Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(20)

Sighing, I pointed at her drawing. “That’s amazing, Jenny. Really, you’ve got a knack for this.”

Her face blossoming into a wide smile, she looked back at her picture.

“Thanks.” Erasing a minute pencil line on Matt’s guitar, she looked back 55



at me. “I was thinking of having Pete put it up at the bar when I was done with it.” She shrugged. “You know, as an homage to his boys.” She giggled and I nodded. “No, that’s a good idea.” Watching her perfect a shadow line across Kellan’s jaw, making the masculine right angle stick out even more, I shook my head. “I think they’d really like that, Jenny.” She nodded as she went back to work on it, and thinking of the bassist she was working on, I snorted a little. “You should probably draw a flasher in there somewhere for Griffin.” She laughed. “Yeah, definitely.” Scrunching her pale brows, she shook her head. “What is up with him and your sister anyway? Are they together or not?”

Sighing as I turned back to my misshapen fruit, I shrugged. “No idea.

They don’t act like they’re together, and they certainly aren’t exclusive if they are.” Looking back at her, I shook my head. “But they, um, see each other at least a few times a month.”

Jenny nodded, her blonde locks dangling around her shoulders. “I know. He talks about it whenever they do.” She shrugged one shoulder.

“I asked him once what they were and he said…” Biting her lip, she didn’t finish that sentence. Not sure if I really wanted to hear anything Griffin said about my sister, I raised an eyebrow. “He said what?” I asked cautiously.

Avoiding looking at me directly, she sighed softly and looked around.

I didn’t take that as a good sign. While no one was close enough to hear her, she leaned towards me anyway. “He called her his…f*ck buddy.” Her lips twisted into a grimace and she rolled her eyes.

My cheeks flamed red hot and the only coherent sound I could make was one of disgust. Seeing my expression, Jenny shook her head again and went back to her pencil drawing of the revolting man. “Yeah, I know,” she flicked the image of him on her paper with her pencil, “he’s a tool.”

Adjusting the eraser of the pencil to his waistband she grinned at me mischievously. “Maybe I should just neuter him?” 56



I busted out laughing, the entire room of quietly working, artists-in-training twisting to look at me. My cheeks heating even more, I dropped my head into my hands and let the giggles take me over. If only taming Griffin could be that easy.

Kellan and I had the evening off together, so after art I headed over to his place. Driving over there, I considered how rare it was for us to get a matching night off, unless I asked for one on an evening he wasn’t playing anywhere, it usually didn’t happen. As school was starting tomorrow and I was a bundle of nerves about it, I began to wonder if Kellan had asked Matt to keep this night open when he’d lined up the gigs for the month. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had.

Jenny dropped me off at his place and she and Kate waved goodbye. I had a car, Denny’s beat-up little Honda, but Anna had pretty much taken it over. She always asked before she could use it, but I was actually a little relieved that she did take it so much. It seemed more like her now than my ex boyfriend. Besides, I was horrible with stick shifts.

Kellan was out when I got there, his front door firmly locked as I jiggled it. As his car was still parked in the driveway, I figured he’d taken advantage of the beautiful, sunny afternoon to go for a run. Pulling my keys out of my bag, I flicked through the ring until I found his. We’d each exchanged keys not too long ago. “The next step,” Kellan had called it. Stepping into his home, the coolness of his empty entryway hit me. I set my heavy bag to the floor with a rush of relief. Knowing I’d probably end up staying the night here, I’d packed everything I needed for tomorrow—clothes, books, paper, pens and pencils.

Examining the book bag with narrowed eyes, I took a mental invent-ory for the hundredth time. Just as I was wondering if I’d packed the Lit book that I needed, Kellan’s front door opened again. I glanced over at him, looked back to my bag, then snapped my head back to him. He’d gotten hot while running and his shirt was draped over his shoulder. His lean, toned body was glistening as he stepped through the door, wiping his face off with the edge of his tee. His breath was heavier from his exer-cise, and his abs clenched and relaxed in such an appealing way that I could not stop staring.

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I finally did when he chuckled at me. “You’re obsessed, you know?” he laughed out, scrubbing dry the edge of his hair with his shirt. I flushed instantly, thinking he meant me staring at his body all the time, but he raised an eyebrow and pointed to my bag. “You’re going to be just fine.”

I relaxed, feeling my embarrassment sliding away. Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “I know. I honestly don’t know why it twists my stomach so much.”

Grinning, he turned and shut his front door. My eyes darted down his bare back to the loose track pants he had on, but I managed to snap them back up to his face when he turned around again. “I know just how to get your mind off of it.”

Enjoying the playful look in his eye, I tilted my head as he came up to me, slinging his arms around my waist. “Oh?” I asked, lightly resting my fingers on his damp chest, his skin deliciously soft to the touch.