Keep

  “It was fifth grade. Besides, I think you got your revenge when you grew boobs and turned him down at Homecoming.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “And prom.”

  I kept walking.

  “And homecoming again.”

  “Okay.” I smiled. “I get your point. And yes, I’m blushing, and yes he was hot, he had no shirt.”

  “You said that.”

  “Because it’s true…”

  “Good one, Fallon.” She patted my back then started rubbing as if I needed to calm down.

  But I was fine. Perfectly fine, totally in control of my emotions. It was a weird run-in with a celebrity. Whatever. They’re just like us, except richer, prettier, more naked… A small cry from Maggie had me jerking my head in her direction. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “I love you.” She sighed. “Just remember that.”

  I didn’t have time to brace myself before she pushed me off the boardwalk and into the sand. It was a good four-foot fall.

  My skinny jeans ripped across my knees the minute they hit the sand.

  “Son of a monkey!” I yelled.

  “Do sons have monkeys?” A deep, toe-curling voice asked, and then a head followed as it peered over the ledge, followed by two more. I was afraid to blink.

  I’d hit my head.

  Either that.

  Or rockers AD2 and Zane Andrews were all staring at me from the boardwalk, an amused Maggie smirking behind them. Great. I’d be lucky to get a full sentence out.

  “It’s been a while since I’ve met a purist.” Demetri nodded. “A girl who doesn’t swear. Quick, say something else.”

  Zane glared at him while I tried standing and dusting off my sandy jeans. It was no use. Sand was in my hair, my ears, and my torn pants.

  It was tempting. To run away toward the ocean, forget to hold my breath, but then, what would my parents do? Ugh, drowning never looked so awesome and appealing, and I had a very serious fear of sharks.

  Instead, I pressed my hands on the cement ledge and heaved myself over it. My strength wasn’t all there, so basically I flailed over the ledge, and landed on my ass peering up at Zane, much like the day before.

  “And so we meet again.” He swept his hand out in front of me. “Do this often?”

  “She’s very accident prone,” Maggie said in a sweet voice behind him. “Some would say, she needs a good knight in shining armor.”

  Dead. I was going to kill her.

  “Is that so?” Zane’s eyes twinkled a bit before he pulled me to my feet and brushed a piece of sand from my cheek. “I see that your glasses are intact this time.”

  “Not your first run-in, I presume?” Alec asked, his talking voice was just as deep as his singing voice. It had a type of rasp that had me blinking at him in a trance before I opened my mouth to speak.

  “Yesterday. Dog shit. Trash cans. Chapstick.” Zane grinned. “And basements. Did I leave anything out four eyes?”

  I gaped. “Did you just call me four eyes?”

  “I was going to go with cupcake, I also had sweetie pie, buddy, and little slugger, but something about four eyes just feels right, don’t you think?”

  “It’s rude!” I clenched my fists. “Is this payback for giving you the wrong phone number?”

  Maggie gasped at the same time Demetri did.

  And then everyone burst out laughing while Zane held my gaze in an epic and very tense stare down, the type that I felt everywhere, like his eyes were laser beams. I suddenly felt naked. Stripped. Raw.

  I hated that I loved it.

  His eyes were dark, as though God had brushed kohl along his lash lines in order to make women everywhere both love and despise him. Long eyelashes, perfect skin, strong cheekbones, and a smile that caused many a woman to sin.

  But not me.

  Because of Maggie, I knew exactly the type of guy he was.

  He loved women. All kinds. All types. All ages. He really didn’t discriminate, and I didn’t want to be added to that list just because he thought I was amusing.

  “Dude, she gave you a fake number?” Demetri slapped him in the chest then bent over and laughed harder. “This day, right here. Hell, I’m going to make a plaque for this stone on the boardwalk, the day Zane Andrews is rejected. Epic.”

  Alec bumped fists with Demetri while Maggie gave me a “have you lost your mind,” look.

