Riley laughs, but I don’t find it funny at all. In fact, it’s pretty intimidating living in this house with Neo. I walk on eggshells and try to avoid him at all costs. There is no such thing as a pleasant encounter when it comes to that boy.
The door comes open and Jagger is standing there. He doesn’t enter, just braces his hands on either side of him against the frame. He’s wearing only a pair of gym shorts, sweat sliding down every cut of his abs. I’m speechless, but I’m not the only one.
“Riley,” I nudge her and whisper, “pick up your jaw before you trip on it.”
She snaps out of her trance and licks her lips. “Right. I should go. I’ll see you later.” She glances at me with blushed cheeks and a bitten smile.
I nod, giggling at her awkwardness. “Yeah. Later.”
Riley turns sideways, sliding past Jagger, who doesn’t even bother moving.
Once Riley’s gone, Jagger drops his hand and walks toward me with a slow swagger. “What was that all about?”
I find myself licking my lips, too, because damn, he looks delicious. “Oh, I dunno. Could be you coming in here, looking like that.” My eyes skim up and down his body.
Jagger wipes his forearm over his head, wiping up some of the sweat. “Oh yeah?” He smirks. “I don’t see you running away all googly-eyed. Does that mean you don’t like what you see?”
I blow out a heavy breath of laughter, crouching down and pretending to look for something in my school bag. “I see your ego hasn’t deflated at all since I’ve moved in.”
“In my defense, you’ve only been here for a week. Give it some time, and I’m sure you’ll be leaving me with little to no self-esteem.”
“Wouldn’t hurt for any of you guys to be knocked down a few pegs.”
He slouches down on the opposite side of the large luggage bag full of the clothes I haven’t unpacked. Still unable to look at him, out of fear I’ll lose all train of thought and only feed his ego, I continue to shuffle through some tee shirts.
“Why won’t you look at me, Scar?”
My stomach flip-flops, and when I don’t respond, he tips my chin up so that I’m looking right at him. “What’s there to look at?”
I cast my eyes down, even though he doesn’t drop my chin.
God, he’s gorgeous. Tall, toned, and tanned. His sultry honey eyes match the dampened tips of hair that shimmer like gold. Every inch of his body is perfectly sculpted.
My heart pitter-patters when his thumb grazes my lower lip.
“Me.” He tips my chin again. “Look at me, Scar.”
I hate the effect he has on me. I’m still trying to figure Jagger out, but in doing so, I’m finding him more and more attractive. The urge to kiss him is powerful, and I fear if I don’t remove myself from this situation right now, I won’t be able to fight off my attraction to him any longer. In a perfect world, he’d do something atrocious, like he’s done in the past, and I could easily hate him. Only, he’s not doing any of those things. Jagger has been warm and kind and helpful. He’s walked me home from school every day since I’ve moved in, while Crew is at practice. And even though I pretend it’s annoying, I actually like it. We’ve had the best conversations, and he can always make me laugh. So while I wish I could hate him, I’m not sure I can.
Jagger is the first person to ever make me hold my breath and stumble over my words. He makes me nervous, and I have no idea why.
“Quit making this weird,” I finally say, pushing my bag of clothes toward him and causing him to shift back a few inches.
His hand drops, and he chuckles. “You’re so much fun, Scar.”
Why does he keep saying my name like that? So sexy and seductive-like? And fun? How am I fun?
The defensive side of me kicks into gear. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He drops back on his ass against the bed, knees bent and his legs spread apart. I give him one glance. One stupid glance and it’s not at his face; instead, I’m offered a full view between the legs of his shorts to nothing but his sack resting peacefully against his groin.
I blink my eyes away, feeling my cheeks heat up. When I look back at him—his face this time—he’s grinning.
Oh my god, he knows.
He knows I just stole a glance at his junk.
I roll my lips together, playing it cool while I begin pulling clothes out of my unpacked bag. Shirt after shirt falls onto the floor beside me, and before long, the bag is empty.