Page 5 of Trip Through Your Wires

We stand there for a moment, quiet, then he leans in, eyes softening. “So, do you want to tell me why you spaced out back there?”

“Tired,” I shrug. “And crappy beer.”

“Come on,” he grins. “We both know you were checking me out.”

“Checking you…what?” I can’t help but laugh. “I was not.”

“Yes you were,” his smile widens. “You had the same look on your face back there that I did that day I saw you standing on this very beach in that bikini.”

“What bikini?” I shake my head. Is he talking about the suit I borrowed from Ellery the day we came here with those jerks from Elmhurst?

“The blue one,” he grins. “With ties on the hips and a bow at the neck. I don’t know where you got it,” his eyes search mine, “but it was meant for you.”

Yup, he’s talking about the day Ellery and I came here with those Elmhurst dicks to put her plan in motion. I’d gone to her place after working a shift at the store and forgot my suit. Having plenty to spare, she tossed me a few to try on, and her old blue two-piece was the one that fit best. She spilled out of the top now, while I barely filled it. I can’t believe Jake remembers it.

“That was weeks ago,” I look at him in disbelief.

“Yeah,” he grins, “and it’s been in my mind ever since.”

“What are you, a detective?” I ask lamely.

“No,” he laughs. “But my dad is, and he taught me how to remember every detail because you never know when the smallest one will matter. Although, you’re not a small detail, Sparky. Far from it.”

I can’t help but roll my eyes.

“What?” he asks innocently.

“Be honest, Hot Shot. You remember the socialites and silicone that day. Not me.”

“Oh yeah?” he challenges.

“Yeah.”

“Cutoffs,” he says matter of fact.

I look at him confused. “What?”

“They were acid washed, and a cropped white top, with a flannel tied around your waist and maroon Doc Martens.”

“What’s that?” I cross my arms. “Your girlfriend’s shopping list?”

“No,” he bites back a laugh. “I don’t have a girlfriend. It’s what you were wearing the night of the party. You know…when you ripped me a new asshole?”

Wait…what? First the bikini and now my outfit the night of the party?

“You had your hair in a ponytail,” he continues, “and a choker pulled tight around your neck. And fishnets.”

“You remember that?” I ask in disbelief.

“I told you,” he leans in. “You’re hard to forget. In fact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the moment we met.”

My eyes search his, wondering if he’s trying to fuck with me. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

“Afraid I don’t,” he laughs.

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