Page 9 of Shes my 1 Try

“Sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in ages.”

“How much longer are you going to mope?”

“I’m not moping,” I flop onto the couch as my cousin opens the fridge, looking for a drink. She’s not going to find anything in there.

“Cuz. Dude. You’ve been here for almost three months now and you still haven’t unpacked or done a proper grocery shop. I’m gonna stop coming over if you don’t even have a drink to offer me,” she complains, slapping her hand on the kitchen bench.

“There’s a tap and a cup if you’re thirsty.” I wave a hand in her direction, my mind elsewhere.

“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been a sad sack ever since that photoshoot. Surely Tyler’s punch didn’t bruise your ego that much.” I snort at her comment and flip her the bird.

I love my cousin, Mandy. She’s half the reason I was keen to sign with the Dingoes. Knowing the one family member I could rely on would be at the club, too, was a huge factor in signing the deal. She is, however, the only person I know who doesn’t give up when she smells trouble.

“Nothing, okay. There’s nothing wrong. The day anything Tyler does rates on my give a shit-o-meter, you know the world is coming to an end. Trust me.” She comes to sit down on the other couch, the one thing I have purchased since moving into my new place, and stares at me. “What? It’s true. Stop looking at me like that, it’s freaking me out.”

“If it’s not Tyler, then it’s something else. This,” she waves a hand at the piles of still full boxes stacked against the wall. “Isn’t you. And if it isn’t the dickwad, then there’s only one other thing it could be.”

I lay my phone on the armrest, taking a break from my aimless scrolling, and roll into a sitting position. “Okay, Sherlock. Hit me with your stunning deduction. I can’t wait for this one.”

“It’s obvious. You’re mooning over a woman,” she sighs, waving a hand at me, and I wonder if it is that obvious. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Did I say I love my cousin? Maybe right now I want to shove my head under a pillow and tell her how much I hate her for bringing my issue to light. I’d have happily moped about sassy Miss Makeup until I got over it. Oh, hell. Who am I kidding? I cannot stop thinking about her.

“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair.

“Why doesn’t it? Who is she?” she asks, but it feels like a loaded question, and my shoulders stiffen.

“She’s not married if that’s what you’re asking,” I snap, pushing off the couch and head into the kitchen.

“I wasn’t asking that, Ash. I never would, I thought you knew I had your back…have I should say. Always,” Mandy adds, her brows pinched as she studies me across the space.

She’s right. She’s always right, but after everything I’ve been through, it’s so easy to jump to conclusions about things. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. This shit’s messing with my head.”

“It’d mess with anyone’s head,” Mandy sighs, getting to her feet. “So, are you gonna tell me who this woman is, or do I have to torture you to find out?”

That’s the million-dollar question. Who is this woman? I still don’t know anything about her, except that she does makeup. And has me in a tailspin.

“Ash?”

“What do you want me to say, Mandy? That I fucked up? That she was so damn beautiful and intoxicating, I…I…”

Coming to stand opposite me, a heavy sigh pushing from her lips, she leans on the counter. “Fuck, Ash, did you put one foot or two in your mouth?”

“Geez, cuz, you make me sound like an idiot. It wasn’t like that. I just got tongue tied. I mean, how bad can it be to call her a cute girl?” Mandy’s eyes roll so far into the back of her head I swear she’ll see into last week.

“You called her cute?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” Is being called cute really that bad? Judging by my cousin’s reaction, I should ask the earth to open up and swallow me.

“Puppies and kittens are cute, Ash. Women want to be told they’re beautiful, sexy, desirable. Is she hot?”

“So fucking hot, Mandy. Like can’t stop thinking about her hot. Got morning wood hot! Is that hot enough for you?” I wave an exasperated hand in the air.

“Ew! TMI, Ash. Do you even know her name?” Scraping a hand down my face, there’s no hiding what an idiot I am. Like, who doesn’t ask for someone’s name?

“Fuck! No, okay. I don’t know her name. I know she’s got this warm brown hair with fiery red streaks through it. Eyes like the ocean when the sun shines on it. And that ass, fuck…”

“I get the picture, Ash. How the hell did you not ask for her name? You lost your game or what?” she teases, the smirk she always got as a kid when she knew something I didn’t and wanted me to suffer plays on her lips.

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