Page 38 of Too Much Heat
"A few drinks tonight will help you forget the pain," Luke says, leaning against the door.Luke is wearing a green shirt and black jeans. His hair is shaved on the sides, and he is the only one of my brothers who likes to keep a beard. He has tattoos covering both of his arms and is a slight bit taller than me. It’s weird looking at him now, less the little brother and more a man now. I guess our lifestyles make us grow up a bit quicker.
"I need more than a few." I smile at Luke before running my hands through my messy hair. Looking in the mirror at my face shows I only have a cut lip and a few bruises, so it isn’t too bad. My green eyes glare back at me as I try to shake the image of how much I look like my damn father. The thing is, he always looked too much like me. Seb looks a little like me, but I have all of my father’s looks.
"Let's go," I say, grabbing my keys as I walk out of the house to my car, with Luke following. Tonight is Blake's birthday party at his apartment, and I've been nervous all day about seeing her.Allie Lewis, the girl I’ve been thinking about for way too fucking long.
I want her. It's taken me too damn long to admit that to myself, but I will have her. If not tonight, then eventually.I have a feeling she isn’t going to make this easy for me. I’m not giving up no matter what she decides to do.
"So, I have this datenext Friday,and she has a hot friend. Want to double date?" Luke smirks at me.
"No thanks," I say, driving out of our drive.I would prefer to ride my bike, but I can’t tonight with Luke with me.
"What? Come on, I can't ask Blake or Seb now. You’re all I have left." He frowns at me, which makes me laugh. I guess he could ask Harley, but I know his answer would be: hell, no.
"Like you can't handle them both on your own, Luke."I grin at him.
"That's true." Luke sits back with a chuckle. I’m sure he is clearly thinking about the next weekend and how to work the date with two girls. I shake my head, smiling.
I know there is only one, very annoying, girl I want a date with, and I'm going to get one with her.I’ve never been told no before, so she will say yes. I think she will, anyway. Allie has always been a little unpredictable. Everything that comes out her mouth is unfiltered because she says whatever she is thinking at the time. I may have tried my hardest to look like I was avoiding her, but I wasn’t. Whenever Allie was close, I was nearby, even if she didn’t know it. I never admitted to myself why that was, but I’ve always known. Allie is my little secret.
When we pull up at the party, I know it's already very busy from the number of cars I see outside. Blake is dating my sister, Izzy, and we have been friends for years. I know my twin brother is around, so I go looking for him straight away.
I spot Seb with Maisy on his lap. They are both in the open-plan kitchen and sitting on a stool, laughing with each other. Seb may be my twin, but we are not like each other. His hair is perfectly styled and kept short, a dark-brown instead of my black colour. Seb wears expensive, polo shirts and designer jeans, whereas I buy whatever I see first in a store as long as it’s black. Seb did try shopping for me a few times over the years, but once he realised I had been putting the clothes in a box in his room, he stopped. I did keep a few of the shirts, the black ones.
"Hey, how's my nephew?" I ask them straight away. I can’t help but smile as I think of little Jake. He has just started giggling at everything, which is fucking adorable. Not that I would say it out loud, that little boy already knows he has got everyone tied around his little finger.
"He is good and still cute. I'm going to call my dad to check on him,"Maisy says with her eyes lighting up. Maisy looks great in her long, green dress; you wouldn’t ever guess she had a baby four months ago. Seb barely takes his hands off her, unless one of us drags him away or his son needs him.
"Not again, baby, you only called ten minutes ago." Sebastian groans, pulling her back into his lap when she tries to leave.
"Fine." She scowls at Seb, while I hold back a chuckle. Sebastian laughs, kissing her cheek.
"I'm getting a drink," I say, feeling a little jealous at how close they are. What the hell is up with me recently? Getting jealous over a relationship? I know why, and her name is Allie. Getting her to see a nice side of me is going to be difficult. I’ve been nothing but a fuck up in her life, and there’s no way I deserve her. Fuck, her brother doesn’t want me anywhere near her, and I don’t blame him. For some insane reason, I can’t walk away.
I pull a beer from the fridge and go looking for Allie. As I walk into the living area, I see Allie straight away. Holy fuck, she looks amazing in a tight, red dress, which shows everything off. I'm half tempted to lift her over my shoulder and take her home so no one else can see her in that dress. She laughs at something my sister, Izzy, says before messing with her light-blond hair. It's up in one of those buns with bits hanging out, showing the dark-brown she had dyed in underneath. She looks unbelievably sexy, and I have the urge to pull her hair out of her bun and run my fingers through it, knowing how soft it will be. I eventually get the balls to walk over, using the excuse that I want to see Izzy.
"Hey," I say to them both.
"Hey, bro." Izzy grins, giving me a side hug. She doesn't usually hug me, so she must have had a few to drink.
"Hello, Elliot," Allie politely says with a frown on her pretty face. I lock my eyes with her bright-blue ones before grinning. I can be nice to her. I slowly look at her from her red, high heels to her soft-looking lips. I’ve just noticed she has bright-red lipstick on, and I seriously want to mess it up by kissing the fuck out of her. She has a little makeup on, highlighting her long eyelashes and framing her blue eyes.
"You look beautiful tonight, Allie," I say slowly.
She looks shocked at my statement for a second before she laughs. "How much have you had to drink tonight?" she asks.
I lean closer, so only she can hear.
"I've only had one, and you’re still the hottest girl in the room." I lean back when she looks at me in confusion. I notice that Izzy has left us.
"What's up with you?" she asks with her hands on her hips. The sight is making me hard as a rock, and I move closer. She keeps her normal glare for me on her pretty face as she moves back until her back hits the wall. I follow until I'm standing right in front of her, and I can't help but smell how amazing she smells, like vanilla.
"Angel, I think I'm just waking up. Go out on a date with me," I whisper. I lean close enough to kiss her cheek and push a strand of hair behind her ear. She blushes and pauses for a second as our eyes meet. Something changes in her mind because she pushes me away, looking angry.
"Are you crazy? You've made my life hell, and now that you’ve decided I'm hot, I’m meant to what? Just jump into your arms? Fuck off, Elliot," she says loudly and walks away from me while my eyes follow her amazing ass. I groan to myself, thinking how fucking badly that went, but I have no idea how to fix it. I drink the rest of my beer as I watch the room.
"That didn't go well, man." Blake laughs as he stops next to me, and I gather he must have overheard our conversation.
"I knew she wouldn't be that easy." I laugh a little, but I’m still looking in the direction Allie went.
