Page 5 of Kissing Chaos
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
He doesn’t need to know that turning thirty stole my ability to judge a jump onto a car top. It’s just pain. It’ll go away eventually.
Colt shrugs off my tone, weaving his way through the lobby.
“Hell, how do you know? You weren’t even on the same floor.”
“Passed her on the stairs. At least, I assume it was her. She was mumbling something about metal death traps and soot-covered men.”
I chuckle, which is probably why Colt gives me a questioning look. I’m more the growly type. Something about the girl intrigues me, more than her looks. “Definitely her. I’ve never met someone who radiated innocence and chaos at the same time.”
“Did you get her number?”
“I didn’t even get her name.”
“That sucks, man. But you know what else sucks? Working on an empty stomach. That cheesy, greasy goodness is calling my name.”
It’s pizza day. Nothing beats Fellini’s Pizza. As we weave through the lunch crowd of the building, I catch a glimpse of the entrapment girl’s profile. She must’ve slipped by while we were talking. Luck is not on my side, because the second I open my mouth to tell Colt I’ll meet him at the restaurant around the corner, my phone rings, our boss’s name flashing across the screen.
“You gotta be kidding me,” I mutter before grabbing Colt’s attention and pausing my steps while hitting the answer button.
“Yeah?” I grunt out. I’m not one to waste words, and nothing ever good comes from Ryan’s calls.
“Hey. I need you and Colt to go to the shop and pick up some parts that some of the other guys need for tomorrow. Don’t know if yours came in or not, but I need you to come sort them and see,” Ryan says.
I bite back a groan as entrapment girl slips through the exit doors before I can take another step. Resigned to never learning more about her, I sigh. “Yep. We will be there a little after lunch,” I grumble before hanging up.
A bunch of bullshit, if you ask me. Ryan is an asshat who doesn’t know his foot from his ass when it comes to elevators. I can guarantee the parts he wants sorted are incorrect for the current project. He has no common sense.
I run to the doors at a fast pace with the hope that this girl is still outside. Colt is quick to follow, but the mystery girl is already out of sight. Rubbing the back of my neck, I sigh again.
Damn it.
***
The worn wooden sign on the side of the road tells me I’m finally back home, but I don’t need it. I could make this drive in my sleep. After traveling to the other side of Atlanta just to confirm that the wrong parts were ordered, I told Colt to go on home. The wiring issue can wait until next week. I’m more than ready for my three-day weekend of nothing.
I love this little town. The population is low, sitting at about twenty-five hundred, which is insane considering it borders city is known as “Hollywood of the South” due to all the movie and television productions that take place there. We don’t have a Wal-Mart or a Publix. And the only drive-thru is the town’s breakfast diner. The town square is home to most businesses and a few loft apartments that I own, thanks to some smart investing right out of high school.
I don’t even have the key out of the doorknob or the door open all the way before I hear my Australian Shepherd yipping from her kennel. My keys clink on the counter as I drop them on my path to the room where her crate is. The moment her kennel door opens, Sadie launches into wiggling with what my sister refers to as tippy-tappies and wiggle-butts in excitement, whining and yipping her way between my legs.
“How’s my Sadie Bear? D’you have a good day?” I ask as I scratch her neck and ears.
She yips again and takes off toward the back door. I let her out into the small, enclosed backyard and toss her tennis ball down the steps. It lands on the grass below, and I leave the door open for her as I start to clean up last night’s dishes. I’d promised my best buddy Jace that I would come down to Riley’s—his family-owned bar-slash-diner—to spend some time together since we’d both had hectic schedules lately. But before I can go out in public, I need to get some of this carbon dust and grease off me. My skin is coated in the shit, along with my lungs.
As I trudge back to the door to whistle for Sadie, my thoughts slip back to the girl from earlier. Or, woman, I guess. Though her entire presence screamed innocence. Chaotic, maybe. But there was something innately tender about her. I want to see her again. Hear her raspy voice. Get lost in those green eyes of hers as she nibbles on her lip.
I let out a deep sigh and shake my head to clear it of the images trying to evolve there and look at Sadie. “Pathetic, right?”
She sneezes, pawing at the floor.
“Yeah, I know. Get a grip, right?”
Sadie sneezes again before trotting over to her gray memory foam dog bed that takes up the entire far corner of the room. She has been through all the ups and downs of the last three years with me. My princess deserves it.
“Behave yourself while I get cleaned up, yeah?”
She stares at me for a moment before dropping her head onto her paws, feigning sleep. Funny. As soon as I slip into the bathroom, she’ll be running laps, getting into everything she isn’t supposed to touch. Too nosy for her own good.
