Redeemed (Dirty Air #4)(27)

It’s my turn to laugh. “What?”

Seriously, how can this girl not know I’m famous? I can’t remember the last time I’ve been completely anonymous. By the time I was eighteen, I already had over a hundred-thousand followers on my social media accounts.

“Your house. Have you seen it? It’s like Luigi’s Mansion but less fun.”

“Are you a Nintendo fan?”

“Are you not? Be careful how you answer. I might have to end this friendship before it has a real chance.”

Friendship? She’s got to be kidding me. I’m not about to get friend-zoned by a woman who kissed me like she might die without it. No way. Fuck that.

“Of course I like Nintendo. I grew up using Mario Kart as practice.”

“Practice for what?” Her brows scrunch together.

Shit. I ignore the urge to reveal my racing past. “For actual driving. What else?”

“I wouldn’t know. I never learned how to drive.”

“What? You don’t know how to drive?” I try to wrap my head around the concept. I’ve been driving karts since I was four years old.

“No! I grew up in New York. No one knows how to drive.”

“Whoa. That needs to be amended.”

She laughs to herself. “And you’re going to be the one to sacrifice yourself for the cause?”

“It’s not a sacrifice if I’m willing.” I grin.

Marko, cockblocker extraordinaire, interrupts us, squeezing my neck with his sweaty arms. “Time for gelato?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. You already had gelato yesterday.”

“Please!” He squeezes my neck tighter. “You’re the bestest uncle ever.”

“Thanks. It was a tough competition with myself, but I’m glad I won.”

Chloe giggles and I want to hear more of it.

“So yes?” Marko whines.

“Why don’t you go run around some more?” Go run. Go hide. Go rip grass from the ground like I did when I was your age. Anything to give me an ounce of privacy with Chloe.

“Then I get pukey.” He fake retches.

Chloe’s deep laugh has my dick waking up like it’s time to play.

“Then sit.” I pat the grass. If it worked on me, maybe it’ll work on him.

He moves onto Chloe, crawling into her lap and holding her face with his pudgy hands. “Princess, can you take me? Tickle dragon is grumpy.”

The little shit.

Chloe looks at me with a raised brow. “I don’t want the tickle dragon mad at me.”

“Please.” Marko pouts.

“Fine. We can go.” I exhale.

“Yes!” Marko claps and stands up, offering his hand to Chloe. “You coming?”

Chloe opens her mouth, clearly wanting to reject Marko.

I jump in. “You don’t want to disappoint a four-year-old because they tend to hold grudges. And this little guy is the worst at them. He forced me for an entire week to dress up as Elsa because I didn’t want to watch Frozen with him.”

She chuckles to herself as she packs up the few items she had strewn out on the grass. “Sure. Why not? I don’t have anything else to do tonight.” She rises from the ground with ease.

I make a move to get up before remembering I can’t do it the same way anymore. The vein above my eye throbs as I prep myself.

Fuck. This was a terrible idea. Getting up is way worse than going down.

“Hey.” Chloe bends over, hitting me with two sapphire eyes. “Marko calls you Iron Man, right?”

I raise a brow, ignoring the clenching of my stomach muscles from the fresh wave of nerves. “Yes.”

The scar above her lip twitches as her lips part. “And do you know what makes Iron Man special?”

“His suit?”

She laughs and leans into my ear. The hot air from her mouth sends sparks down my spine. “No. Iron Man is special because he owns who he is, no matter what people think of him. He is unapologetic and people are drawn to him like a magnet. Personally, I don’t care if it takes you a minute or an hour to get up. All that matters is that you do.”

How the hell did life throw this girl in my path? I’m destined to destroy her before she has a chance to get away. She’s too good for the likes of me.

I swallow back the lump in my throat. “Is this your game-day speech?”

“This is my get your head out of your ass speech. I reserve game-day speeches for special occasions like sex marathons and getting out of bed on Sundays.”

My dick is interested in both options with her. Chloe is the perfect blend of sweet and sexy, giving me a hard-on from her presence and words alone.

She moves away from me, taking her warmth with her. Marko asks her to watch him race across the grass, and she walks over to him.

I do what Chloe told me to and push aside the idea of her staring at me. Instead, I focus on the motions of getting up. I grab my prosthetic and cross it over my left leg. Rolling onto my knees, I bring my left foot forward and press it into the ground before standing.

I brush the dirt clinging to my hands. No one pays me any attention, and I enjoy the warmth spreading through my chest at my accomplishment. Instead of my usual hatred toward myself, I feel stronger. Not only because I could get up, but because I found someone whose first instinct isn’t to baby me or avoid talking about my injury. Honestly, it seems like Chloe doesn’t give a shit about it. She treats me as an equal, which is more than I can say about many people. It has me wanting to get to know the real her rather than the lie I created in my head. And I’m not exactly opposed to it anymore.