Wild Card by Ashley Munoz

Chapter Fifteen

I was running latefor one of my classes, which wasn’t exactly new for me, but noticing the dark red-haired journalism student typing away in the newspaper class was. I must have walked past this room a thousand times, but I had never really looked inside…or if I had, I hadn’t seen her. I would have remembered. There was something about that wild hair and those green eyes that would have stopped me or made me walk in and ask her out.

The memory of what she had done two nights earlier, leaving me alone with her stepsister, sat with me wrong, like warm milk on a sunny day. I knew why she had done it, but still…there was something wrong about being with Taylor without Mallory present. I understood how messed up that was, especially because this entire situation was my fault and my creation…but that didn’t mean I liked it.

I stared at Mallory as she focused on her computer screen, and then I glanced around for any faculty that might be near.

“Psst,” I hissed, hanging halfway in through the doorway.

Mallory didn’t look up from her computer. A few other students did though, each of them giving me an odd look before looking back toward a small cubicle room. There was a shaggy-haired kid sitting inside, all glass windows, with his door open. He must have been the editor or something.

“Pssst. Mallory Shaw,” I whispered again, tossing a pencil at her. The object hit her screen and bounced off, rolling to the ground by her feet.

Her head swung in my direction, her face slack with confusion. I smiled at how unaware she seemed and how surprised she was.

Pinching her eyebrows together, she glanced back at the little cubicle room before glancing my way once more. I waved my hand, indicating I wanted her to follow me out of the classroom. She looked around once more before standing up and following me out.

The hall was mostly empty, most people in class or about to get there. Mallory must have been an overachiever if she was already sitting down at her desk and writing. I stopped a few feet away from the door and slouched against the wall.

“Hey.”

She looked down the hall and crossed her arms. “Hey.”

I smiled, liking her feistiness. “What are you doing?”

“What did it look like I was doing?” she volleyed back.

Such a smart mouth. If she had been my girl, I’d have grabbed her wrist and tugged her into a secluded alcove or bathroom then shoved my hand up her white shirt and pinched her nipple. Even now, I could see the outline of her blue bra under the two tanks she wore, one slightly bigger than the other. She had this little gold necklace that looked so fucking good against her tanned skin, and I wanted to run my fingers under it.

“It looked like you were entering launch codes to destroy the male population,” I joked back, feeling a smile creep up my face. I didn’t usually smile. It helped with the rumors circling about me, that I was an angry freak. I slightly wondered if Mallory had heard them yet. The way she snuck glances at my hand told me she had, but she was too nice to me for me to get a clear reading.

She rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “I was writing up a few notes for my article.”

“Ah, right.” Now I felt like a moron—of course that was what she was obviously doing in her journalism class.

“What are you doing?” With her arms still crossed, she leaned forward, bumping my arm with hers. The action took me by surprise, because my scarred hand was wrapped around my elbow, so when she bumped me, it took me right back to that night in Elias’s room when she gripped my wrist, her finger running down the length of my scar. It sent a rush of heat through my chest not having her recoil or act afraid of me.

“Going to class, but I know I owe you a meeting.” I ran my hand through my hair, wondering what in the hell I was about to offer and why. These meetings were a waste of time considering she wouldn’t be allowed to print a single word. Still, we had a deal, and it wasn’t like it was a hardship to be around her. There were a million little warning flags waving in my head, telling me not to do this, but I did anyway. “I usually head to my mom’s house once a week to help her out…I know you don’t know me very well, but it’s a bit of a drive, so it would give us a ton of time to talk.”

Her eyes went wide at my offer, so I quickly made sure I fixed it.

“Talk about the game…for your notes.” I gestured back toward her class for emphasis she didn’t need.

I was an idiot.

She ducked her head, tucking a few strands of unruly hair behind her ears. “Um…okay, yeah. When are you leaving?” Those green irises popped back up, searching my face. God, this would have been so much easier if she didn’t look like she did. She had all these little things about her that I wanted to ask her about. Like, why three piercings on her left ear but only one on her right? Did she have a belly button piercing? What did the circular tattoo under her ear mean? It looked cool as hell, but there were all these little pieces to the circle that made me look every time I saw her. I was way too fucking curious about this chick, which wasn’t good.

“Uh…after a short shift this afternoon at Geno’s, I’ll head home, grab a shower, and then head out. I can pick you up.” I was officially late for class now; Juan was probably shaking his head, thinking I’d ditched again.

