Draw (Gentry Boys #1)(18)

Instead I got a day pass at the gym and pounded on a bag until my knuckles felt like chopped meat. But she was still in my head until I worked it out later, beating off and guiltily picturing her warm body underneath me. Or on top of me. I wasn’t picky. I just wanted to ram myself into her until we both crashed into f*cking ecstasy.

As I sat there staring at the quiet apartment, nothing jumped out at me as a decent way to kill a few hours. Last week I got to talking to a guy who said he could get me in as a bouncer at Apex, a club on Mill Ave. It wouldn’t be the windfall of a fight, but it sounded pretty good right now. Mostly it sounded like a way to pass the time and I could end every night getting off with some girl who wasn’t the one I’d ill-treated years ago. I was starting to regret not tagging along with Chase and Creed.

“Fuck it,” I said to the empty living room and jumped off the couch. I wasn’t doing anyone any good here. Mingling with the horny crowds still didn’t sound terribly appealing but I needed to find some answer to the hard restlessness which grew stronger every minute.

As soon as I was outside I started running. I didn’t know where I was going but the shriek in my chest quieted everything else. I skirted all the way around the apartment complex and out towards University Drive before doubling back. The sweat was pouring off me by that time and I took off my shirt, wiping my face with it. It still wasn’t very late. The last of the day’s sun was only then ducking behind the horizon, giving the world a briefly muted quality before it would melt into darkness for a while.

It couldn’t have been an accident that I ended up in front of Brayden’s building. I didn’t approach the door, instead choosing to circle around at a distance. The lights were on and I saw shapes moving behind the blinds. Several times I would take a few steps forward, intending to knock on the door, but then I would fall back, chickening out. I was sweaty and it was nearly nighttime. It would seem weird if I dropped by.

Making a decision, I turned around. Maybe I should catch up with the boys and see what the hell else was out there tonight.

“Cord.”

Her voice wasn’t surprised. It didn’t sound particularly friendly either, only curious.

I turned around. “Saylor, hey.”

She looked me up and down. “What are you doing out here?”

I wiped my forehead. “I was just out for a run. Thought about swinging by, but, you know…” I shuffled, keeping my eyes on the ground like a moron.

“No,” she said. “I don’t know.”

I thought I detected a note of amusement in her voice and when I looked up she was smiling. She also looked damn good.

“You going swimming?” I asked. It was rather an unnecessary question, given the fact that she was wearing a bikini and carrying a towel.

Saylor nodded, making her way down the path. “Yeah, I like to swim at night. People are off doing more interesting things and I usually get the place to myself.”

I figured she was giving me a hint that I ought to bow out and leave her be. I was about to tell her to have a good one when she surprised me.

“You look like you could stand to cool off.”

I reconsidered. “Maybe I could.”

She waited until I was beside her before she started walking again. Her hair was wrapped in a lime green headband which matched her bikini. She pulled the headband off, shaking her hair out, and I could caught wind of the fruity scent of her shampoo. That’s all it took to get me going. Well, that and the sight of her creamy skin, close enough to lick.

Saylor, however, seemed oblivious. She pulled a blossom off a nearby citrus tree. “I love the way these smell.”

“Reminds me of the orchards outside of Emblem. Got many a breakfast off those trees.”

“They’re not there anymore, I heard.”

“They’re not,” I confirmed. “There’s a new trailer park in the spot instead.”

She peered up at me with a quietly appraising expression. The bruises on her face had faded. “You know, I thought I’d see you sooner.”

I opened the pool gate. “Well if I would have known you were waiting I might have shown up earlier.”

She pushed an index finger playfully into my chest. “I didn’t say I was waiting.”

Saylor dropped her towel onto a lounge chair and kicked off her flip flops. “You’re not going to get a suit?”

I pulled my jeans down and raised an eyebrow. “Boxers.”

“Oh,” she murmured, fussing with her headband again. I could tell she was blushing and it make me hard as a f*cking rock. I looked at her, really looked at her. She’d always been a cute girl and she’d filled out nicely since high school. Those breasts, those hips, they were barely there back then. All that wasn’t it though. There was something else about Saylor. Something wistful and sweet that I badly wanted to bury myself in.

But I’d burned that bridge a long time ago. I took a running leap and dove into the deepest part of the pool.

When I surfaced I saw her at the other end, casually sitting on the steps. I ducked under and swam over to her.

She was lazily circling her feet in the water when I hauled myself up to the concrete.

“So how have you been, Say?”

She smiled into the mini whirlpools she was making. “Better than when you saw me last. It’s weird, this void of inactivity after four years of classes, papers, finals and work study. I got a job though. Waitressing, but it’s something.”