Page 33 of Lake
A sigh escaped me as I thought about the woman that was looking for her half-sister. I got why he didn’t want to turn the case down. This was one of the good ones and I really wanted to help the woman out.
I heard footsteps approaching from my right but I didn’t open my eyes. They weren’t hurried or threatening sounding, so I didn’t even bother. I slid my feet back and tucked my legs against my body so I wouldn’t be in the way.
“Door locked?” His voice had a ring of amusement in it.
“No, I thought it would be comfortable to take a nap out here. This cold concrete feels really good on my ass.”
His laugh was a welcomed sound. It was the thing I needed right now and I cracked an eye open to witness the sight that went along with it.
Lake’s blue eyes shined down on me with a strange kind of twinkle in them. It was almost like he was giddy or excited about something. And the way he was bouncing on the balls of his feet made me think there was something going on that I wasn’t clued into. Maybe he had some good news about my car. I could only hope that it wasn’t as bad as he originally thought. But part of me knew that was just wishful thinking.
“So…” he said sounding faintly like a shy little kid. “I got something I want to run by you. You want to talk about it out here or step into the room where it’s a little warmer?”
I had to admit that my ass was starting to feel like I was sitting on a block of ice.
“Okay,” I said with a sigh as I stood up. “Inside. And don’t judge me if I jump under the covers right away. I’m not used to the cold.”
He laughed again as he unclipped a set of keys from his belt loop and unlocked the door, then held it open so I could step inside.
True to my word, I kicked off my shoes and literally dove onto the bed and under the covers.
“So I talked to Iron and we want to help you out. You can stay here if you want. And we’ll work on the car thing once I have some prices figured out. I know you have work to do so Iron said you could borrow one of the club SUVs or we have a sixty-two Oldsmobile Starfire that is up for sale. Prez says you can use it as long as you don’t mess it up.”
“That sounds… old and maybe sexy. Is it a sexy car?” I had no clue what it might look like and I also knew I wouldn’t be taking that one. It sounded like a classic and I would feel too nervous driving it around.
“It’s a sexy car, yeah.”
Why did it sound like he always had a hint of amusement in his tone when answering my questions? I mean, I kind of liked it because… well, I had no clue. Maybe I just liked that he seemed at ease around me and he was really nice to talk to.
“I’m not too prideful to accept help, so thank you. Just anything with wheels will do. Well, four wheels. I feel like I need to specify that with you.” I let a small smile tip up the corners of my lips. “One question. Well, one for now. If I sleep here, where are you going to sleep?”
“Don’t you worry about that,” he replied and I could tell I wouldn’t have been happy about the answer if he had told me.
I didn’t want to kick him out of his room, I wasn’t that shitty of a person. Did they really have so many members that all these rooms were full? Did all of them live here too? Wow, that was… a lot.
I went to open my mouth to tell him that I wasn’t comfortable with that but snapped it closed when he shook his head at me. It was like he knew what I was going to say.
“There has to be some kind of compromise here if you really want me to stay.” I figured that was better than outright denying him. I got this strange feeling like he needed me to stay more than wanted me to, but I couldn’t even understand why.
“Half the time I’m not even here during the night. And I rarely sleep so it’s not that big of a deal.”
“Oh,” I said wide-eyed. I got it. I mean, he was attractive in that cute way and I had no doubt that he didn’t have trouble finding another bed to crash in. “I get it. That’s cool. Hey, if I had that option I’d probably take it too.”
I winced as the words left my mouth.
“What?” he asked looking at me like I was talking crazy. “Wait. No. That’s not what I meant… I mean, not that I don’t enjoy… you know what, we should not talk about this.”
We both looked away from each other and an uncomfortable silence swirled in the air around us.
“I’m sorry. This is awkward,” he said and I could feel his eyes on me. “I do stuff for the club at night since I usually don’t sleep. I just don’t want you to think… I’m not that much of an asshole that would boast about… that kind of thing in front of you.”
“I mean,” I said with a shrug, “I don’t see where it matters. Everyone does it, right?” A dry laugh fell from my lips and I wasn’t sure why I felt so uneasy right now. “I certainly do. Like sometimes. You know…”
“Well, yeah,” he said almost too quickly. “I’d imagine so. You’re…”
“What?” I said looking at him with my brow cocked.
“You know.”
