Page 15 of What Is Love
His brows rose slightly. “Yet you draw them.”
“Something can be as terrifying as it is beautiful.”
He didn’t immediately respond to that. Instead, he just stared at me, his eyes roaming from my face to my hair, down to my neck and then to the shoulder my pink sweater left bare. The journey his gaze took only lasted for a handful of heartbeats, but it was enough to give me what felt like a rush.
He glanced away. “Yeah. That’s very true.”
With his eyes off me, I was very aware of myself. My neck and face had become so warm, I was tempted to fan myself with my hand. Not wanting to bring attention to how affected I was, I set my pencil down before clasping my hands in my lap to focus on calming down and regaining control. As I reeled myself back to who I was supposed to be and how I was supposed to act, I became afraid. We didn’t live in a small town, but our city was small enough that running into someone you knew was common. I quickly glanced around the very busy café.
What if someone sees me talking to Monroe and reports it back to Mother?She hated anything to do with the Haven’s Rebels, and if she found out I was hanging out with him, a son of a member, she’d lose it.
I didn’t see anyone I knew and that instantly put me at ease.
“Embarrassed to be seen with me, Lottie?” Using my name pulled my attention back to him. He had called me that at the party, too. It felt odd after years of nicknames.
I frowned. “I’m not embarrassed of you,Monroe.”
I’m just afraid of the cost to be around you,I thought to myself.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “You can just call me Roe.”
“Roe.” I had meant to say it in my head to get a feel for it privately, but my mouth didn’t seem to get the memo.
A slow, almost too-handsome smile spread across Roe’s face. That smile…I surprisingly enjoyed the sight of it. So much so, I knew I’d want to see it again as soon as it faded.
I mentally shook my head. I needed to be careful. His smile was not something I could let myself enjoy. I’d learned too many times that joy didn’t last as long as pain could.
“Did you find a table?” someone asked as they came to stand next to Roe. I immediately recognized the stranger’s face and blond hair with dark roots. Since it wasn’t dark out, I was finally able to make out his eyes. They were different colors. The moment one green eye and one blue noticed me, recognition lit them up. “Hey, it’s the joint thief!”
Before I could compute what he meant, he set two to-go cups of coffee and a plate holding two pastries on my table. Then he pulled out the chair across from me and took a seat. He slid one of the coffees in front of Roe, who looked from the coffee to me to his friend.
“Wyatt…” Roe started to say.
His friend—Wyatt—wasn’t listening. He was taking in the rest of the table, where my stuff was sprawled out. His eyes caught on my notebook. “You draw?” He held out his hand. “Can I see?”
I was a little surprised he’d asked. Seeing how he had no problem inviting himself to sit at my table, I’d expected him to just grab my notebook. Because he’d asked, I handed it over.
While his friend stared at the half-drawn motorcycle, Roe pulled out the chair he had been standing by and sat. He scooped up the coffee Wyatt had brought him and took a sip.
“Damn,” Wyatt said with his eyes still glued to my notebook. “You’re fucking talented.”
The compliment made the side of my neck itch. “Thank you.”
He finally looked up. “Do you normally draw with pencil?”
“When I don’t have charcoal on hand.”
His brows rose as if I’d piqued his interest even more. “I saw this charcoal drawing of a motorcycle once at Stewart’s. It was a beast of a piece of artwork.” He held out his hands wide in front of him. “It was damn near the size of a real motorcycle. It was gorgeous, and the realism…” He shook his head as if in disbelief and stared back down at my unfinished drawing. “Your detail reminds me of that massive one.”
“Charcoal and graphite,” I mumbled.
Wyatt’s eyes met mine in a question.
“The media used to draw that motorcycle at Stewart’s were charcoal and graphite,” I said.
He nodded with understanding. “You saw it, too? Not surprised. Everyone was talking about it. Especially the club.” Wyatt glanced at Roe. “Weren’t you the one who told me and Reid about it?”
Reid?Was that their other friend who’d been with them at the party?
