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But I don’t really get a choice because the second I move, her eyelids flutter open, her green eyes bright but exhausted.
“Hi,” she says, a small smirk on her face.
“Hey,” is all I can manage to respond.
“Seems like someone’s excited to be awake,”
What is she talking abo—oh. “Don’t flatter yourself,” I roll my eyes. “It’s only natural.”
“Mhm,” she says, stretching her arms above her head as she yawns. Her giant ring sparkles in the sunlight.
I wish I picked it out for her. The fact that I didn’t eats at me. There’s a proper way to do things, even if this isn’t real.
But I also wasn’t going to lie to her.
“So what’s the deal with today, big guy?” Sydney asks, her eyes on me. I get up, stretching.
Her eyes immediately find the line of exposed skin as my shirt rides up, and as I remember her little stunt in the dressing rooms yesterday, I decide to have a little bit of fun. Test the waters.
I take off my shirt, watching her the entire time I do it as her intense gaze makes its way up my torso before finally meeting mine.
“I’m not sure,” I say with a shrug. Her eyes sear my skin. “Tomorrow is that dinner we have to go to, but I’m not comfortable telling you how that’s going to go because your sister is a bit of a loose cannon. Plans can sometimes change at the drop of a hat.”
“Do you know what’s going to happen after the dinner?”
“That’s all up to whether Jeffrey Wright buys our schtick and how fast it takes him to reach out afterward.”
She nods, her eyes drifting down again.
“Hey, eyes up here, Princess,” I smile as her head whips up, her eyes narrowing.
“I don’t like it when you call me that,”
“And I don’t like it when you ogle me like some piece of meat,” I tell her with a chuckle. It’s a lie. Deep down, I love it.
“You ogle me too,” she throws back.
I lean onto the bed, leveling her with a stare. “You’re not my type,”
“You’re not mine, either,”
“Glad we’re on the same page.”
* * *
The rest of the day goes by in a blur. I don’t see much of Sydney, but I can feel her presence. Whenever she walks into a room, a chill goes down my spine.
I’ve shot people square in the face and tortured people for information, and yet, for some reason, this girl is what consumes my mind. This infuriating woman.
It’s just because you don’t remember ever being with a woman,I tell myself. That’s not to say I haven’t envisioned myself with one. Haven’t fantasized about it. But I’m not one to play with women’s emotions. I’m not going to pretend that something is what it’s not, and I’m not going to go to a woman’s apartment for a quick fuck when she doesn’t even know my real name. That’s not what I’m about, and it never will be.
I think that’s part of the reason I keep pushing Sydney away. Everything about her draws me in. The way she looks at me, the way she holds her breath when I move past her, the way she flirts. But I know that this is a job. This is life or death for a lot of people, and the second this is over, she’s going to go home a free woman without me while I’m stuck here taking orders from her sister.
Not that I’d rather be running the place. I’ll gladly take orders from Jerry for the rest of my life if it means not having to deal with some of the bullshit she deals with every day. That being said, the similarities between the two also throw me off.
While Sydney would like to pretend that they’re nothing alike, they’re both loose cannons. Both hot-headed and temperamental. Both infuriating and also endearing. Jerry has been jaded by the past. Lonely for most of her life, and although Sydney never quite had it as bad, I think their grievances with their parents are closer than the two of them may think.
Throughout the day, I watch as they interact with each other. The changes are subtle, but they’re there. Jerry smokes in the family room, Maverick by her side as she watches Sydney pace around the kitchen, finding something to eat as she rubs her stomach. Jerry’s brows furrow, catching the movement.