  “You looked…hungry.” My eyes narrowed. “I practically saw ribs through that shining six pack of yours, figured you needed carbs.”

  His expression darkened like I’d offended him, which had to be impossible, he knew how good-looking he was! Women everywhere chanted his name in every language known to humanity! His tag line was I’m Saint, wanna be saved?

  I almost rolled my eyes.

  Almost.

  But for the first time since…knowing him, which wasn’t at all a long time, he didn’t have a comeback.

  Instead, he shoved a shaky hand in his pocket like he was squeezing something and then took a deep breath. “Can’t a man get chapstick?”

  “The man needs to learn how to walk to the store.”

  “She’s right.” Demetri nodded. “You know, I’m glad we met you four eyes.” I growled, while he winked as if he was kidding. Goodness, did they all have to be so attractive? “We were just telling Zane this morning that he needed to get out more, and since you clearly live here…” His voice trailed off while Zane shot him a look that had me backing up into the wall again.

  “Whoa, there.” Alec grabbed me before I fell backwards. “You’re a walking hazard aren’t you?” His tatted fingers were warm against my bare arms, I tried not to shiver. He was married, so was Demetri, but I’d have to be dead not to notice the way that Alec’s crystal blue eyes blinked down at me.

  “Sorry.” I stepped away. “It’s been a long day.”

  “A hard day.” Maggie stepped into the circle. “You know since her cat died and all.”

  “My cat?” I mouthed.

  “Oscar.” Maggie shook her head and wiped a fake tear. “Poor, poor Oscar, hit by that really fast sports car and no cat body to bury.”

  The guys looked caught, like they weren’t sure if they should comfort me or change the subject. They were probably wishing they would have taken a different way to wherever they were going.

  “I was just trying to figure out a way to cheer her up.”

  “By pushing me off the boardwalk?” I said through clenched teeth.

  “Silly, Fallon!” Maggie winked. “Oscar loved jumping off the boardwalk with you, remember?” No. No, I didn’t. Because I was allergic to cats.

  “Well,” Demetri said, grinning, “you’re in luck. We’re just taking a break from recording because dip shit can’t seem to get anything right.” He pointed to Zane. “We have a two-hour break before we need him back. Just be sure he makes it in one piece, and don’t let him steal your V card, and we’ll be good.”

  “She’s not a virgin. But thanks, dude.” Maggie gave him a thumbs-up while I blushed twenty shades of red and covered my face with my hands.

  This morning I woke up normal. Boring.

  Now? Cat owner and sex addict extraordinaire. I was going to murder my friend.

  “Oh good, no worries then.” Demetri saluted us. “Play nice, Zane.”

  Zane opened his mouth, probably to argue, but Alec’s expression said it all.

  “Look.” Alec sighed. “You need to find some damn inspiration, man. Whatever the hell just went down is clearly a symptom from you holing up inside the house for the last two months.” He sized me up. “Maybe she can be your new muse. God knows you need one, or Jaymeson’s going to kick all our asses.”

  Alec and Demetri left.

  Maggie coughed into her hand. “Oh sorry, Dad’s texting, gotta run, you know how he gets when I don’t answer!” She waved and then skipped away.

  Her dad was basically the most lenient parent I’d ever met. He was probably calling her to make sure she was aliv
e.

  That was it.

  Literally, his texts said, Are you breathing?

  And she replied back with a yes.

  And they went on their merry way.

  “So, four eyes.” Zane turned the full force of his gorgeous gaze in my direction. “You ready to inspire me?”

  “You must be desperate.”

  “I’m always desperate for inspiration of the female variety.”

  “I’m not one of those girls.”

  “The female kind?”

  “The stupid kind,” I clarified, forcing a smile. “The ones who would do anything for your attention. You’re hot, but I don’t even know you. For all I know, you could be one of those crazy murderers! You know, the ones that are really good looking, lure girls into their crazy mansions, and then kill them because they’re bored with their lives.”

