Unstoppable (Forehead Kisses #4) (6 page)

“So, you operate fork lifts and stuff?”

I nodded. “I can do everything.”

“When did you get into that?”

Why did she care?
“A few years ago. I needed money and a friend helped me get a job. I moved up through time.”

“When did you start?”

“When I was seventeen.”

‘That’s really young…”

I didn’t want to explain why. “So, anytime before nine works for me.”

“Me too.” She looked at the clock then back to me. “I can just do the project by myself and put your name on it…”

I was extremely insulted by the offer. I may not care too much for school, but I didn’t cheat and I was never dishonest. “I’d rather not.”

“Okay.” I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“Do you want to come to my place and work on it?” When I saw the tension in her shoulders and the alarm in her eyes, I realized how that may have sounded to her. “I live alone in a house. I just meant it’s quiet and no one will bother us
.” Shit, I did it again
. “I mean—it won’t be distracting and we can get a lot of work done.”

“Let’s just work in the library…” She turned her body away, closing herself off from me.

“Okay.” I didn’t care where we did it. “When should we start?”

“I guess today.” She pulled out a calendar and looked at it. “I have a lot of stuff to do this week.”

“In the afternoon after class is over?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you by the tables.”

“Alright.”

The bell was about to ring so I packed my bag and walked out, not saying goodbye to her or looking at those gorgeous legs.

When I walked to the library, I felt the anxiety pool in my stomach. I never expected this odd turn of events. She and I were working on a project together, so now I actually had the opportunity to get to know her. But she made it abundantly clear she had no interest in me. It was a dead end.

I headed toward the back table and spotted her in the corner. Her silky brown hair was over one shoulder. I’d give anything to run my fingers through the strands. I sat a few seats over, purposely putting space between us.

She eyed me across the table then dropped her look. “Have any ideas?”

“Not really,” I said honestly. “For these type of experiments, we need enough people to utilize as the control group and the experimental group. I have friends that would help, but we would probably need more people.”

She twirled her highlighter in her fingers. “And we should make the experiment simple, like making all males wear pink or something. It would be cheap and easy to do.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

We flipped through our textbooks while we researched the boundaries of our project.

“Scotty?”

“Yeah?” I kept my gaze focused on the text. If I let myself look at her, I would gawk.

“I’m sorry for the way I…snapped at you.” Her voice carried her emotion. “It just came out.”

When I thought about her painful reaction, it made me want to comfort her, to ask what was on her mind. But I was in no position to do that. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.”

More silence ensued.

Just because she and I couldn’t date didn’t mean I couldn’t get to know her better. There was no harm in that, right? “Do you work anywhere?”

“Yeah…I work for an art gallery.”

I wasn’t expecting that. She seemed too fearful to work with other people. “Are you a curator? Or do you run the register?” It must be a job flexible with school.

“No, I’m an artist. I paint and sell my work in the gallery.”

Seriously? That was the coolest thing I ever heard
. No wonder why she was scribbling the other day. “Wow. That’s really awesome.”

She flashed me a look of surprise. Her eyes narrowed while she took me in. “Awesome?”

“Yeah…it’s really cool.”
Did that offend her?

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear then looked at her notebook.

What the hell was going on in that pretty little head of hers? “Have you been doing it for long?”

“I’ve been painting my whole life. But I didn’t start doing it professionally until a few years ago.”

“Are you majoring in art?”

She nodded.

“Well, it sounds like you’re already a pro.”

“An artist is always learning,” she said vaguely.

“I’d love to see your work sometime,” I blurted. I wasn’t a fan of art, but anything she made would fascinate me.

She didn’t respond, not that I was surprised.

“Ash is a cool guy.” I felt compelled to fill the dead air.

“Yeah…he’s alright.”

I smirked. “Your brother is just alright?”

“He can be a jerk sometimes…but I do love him.”

“I think he loves you too.”

“How do you know him?” she asked.

Because he pounded as much pussy as I did.
“I’ve seen him around.”

“He seems to be pretty popular.”

“Life of the party.”

“Sounds about right.” Bitterness came from her voice.

“Were you born in San Diego?”

“I’ve lived in La Jolla my whole life.”

“Cool.” I wondered why I’d never seen her around before. “Where did you go to high school?”

“I was home-schooled.”

Oh. That explained it
. “Do you live at home still?”

“No, I have my own place.”

Impressive.

She made a few notes on her notebook, and a strand of hair fell loose from behind her ear.

Everything she did caught my attention. “Can I ask you something?”

Her body stiffened noticeably. “I guess.”

“Why won’t you give me a chance?” I felt brave and decided to take a risk. “I’m not asking for a date. I’m just wondering why I didn’t get one.” I stayed on my side of the table, not crowding her.

“I’m just not interested in dating.”

That was an odd response. “Recent break up?”

She looked away again. “No.”

“Were you burned?”

Her voice came out lifeless. “No.”

“Will you always not be interested in dating?”

Her eyes met mine. “Yes.” The truth rang in her words.

