Page 7 of Always You

The skin below my eye is bruised in a purple and blue palette, a physical mark on my face that is now all for nothing, considering my mother found my stash of money.

She playfully rolls her eyes in a mocking way, then she opens her mouth.

“I know who you are,Hunter. You’re the boy they keep whispering about. Saying you’re an illegal cage fighter. I’m guessing they hardly step foot into the cage with freshly manicured nails leaving scratches likethat.” I laugh at her answer, liking the fact that she knows who I am.

“Could’ve been a girl?”

“True.” She nods. “But they look fresh and, somehow, you don’t have a ‘just fucked’ look.”

“A ‘just fucked’ look? What does that look like?” I ask, weighing my chances of her showing me in the near future.

“Like you’ve just fucked,” she says, bored, looking at me like I’m dense.

“You wanna see my ‘just fucked’ look?” I wink, licking my lips seductively.

“Get over yourself.” She glares with a scowl that doesn’t match her eyes, and I take the moment to soak in her beautiful face. She’s an enigma of contradiction, and fuck me if she doesn’t manage to dig a hole into my heart like it’s nothing. Her azure blue-green eyes are clouded with sass, yet her stance is made of good girl energy.

“What’s your name?”

“Charlotte.”

Finally, I know her name.

“Pretty. Do people call you Charlie?”

“Only my best friend, but I prefer Charlotte. She is just a lazy little brat who thinks Charlotte is too long.”

“Well...” I taunt, while she tilts her head in a daring way. “It is a bit long?”

“Just because you’re a cage fighter doesn’t mean I’m afraid to slap you.” The look on her face is filled with power, and for a second, I actually believe her, thinking this girl would not be afraid to kick my ass. Though, I’m not sure I would mind her doing it, anyway.

“I’m Hunter”—I reach out my hand to her—“but you already knew that.”

She grabs my hand and meets my eyes, and I swear to God, it feels like an electrifying pulse runs through my arm before we both let go and fend off our gazes.

“Did you run here, Hunter?”

“Yeah.”

“Where do you live?”

“You wanna know where I live now?” I only met her five minutes ago, but I can’t help but flirt with the girl, especially because she holds her own without effort. She is not intimidated, and even less impressed. Hell, if anything, she’s fucking beating me in my own game without her even knowing it and not putting in an effort doing so.

“I wanna know how far you ran.” She keeps a straight face, effortlessly ignoring my beaming smile that is slowly pushing my sour mood to the back of my brain.

“You just want to come over, don’t you?”

“Stop putting words in my mouth.”

“There’s something else I would like to put in your mouth,” I mumble, waiting until she smacks me over the head. She doesn’t seem like the type of girl who would take bullshit like that fromany guy, but it left my mouth before I could push the words back.

Pushing your luck here, Hunt.

When nothing happens, I carefully twist my face toward her and notice her scowling at me once again. It’s as terrifying as it is exhilarating, but regardless, it’s a welcoming change from the girls who pretend to love anything that leaves my lips.

The scowl softens into a fleeting smile, a subtle curve that hints at a hidden world of emotions beneath the tough exterior. In that moment, I see past the bravado, catching a glimpse of the real her—the one she guards fiercely yet reveals in unguarded moments.

“Does this shit actually work with girls?”

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