“I can meet you in your apartment complex parking lot…I have to head over there anyway to grab something from my friend’s house.”

“Okay, then I’ll see you later.” I smiled at her, withholding the itch to run my fingers across her collarbone. It was so rigid against her necklace, and the way her hair brushed against that indented space was fucking ridiculous. How could something so simple be so hot?

“Okay, see you then.” She returned the smile and sauntered toward her class. Did she always swing her hips like that? Her ass looked amazing in those jeans, and that tank top…it rode up just enough to show off the slightest hint of skin along her back. I nearly groaned once she was inside, but instead I turned on my heel and ran toward my class.

* * *

Work took forever to finish.Maybe it was because I’d opted to help Geno with his new remodel of the back-bar area, but I couldn’t seem to get out of there fast enough. Sweaty and covered in drywall, I drove straight home to shower, rushing through every swipe of soap and scrub of my hair.

I kept telling myself to slow the fuck down, it didn’t matter…but for whatever reason, my body knew it was going to be seeing Mallory Shaw and didn’t want to waste any time in getting to her. Logically, it was the absolute most idiotic thing I could do, especially since I was trying to seduce her stepsister…but I couldn’t quite get my mind and my dick to come to terms on that entire situation.

I dressed quickly, grabbed my bag and laptop, and headed down to my truck. Mallory was already resting against the back taillight, her arms crossed over her chest and a pair of sunglasses perched on her face. I glanced around, trying to figure out where she’d come from. She had said she had a friend who lived here, but was it a male or a female? Was it the same friend’s house she’d left at two in the morning the week before?

“Hey.” I winced. Fuck the sun was bright today. I needed my sunglasses.

“Hey.” She gave me a small wave, leaning away from the truck. Her demeanor was more reserved than it had seemed that morning in the hall, like she’d had time to reconsider this whole thing and now might back out. My stomach felt like it was filling with lead at the idea of her telling me she couldn’t go.

“You been waiting long?” I gripped the strap of my backpack and opened the back door to my truck.

She angled her body to the side and swung her arm toward the apartments at our backs. “No, my friend lives over there. I took a nap, ate some lunch, and even cleaned his fridge out…” She ducked her head, laughing. “Sorry, when I say it like that, it does sound like I was waiting. I don’t often get spaces to myself since I live with Taylor, so when my friend is gone and I can hang by myself, I go a little crazy.”

I smiled at her, wishing I knew who this friend was, because my mind had locked on to the term his and now it wouldn’t let it go. I didn’t need to be territorial when it came to her. I didn’t need to do anything but let her set up more time between Taylor and me…

Still, I couldn’t help myself.

“Since you’re here…do you want to see my place, so if you ever have an issue and your friend isn’t home, you can knock on my door?” Real smooth, Duggar. Really fucking smooth.

I almost couldn’t face her from how mortified I felt, but thankfully she took mercy on me with a little smile and held her hand out. “Lead the way.”

So I did. I walked with her next to me, not really needing to show this girl my space but still wanting her to know where I lived in case she ever needed me.

We jogged up the stairs and stopped in front of the door.

“You’re in C block?” She laughed, the sound warm like a little ray of sunshine at my side. I wrinkled my eyebrows, bringing my key out.

“C block?”

“It’s an inside joke with my friend…” She shrugged then followed me inside. It was modest and humble, nothing fancy or very nice. Every dollar I earned, I shoved toward my mom’s house. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had purchased something for the apartment.

“My roommate Marcus is usually here too…but yeah, this is my place.” Why was this so fucking awkward? Why had I assumed she’d want to see where I lived?

She walked ahead of me, looking up and around, her pink lips drawing to the side in a sly smirk as she picked up a framed photo of me and my kid brother. “I like it.”

“It works for now.” I shrugged, feeling my neck grow hot. Having her eyes on my space was like opening my head and telling her she could stroll through. Don’t mind the secret doors all locked up; I’ll open those suckers right up for you.

“Yeah, I get that. I think about what it will be like when I have my own place, what it will look like…if it will feel different once I’m done with school and out there on my own.” Her wistful look made something in my chest ache.

I wanted to engage in this conversation with her, but it was hitting on far too many triggers for me. Once upon a time, I’d dreamt of a life like that, of what my future would hold…the excitement of the unknown. Now, I just worried about my mom and little brother making it.

“We should head out…it’s going to take a bit to get there.” I held the front door open for her.

She set the framed photo down and followed me out.