Page 8 of Unleashing Chaos

“Problem solved,” he says, sliding my phone across the desk.

I snatch it up and read his response.

Nope. I’d rather play in traffic. Next time, man up and ask a girl to dinner first. And I suggest you splurge to make up for the disappointment she’s bound to have after she experiences your subpar fucking skills.

A snort escapes me, and I cover my mouth with my palm. “Jace! Okay, clearly it meant something vile, so I’m going to go ahead and thank you for the save there, but come on, tell me. What does it mean?”

“It means ‘down to fuck.’ I’m assuming you’re not down. At least not directly after a hello.”

My nose wrinkles and I shake my head, shoving my phone into my hoodie pocket. “No. Nope. Definitely not. That’s—nope.” My face is burning, and I push my hair behind my ears. “Thanks, Jace. I appreciate it. I’m glad I didn’t just answer him without figuring that out first.”

He gives a curt nod and I head for the door.

“Hey, Desi?” I spin around to face him again, and he says, “Be careful. Meet these guys in public places and don’t go home with them until you’re sure you aren’t getting serial killer vibes.”

I meet his gray eyes and notice that he’s removed his glasses. Now they’re even more striking. I’ve never seen eyes that color before. Shaking my head to clear the random thought, I say, “Right. Of course, sure. I won’t do anything stupid.”

“It may be a good idea for you to turn on your friend locator, so your brother knows where you are just in case.”

I swallow and gnaw on my bottom lip. “Well, actually, my brother is—uh, out of the country. He and Glen left to go on a trip to eat food. Like, you know, one of those things where you just eat . . . a lot.”

His eyebrow dips and he drawls, “A buffet?”

“Like, on a global scale, sure. Point being, he won’t be any help if I get into any trouble, and I don’t know anyone here besides you and Cannon. Well, and Meredith, but we don’t know each other like that y—”

“What about your other five brothers?”

Shit, why does he remember everything I say? “They’re all there at the, uh, buffet together.”

“Okay, that’s weird. Get Cannon to turn his on.” He pauses and wrinkles his nose. “Never mind. He has an Android.”

I mirror his facial expression even though I have no idea what that means. “Yeah, ew.”

Jace leans back in his chair, and it tilts with his weight. Folding his hands over his abdomen, he lets out a quick breath. “Put me in your phone and allow me access to your location. If I don’t hear from you by ten tomorrow night, I’ll shoot you a text, and if you don’t answer, I’ll send the cops to go find you.”

Something about him caring enough to send the cops to look for me warms my heart, but then another thought occurs to me. “What if I’m . . . busy doing . . . other things, and that’s why I don’t answer? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”

He shakes his head and rolls his eyes, turning his attention back to his computer. “Then I guess you better text me back before that happens.”

“Fair enough. Good plan.”

“Glad you approve. Good night, Desideria.”

My heart skips a beat at the sound of my full name leaving his lips. He learned how to say it. I’ve heard it all my life from countless people, and never once has it captured my attention like it does now. Each syllable is like a smooth melody in a low octave. It vibrates through me in all the right places.

It takes the strength of a hundred demons to compose myself and say, “Night, Jace. See you tomorrow.”

He nods, and before I can slip out the door, he says, “One more thing: next time you need to know what an acronym means, you know you can google it, right?”

I laugh and nod on my way out the door. “Right, of course. Google.”

What the fuck is Google?

I press the heels of my hands to my eyes and lean against the wall at the other side of the hall. I’m ridiculous. Jace is not my type at all. Not to mention, he’s made it clear I’m not his. I need to keep focused on those men who are interested in dating me, like the serial killers who require me to turn on my location tracker. I hope my date tomorrow doesn’t end in disaster.

Three

DESI

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