting across her nose and cheekbones shone. Her eyes shone too, glistening with some sort of contentment, peace, and love in Soggla that clearly ran deep for her. It was like the small smile she showed me had been the start of all other things shining.
“Have to admit, Sunny”—she shot me a look to tread carefully—“That’s pretty fuckin’ cool.”
“You reckon?”
“I’ve never had a place like that.”
“Like what?”
“Home.”
Chapter 15
Chance
Three am. JJ’s sea-siren of a snore echoed through the house. Still a little buzz from the half a joint I’d had to get to sleep.
Yep, perfect conditions for this.
I stared at myself in the mirror of the small bathroom. My shoulders were wider than what the mirror could show, and the single light was hospital-white. JJ’smanyskin products littered the vanity, though he claimed it was because he had no space since he had generously given me half of the storage. A whole drawer to myself.
I’d shaved the grossly overgrown stubble down to an appropriate length before dinner tonight, making me look less stray. I snorted at the irony of it. I was trying to look the oppositewhen that was exactly what I was—astray. Hell, even Sunny had picked up on it.
I shared the colour of my hair with my siblings, as well as the shade of my eyes with my sister. A gracious gift from the piss-poor excuse of a man we all shared as a father. The strands stretched to about mid-chest, and it was the same blond the man himself had had back in the day. It had somehow thickened out in the last few weeks, quicker than I ever knew hair evencould. It didn’t look so frail and like it was two seconds away from falling out. It looked like the beginning of strong, healthy hair.
I stared at the reflection staring back at me. The man in the mirror. The hair that I’d had for the last few years. The hair that had thinned from stress and anxiety. The hair that was such an identifying feature and that tied me to what I was so fucking desperate to run from.
I laughed and picked up the electric shaver.
Chapter 16
Chance
JJ stared at me as I walked into the gym kitchen.
And stared.
And stared.
And kept onfuckingstaring.
“Can I help you?” I grumbled.
“Where the fuck did your hair go?” he asked, eyes so wide I could see the whites at both the top and bottom.
“I dunno, man. I just woke up like this,” I replied, rubbing my hands over my face as I walked over to the pot of coffee.
“… really?”
“No, dickhead, of course not. I shaved it last night.” After pouring milk over my Weet-Bix, I pulled the foil off of theyoghurt container and began dumping heaped spoonfuls into the bowl.
“Why? Your hair was so majestic,” he whined.
