Page 15 of Impulsive Saint
“Lucky you.” she sighed, “I’ll pay Aaron back later, right now this ring is no good to me unless I can turn it into green.”
Tyler rubbed the back of his neck. This was a stupid conversation to even be having. He couldn’t let her pawn her engagement ring. Not when she was undoubtedly going to change her mind about all of this. Not when he’d already talked to her mother and knew he had money to cover whatever she wanted. Instead of continuing with this stupidity he decided to get them out of this dark parking lot.
“We can talk about the money tomorrow. For now, let’s just go to my place and get some sleep.”
“Sleep?” Ashtyn’s eyes widened, “But I thought…”
“It’s dark. You don’t have a helmet. And we have to swing by my place anyways so I figure we get some sleep and if you still want to ride cross country on the back of a motorcycle with a virtual stranger tomorrow, I’ll take you.”
Ashtyn stared at him for a long moment and he didn’t dare avert his gaze. She was sizing him up and trying to decide if he was tricking her. He was, in a way. He thought if he kept her close to home and let her get some rest and emotional distance from what she’d done today, that she’d change her mind and want to go home. She seemed to know exactly what he was planning though because she straightened herself up to her full height, chin up and arms crossed defiantly.
“Fine. We can leave in the morning, I could use a shower anyway.” She paused and narrowed her gaze, “You do have a shower at your place, right?”
He groaned, “God, you’re such a brat.”
She grinned, “I was joking.”
“Uh huh.” he sighed and tossed the backpack she’d bought back to her, “Get on the bike before I decide to leave you here, Ashtyn.”
He wasn’t going to leave her. They both knew it. She thought it was because he was a nice guy or because she was so much fun or whatever, but the truth was, he was here because of the money. He was being paid. It was that, and only that, that kept him here. He wondered if he’d actually believe his own bullshit by tomorrow morning.
5
Ashtyn wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting when she agreed to go with Tyler to his apartment. No, that wasn’t true. She knew, she just felt bad for thinking that the place would be a mess simply because he was a single guy.
For the record, it wasn’t messy. Not at all. It was actually the opposite of messy. Messy would have meant clutter, belongings haphazardly scattered everywhere, but Tyler didn’t seem to have anything but boxes stacked neatly against the walls and some furniture that looked as if it had rarely, if ever, been used.
There was a large screen television on what looked to be an Ikea shelving unit. There were two more shelves on another wall, the tall versions and some of the shelves held books, but most of them were bare. The same went for the coffee and end tables and from what she could see of the kitchenette it was mostly empty counters. There was a fresh scent to the place too, lemon, as if he or someone, had cleaned recently.
It was strange. She didn’t know him. Not at all. But it didn’t feel like the kind of place she’d imagined a man like Tyler living. There was no… personality, to it. It didn’t tell her anything about this man that she had only just met but was relying on for so much.
“Did you just move in?” she asked as she attempted to casually check out the apartment.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Tyler slid out of his jacket and tossed it onto a chair, “I mean, like, a few months ago.”
“Months?” She raised her eyebrows curiously.
“Like… five I guess?”
“You’ve lived here for five months?”
“Yeah.” He seemed to recognize the question on her face this time and shrugged. “I used to live with my brother closer to downtown but when he and Millie got their own place, he gave up his apartment. I bounced around for a while before I found this place. I work and when I’m not working, I travel a lot so I haven’t spent much time here.”
“Yeah, you mentioned the traveling thing. Is it for work or…”
“God no.” Tyler snorted, “Pleasure only.”
Something about that word,pleasure,coming from those lips in his husky southern drawl made her stomach turn somersaults. She glanced away quickly, not wanting him to know that he affected her in any way, but especially not like that. She shook off the quick burst of what she would tell herself was only adrenaline before she met his intense blue gaze again.
“Where do you go?”
Tyler’s face spread into the easiest smile, “Everywhere.”
“Yeah?” She couldn’t help the grin of her own that responded to his.
“Well, not everywhere, not yet, but I try.”
“Where’s the last place you traveled?”
