Something red caught my attention.
My eyes were heat-seeking missiles, searching out the source, and hot damn. My gaze narrowed. Was that Shortcake?
A tree obscured my view for a second and then she reappeared, the sun reflecting off the wide bracelet circling her wrist.
Hells yeah, it was.
I didn’t even think twice about what I did next. Grinning, I slid the cap around backward and hung a sharp right, blocking the road.
Avery jumped back onto the curb, her big eyes going round. As I hit the button to the passenger window, rolling it down, her mouth dropped open.
I grinned, happy to see that Shortcake had made it through her first day alive. “Avery Morgansten, we meet again.”
She glanced around her, like she thought I might be talking to someone else. “Cameron Hamilton . . . hi.”
I leaned forward, dropping an arm over the steering wheel. She looked damn cute standing there, fidgeting with her bracelet. “We have to stop meeting like this.”
Biting down on that plump lower lip, her gaze dropped, zeroing in on my tattoo as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.
Shortcake was definitely what I would categorize as awkward. Maybe it came from having a younger sister, because the need to make her feel comfortable rode me hard, but it seemed like fighting a losing battle.
“You running into me, me almost running over you?” I elaborated. “It’s like we’re a catastrophe waiting to happen.”
Silence.
Try this one more time. “Where are you heading?”
“My car,” she said, proving to me that she could speak. “I’m about to run out of time. She shifted her weight again. “So . . .”
“Well, hop in, sweetheart. I can give you a ride.”
She stared at me like I asked her to get in the back of my kidnapper van. “No. It’s okay. I’m right up the hill. No need at all.”
“It’s no problem.” Never had met a female so damn resistant to common courtesy. “It’s the least I can do after almost running you over.”
“Thank you, but—”
“Yo! Cam!” Kevin came out of fucking nowhere, jogging past Avery. “What you up to, man?”
Oddly irritated, I kept my gaze on Shortcake and resisted the urge to nudge the dude out of the way with my truck. “Nothing, Kevin, just trying to have a conversation.”
Avery raised her hand, wiggled her fingers, and bolted around Kevin and my truck. My gaze followed her as Kevin went on and on about some shit I didn’t give a flying fuck about.
“Shit,” I muttered, sitting back in the seat.
Avery ran again.
And I had the craziest urge to give chase.
Two
Shit got real at our parties the second Ollie had Raphael out of his habitat. Every single fucking time. Standing in the middle of the living room, I watched him, shaking my head.
“Why?” Jase asked, tipping the bottle of his beer back.
I snickered. “Don’t you think if I knew why, I’d find a way to stop him?”
“I think it’s cute,” said a soft, feminine voice.
Jase and I turned toward the couch. No one sat quite the way Stephanie Keith did. One long, shapely tanned leg hooked over the knee of the other in the perfect picture of modesty. But the goddamn denim skirt of hers was as modest as Ollie after taking a shower. If I moved my head just a fraction of inch to the right and tipped my chin down, which I had about three minutes ago, I could see the curve of her ass cheek.