Page 87 of Distortion
My answering smile is self-deprecating and has him rubbing his temples with a sigh as he turns away.
‘This is a bad idea.’
9
DAISY
When I wake up, I don’t know where I am for long enough that I’m jumping out of bed with my eyes darting around the room. I blink down at myself and see that I’m naked.
I remember Blake having me take off my clothes and wrapping me in a towel. I must have fallen asleep not long after that.
I grab said towel off the bed and wrap it around me.
‘Do you want some breakfast?’
I whirl around to find Mav leaning against the doorframe. His eyes travel down the length of my body and a tiny voice inside me wishes I knew what he was thinking.
I nod, and then my eyes fly to the clock. I sigh with relief. It’s nine. My first class isn’t for an hour. I have plenty of time.
I nod again.
‘Come downstairs when you’re ready.’
He disappears and I take another quick glance around Blake’s room, again noticing all the trophies from high school science and wrestling. They’re all from Grandview High. That was one of the schools in the ‘bad’ part of the nexttown over, if I’m remembering right. So Blake is from a poor family. That realization gives me a little more context around his comments in the lab aboutDaddy Novelleand his wrestling scholarship.
We’re both doing what we have to for our futures and each of us wish things were different. Our similarities surprise me a little. I didn’t think we had anything in common and it makes me feel a sort ofconnectionto him now that I understand him a little better. He’s still an asshole, but I don’thatehim.
I wonder what else happened last night. I thought the deal meant ... but maybe I got it wrong. I take stock of my body. Nothing hurts except my back when I pay attention to it and I frown a little as I make my way across the hall to my room. I’d know if he’d done anything monumental to me while I was asleep, wouldn’t I?
I throw on another pair of jeans and decide a minute later that I don’t like the way they feel as much as the ones from yesterday. Unfortunately, those are probably still damp and lying on Blake’s floor.
Putting on a shirt, I stick my head inside his room, but my clothes aren’t where I remember dropping them. I sigh, hoping I don’t find them outside in the mud later. I just did laundry the other day.
I put on the new jeans again and try to ignore the tightness around my thighs as I slip my feet into my boots. I go downstairs. There’s a plate and a glass of juice on the breakfast bar.
Mav gives me a smile and my eyes are riveted to his face. He’s never smiled at me before. I find myself grinning back.
‘Take a seat. Sleep okay?’
‘Yeah,’ I say and then give his back a rueful look because he found me in Blake’s room. He probably thinks the most logical scenario took place.
He turns back to face me with a frying pan in his hand and drops a large pancake on my plate. ‘Butter and syrup are there.’
I sit down in front of the plate and pour some syrup into it, trying to think of when I last had an honest to God, American pancake. I was probably eleven or twelve. I look up at Mav who’s watching me and I suddenly wonder if he’s thinking about whose bed I was sleeping in last night.
‘We didn’t do anything,’ I blurt. ‘At least, I don’t think we did.’
‘Blake told me you fell asleep.’ He tilts his head to the side. ‘He wouldn’t do anything to you while you’re unconscious if that’s what you’re worried about. Even he has his limits.’
I nod, realizing that I was worried.
‘Okay,’ I say quietly.
I cut up my pancake in silence and eat it quickly, conscious of the passing minutes.
‘Thanks,’ I say, moving to get up.
He picks up the orange juice and plants it in front of me. ‘Don’t forget this.’