Whatever demons she had her in her closet were keeping her out of the game for good. It was clear she would never change her mind. I could see it in her eyes. Instead of wasting my time chasing a girl I could never get, I decided to let her go. “I understand.”

She relaxed visibly.

“But I would really love it if we could be friends—real friends. If we’re going to work together on this project, I would like it if you weren’t so tense and uncomfortable around me. I’ll be a perfect gentleman and never ask anything of you.”

She looked into my eyes, the conflict darting back and forth. Trust was something that didn’t come naturally to her, if it ever came at all. “I can try.”

“That’s enough for me.”

I stopped by Liam’s house on the way home. I rang the doorbell because I knew they could be anywhere in the house, probably upstairs…

Liam opened it, shirtless. He was sweaty so he must have been working out. “Hey.” He stepped aside and let me enter. “What’s up?”

“You have a minute?”

“Barely.”

“I’ll cut to the chase. I want to be in the ring. I’m committing to this.”

He studied my face, looking for hesitation. “You’re sure?”

“Definitely.”

“It’s a lot of time and sacrifice.”

“I’m okay with that.”

“You’ll probably need to quit your job.”

“Consider it done.” I didn’t like working night shift. I was constantly tired during the day.

“Then you have my blessing.”

“I need a trainer. Do you know of anyone?”

“Yeah. My old one is still in Burbank. I’ll give you his name.”

“Thanks.” Liam walked to the kitchen counter and made a few notes.

Keira came from the basement, just as sweaty. “Hey, Scotty.”

“Hey, brat.”

She ignored the jab. “In a bad mood?”

I guess you could say that.
“I’m just frustrated.”

“About what?”

“There’s this girl…” It was such a long story I didn’t even want to explain it.

Liam cocked an eyebrow. “Scotty is having trouble in paradise? I’ve never heard of that before.”

“She’s just…different.” I couldn’t explain it better than that.

“Different how?” Keira asked.

“She doesn’t want to go out with me,” I said bluntly.

Liam smirked. “I think you just don’t like to be rejected.”

It was more than that. I didn’t know why, but it was. “I don’t think so.”

“The girl from the library?” Keira asked.

“Yeah,” I said sadly.

“She’s too smart for you,” Keira said bluntly. “Not your type at all.”

“I’m smart,” I argued.

“Maybe book smart, but not street smart,” she said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped.

“You live a promiscuous lifestyle, not knowing the quality girls from the trash. If she was reading in the library, I can guarantee she’s nothing like that. You guys are from different planets. She probably knows about your reputation and is smart enough to stay clear.”

That got under my skin. I wasn’t sure why. “Liam was the biggest playboy I ever knew and now he’s settled down with you.”

“Your point?” Liam asked.

“I can be that way too.”
Why did I just say that?

Keira cocked an eyebrow. “Wow. You really like this girl.”

“Do you even know her?” Liam asked.

“Not really,” I admitted. “We had our first conversation today. But she’s really cool, and she’s unbelievably gorgeous. I’m not sure why I’m so obsessed with her. I haven’t stopped thinking about her since I first saw her.”

Keira’s eyes softened. “Don’t give up on her if you feel that way.”

I shook my head. “She made it crystal clear that nothing was going to happen. We’re just friends.”

‘Then be friends,” Liam said. “Be the best friend you could possibly be.”

I cocked an eyebrow when I looked at him. “What?”

“Does she have a boyfriend or something?” he asked.

“No,” I answered.

“Why won’t she date you?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “She just said she isn’t dating.”

“Then be her friend, like I said,” Liam said. “Make her trust you first.”

“That’s a long shot,” I said bitterly.

“If you really like her, try. If not, move on,” Keira said.

Now I just had to make that decision.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Livia

A knock on my door on Saturday morning made my eyes pop open. I wasn’t an early riser. I preferred to stay up late and paint then sleep until the afternoon. As an artist, I had a different internal clock than everyone else.

I groaned then walked to the front door. When I saw Ash on the other side, I sighed.

I opened the door. “What?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere?”

It was eight in the morning. “No.”

“Everyone is playing baseball today and I want you to go.”

“Baseball? Everyone? What are you talking about?”

“Bran and his buddies are playing a match. You’re going.”

Why was he bossing me around and making me socialize with other people all of a sudden? “Just leave me alone, Ash.” I tried to shut the door but he caught it.

“No, you won’t tell me what your problem is but I’m determined to fix it.”

I glared at him. “I’m a pathetic loser. That’s what my problem is.”

He met my attitude with his own. “No. I don’t accept that.”

“My life is a series of bad decisions. I accept that so why don’t you?”

His eyes furrowed. “Bad decisions? Name one bad decision. Because I can’t.”

“I decided to paint.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “And…? Your point?”

“It’s a stupid passion.”

“No, it’s not,” he snapped. “Don’t let Mom and Dad make you think ill of yourself. You’re very talented at what you do. If you just told them how successful you are, they would be supportive.”

“But I don’t want them to be supportive just because I’m successful. They should be proud of me anyway.”

He couldn’t argue with that. “I agree. But that doesn’t make it a bad decision.”

“I’ve lost all my friends…”

“Then go get them back.”