  He blinked then frowned. “Holy shit woman, what kind of TV do you watch?”

  “Don’t change the subject.” I shoved my finger into his chest. “I’m just…I’m a lady.” Thanks, Grandma. Thank you very much for ingraining that into my head so fervently every day that I just quoted you to one of the hottest superstars on the planet. Real nice. Good. Great. Fantastic. I’m a lady?

  “Yes.” Zane’s lips twitched with a smile before he grabbed my hand and kissed the top of it. “And thus, I shall treat you so.”

  “Did you just British accent me?”

  “Depends.” He offered a casual shrug. ”Did it work?”

  “Stop it!”

  “What?”

  “No!” I grinned as a laugh escaped. “That’s unfair.”

  We walked a few feet before he pulled out his keys and whispered. “Your carriage, fair maiden.”

  He was driving a big white truck.

  I loved trucks.

  Truck meant safe.

  A truck told me he was trying to fit in, at least a little bit.

  “I’m going to need a list of weaknesses in alphabetical order starting with foods. Go.”

  “What?” I couldn’t keep up. “What are we talking about?” Thank God, at least the British accent was gone.

  Zane pulled open the door. I was getting kidnapped. Then again, I was willing. Did this stuff really happen?

  Apparently it did.

  Because I found my stupid self getting into the truck.

  And this, ladies and gentlemen, was how Ted Bundy did it. Charm, wit, and a killer smile.

  And yet. I was still in the truck as he leaned against it and smirked. “I don’t like the word no. It’s short, clipped, and completely negative in its effect on the world. Therefore, I need to know what your weaknesses are so I can use them against you. Favorite foods, drinks, songs you sing in the shower, places to go, things to see. TV shows—do you prefer Friends or Big Bang Theory. If I was a superhero, which one would you want me to be?”

  I shook my head. “Do you ever…pause? Stop? Take a time-out? And why do you need to know these things?”

  “Because,” he said, pulling back, “I think they’re right. I’m not finding inspiration in the house. Therefore. I’m bringing you to the house.”

  “To kill me.”

  “To ravish you, my lady.”

  “Oh good, the accent’s back again,” I said as much to myself as to him.

  He lifted one shoulder. “It felt right again.”

  I sighed. “You’re taking me back to your cave and expect the fact that another female body in your presence is going to make you spew out words about love and devotion?”

  He angled his head and seemed to think about it and then nodded. “By jolly, I think you’ve got it!”

  “Are we a Scotsman now?”

  “Eh, harder accent.” He grinned. “I’ll take you to the house for two hours, and in return, I’ll do you a favor.”

  “A favor for a favor.” I tossed the idea around in my head. “What about a rain check for a favor?”

  “That works too.”

  “Do we shake on it?”

  “No, we kiss. We always kiss. That’s how these things work between boys and girls, four eyes. Just like you always circle yes.”

  “Circle yes?”

  “When I ask you if you want to skate with me then be more than friends.” He grinned. “Or when I ask to hold your hand then share your Mountain Dew, you always say yes.”

  “Because no is a bad word?”

  “The worst,” he agreed with a solemn nod.

  “You’re a dangerous man, aren’t you?”

  His eyes did that shutter thing, like a layer of his true self peeled back before he looked down at the ground. “We all have our secrets, don’t we?”

  “Yeah.” I stared at him blankly before putting on my seatbelt and fully committing to the insanity that was my day. “We do.”

  He moved to the other side of the truck then started it. “But first, we mallow.”

  “Mallow?”

  “Don’t ask questions, four eyes, questions get you killed.”

  “Really quick, you aren’t on any drugs are you?”

  “Marshmallows are my drug. That’s all you need to know. Everything else? All me.”

  “Lucky me.”

  “Right?” He winked and then we peeled out.

  Chapter Five

  Zane

  SHE’D CAUGHT ME BY surprise by completely throwing me off my game, then pissed me off so horribly that I seriously wanted to do physical damage, something—anything.

