Get Off on the Pain(4)

“How about asshole? ‘Cause that works for me,” I say sarcastically.

Letting out an amused laugh he checks me out, stopping at my breasts, clearly clueless to the things I can do to him. “As long as I can call you later.”

I let out a stupefied laugh and pinch his cheek for being so stupidly cute. “No thanks, Trevor. As awesome as that sounds, I’ll pass this time.” I turn away from him and look through the crowd, trying to find an empty path. I’m ready to get the hell out of here. “I’m sure some lucky lady will enjoy the presence of you convulsing above her later tonight though. Good luck with that.”

I take off walking before he can say anything else. I guess it’s just one of those kind of nights.

Once I get home, I walk in to see that the place is empty. Bailey must still be out with Landen or is staying at his place for the night. It’s not unusual for her to stay over at least four nights out of the week. I’ve gotten used to it. It’s kind of nice to have the place to myself.

“Work it is I guess,” I mumble, while walking into my room and crashing on my bed. Rolling over, I reach for my camera and lay down on my back.

I search through the pictures of my last photo shoot, deleting some of the pictures that I’m not in love with. I end up searching for about an hour until my eyes begin to blur and I have to put it down for a while. I guess snapping four hundred shots was a little excessive, even for me.

Sitting up, I look out my bedroom window for the umpteenth time, just now realizing that in the three years we have lived in this place I haven’t once seen anyone come out of that damn house; yet, it wasn’t available for rent when we asked about it.

It looks old and worn down. The red paint on the outside is chipping and the porch looks as if it’s about to cave in. I’m almost positive that no one lives there, but a part of me can’t help but to still wonder. The more I stare out the window, the more I want someone to just appear. It’s like I’m looking for entertainment for the times Bailey is gone with Landen. Pathetic, right?

I’m interrupted from my house stalking when Bailey pops her head into my door. It’s dark, so I’m sure she’s straining to find me, but she whispers anyway. “You still awake?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m sleeping really hard right now and you’re ruining a really awesome dream. Go away.”

“Smartass,” she mumbles, while making her way over to my bed and falling back on it, letting her platinum blonde hair fall over the edge of the mattress in waves. “What were you doing?”

Holding up my camera, I smile and rest my feet on top of hers. “Doing a little work.”

She rolls her eyes and yawns. “Don’t you work enough? Take a break, Lyric. You’re going to drive yourself insane with work, and in return, you’re going to drive me insane.”

I sit up and slap her arm as she reaches for her lip ring . . . again. “Dammit, Bailey. Stop playing with it. You’re going to get it infected. Do you know how dirty a person’s hands are?” I curl my lip at her. “You’ve been touching it all night, haven’t you? Don’t make me tie your hands behind your back. You know I’ll do that shit.”

Bailey lets out a breath and closes her eyes. “Alright, I like being tied up and all that fun stuff, but only by Landen so I’ll stop. I promise.”

“Shit. I give up,” I groan. “We all know you suck at promises.”

“True,” she whispers.

We both lay in a comfortable silence, just relaxing with our eyes closed until we hear a car door slam closed from next door. It’s at least midnight and there isn’t another house for at least a half mile. This is someone’s property that they definitely wanted some privacy on, so it’s strange to hear the sound of a car so close.

Curious, we both scurry to the window and look outside. What I see causes my heart to jump to my throat. There’s a guy outside . . . and he looks about our age.

“Oh my goodness. Look at him,” Bailey whispers. “Talk about sexy.” She leans in closer, squinting to get a good look while pushing down on my head. “Dayum. He’s tatted and everything. I know how you love your men tatted.”

I push her out of my way and place my face back into the window to try and get a better look. The only features I can make out are: dark, messy hair, a tall muscular build, and ink covering the full length of one of his arms. He is standing under the security light with a guitar case hanging over the left of his back and he is carrying a large black bag in his right hand.

He stands there for a moment, just staring off into nowhere as if getting a feel of fresh air before turning around to pay the taxi driver. As soon as the taxi drives away, he looks straight ahead. As if he can sense me watching him, his eyes meet mine and lock. My breath hitches in my throat as he grips his bag tighter and just stares. I try to move away, but I can’t. I’m stuck. His gaze has me hypnotized and frozen in place. There seems to be so much behind his stare and I can’t help but want to keep my eyes there, waiting for his next move.