Page 59 of Hot Mess Express
“You intercepted my line of sight when I was in a chair by the side window with a book.” He nods at me. “Come on in. I’ll find the first aid and get you bandaged up. You took that fall pretty hard.”
He watched me trip over myself like a goof? “I don’t need no bandage or first aid kit or … orpity.”
“What do you need then? Nice flyers. Can I have one?”
“No, you can’t have a—” I suddenly remind myself that it’s the reason I’m here at all. “This isn’t even your house. Where’s Trey or Cody?”
“Don’t remember? Told you last night Pete and Cody have plans today. And Trey went into town for something.” He smirks. “There’s only me.”
I lean back. No way I’m letting this guy get close to my face again, not after last night. “Well, if they ain’t here, then there’s no reason formeto be,” I state flippantly, then start to turn.
Only for my flyers, right then, to slip straight out of my grasp and tumble to the floor between us.Lick a dick. I crouch down to pick them up.
Only to find Bridger having done the same.
We both stop, as if surprised at each other’s reaction.
Yet again, his face, right there, right in front of mine.
As if disarmed himself, Bridger slowly hands me the flyers he gathered. I take them distractedly and hug them to my chest as I continue to scrape the rest of them off the floor.
“Pest control?” he asks.
I stop for a second and take a breath. My head is spinning. All the thoughts in my head are stuck together like my brain became a honeycomb. I think I’m still hungover from last night.Should I have listened to imaginary Bridger, stayed in, and ignored Juni? “It’s my … my dad’s …” I’m too tired to fight back. My eyes feel like stones. My head throbs. “My dad’s business. Family business.”
“And you’ve been sent out to spread the good word?”
“Somethin’ like that.”
Bridger nods, then eyes me. “For a second there, I’d thought you come here ‘cause you changed your mind about hangin’ out.”
“Not a chance.”
He smirks. “Figured.” After a second, something brightens in his face. “I got an idea.” He snatches the last flyer off the ground before I can grab it. Both of us rise to our feet. “Go ahead. Give me your elevator pitch. Let’s hear it.”
I wrinkle up my face at him. “Huh? This ain’t your house.”
“So? I’m the one who answered the door.”
“But you don’t even—”
“Let’s go back and forth. You tell me a reason Trey should hire your dad’s pest control business. Then I’ll tell you a reason why you and I should hang out. We’ll see who wins.”
This guy is fucking nuts. “What kinda game is that?”
“Ours. I’ll go first. I think we should hang out because I can be fun when you get to know me.”
Already his first reason has my eyes rolling out of my head. “I am gonna call bullshit on that. You’re about as fun as a doorstop.”
“Reliable enough to do the job, like I am now,” he points out, elbowing the front door.
I sigh with frustration. After a moment, I throw up my hands and give in. “Happy Home Pest Control uses eco-friendly solutions that are pet-friendly and kid-safe unlike most of our competitors,” I recite in the lamest most unconvincing voice—then realize it’s the first time I’ve gotten to state any of thereasons I’d rehearsed.
Bridger hears every word, locked onto me in that intense way he does. He smiles appreciatively. “Believe it or not, despite our … first several interactions … I am genuinely interested in getting to know you with no desire whatsoever to change you.”
I shuffle my feet. “Our company has faster reaction times than the big companies, able to be at any property in the Spruce area within minutes to handle a pest issue you may have.”
“I’m dependable. I’m where I say I’ll bewhenI say I’ll be. To the best of my ability, I won’t ever let you down or ditch you.”