  Ribs.

  She said she’d seen ribs. Like I was hungry.

  And of course, because words had the power to bring back memories and with those memories feelings—I was transported, like I was living it all over again: the hollow feeling of being starved, the helplessness as she gave me more of her food since I was a growing boy. And the guilt, that while she tried to strengthen me, she grew weaker and weaker.

  “When you said marshmallows were your addiction, I thought you were exaggerating.”

  “Does this look like an exaggeration?” I pointed to the four grocery bags we’d just loaded up from the store and shrugged. “Besides, you never know if they’ll run out or if zombies take over the world. I mean what if the only food zombies can eat to return to their natural human state is marshmallows?”

  “Yes.” She nodded seriously. “What if?”

  “You’re mocking me.”

  “You’re making it painfully easy.”

  “How old are you, four eyes?”

  “Old enough to get the Friends reference, not old enough to drink.”

  “Twenty.”

  “Nineteen, actually, turning twenty next month.”

  “And you’re not in college because?”

  “I didn’t jump in the truck so you’d play twenty questions with me.”

  “No, you jumped in the truck because your cat died, remember?”

  “Yes, um, Olga.”

  “Oscar.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “What color was he?”

  She nervously licked her lips and then narrowed her gaze like she was trying to remember. “He was an, um… orange calico, with a black nose.”

  What a little liar! It was too amusing to call her on it, so I played along.

  I took a right and headed toward the cliff that overlooked the bay. “How’d you get him?”

  “You know…” She gripped the seat with her hands and grimaced. “I’m boring, let’s talk about you. Besides Ultron makes me sad.”

  Holy epic shit. It was so hard not to laugh. When was the last time someone made me actually laugh? Dani. She made me laugh. But she wasn’t mine, and I’d known it right away when I saw her with Linc, which meant she was off limits. Besides, she was a friend. And she needed a friend back. But Fallon? I might just adore my little four eyes more than I should.

  “Ultron made everyone sad. He was a killer,” I said with a shrug.

  “I wouldn’t go so far as to say Ultron was a killer…” She laughed nervously, still not gett
ing the reference.

  “Iron Man created him for killing.”

  “What?” She blinked up at me. “Iron Man doesn’t have a cat.”

  “And neither do you.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “You just called your dead cat Ultron.”

  “That’s not right…” She outwardly cringed. “Odwalla?”

  “That’s a drink. You’re actually getting worse at lying the more you talk.”

  “Oz.”

  “Oscar. Your fake dead cat’s name was Oscar. Ultron wanted to kill the Avengers, big difference.” How does she not know this?

  “I’ve never seen The Avengers.”

  I slammed on the brakes and gave her a look of complete and utter horror, “Get out of the truck.”

  Fallon grabbed the door handle and let out a little scream. “What’s wr-wrong with you?”

  I smirked and hit the gas pedal before she could open the door. “There was no one behind us, and even then we were going twenty-five. To answer your question yes, yes I was willing to get into a minor accident in order to visually express my utter shock and disappointment that you’ve never watched The Avengers.”

  She bit her bottom lip, causing it to go slightly white as all the blood left. “Well, I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. I mean they fight each other and save the world, and it always ends up the same.”

  “Valid point.” I pulled onto my street. “But the process, four eyes, is always different.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re going to explain it to me aren’t you?”

  “Lucky day, isn’t it?”

  “That’s not really how I would put it.”

  “The process”—I ignored her grumbling protest—“is the most important part, the storyline, the arc, if you will. You saying that The Avengers is the same as every other action movie is just like me saying that songs are all the same. They have notes that make music, and they all end.”

  “That’s completely different.”

  “The same.” I winked. “The process, however, is different. Get it?”

  “I get that marshmallows have addled your brain. And somehow it’s seeped into the air, making it so that I’m just as crazy.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I got in a stranger’s truck. My grandma taught me better than this.”