Page 38 of Fox
“You smell good.” His sleepy mumble pulls me out of my thoughts. I can’t help but smile softly down at him. He’s all nuzzled in, eyes closed, and I know he’ll be asleep soon.
“Thanks. I try to hose myself down every now and then.” My joke causes him to give me a weak chuckle.
“I like you, Torch.” My heart does a concerning flip-flop at his confession. My brows furrow while I stare at the man, my mouth agape. What should I say? How does he mean that? How should I take it?
I must ponder this for too long because, after a moment, I hear his soft snores. I can’t help but smile. This giant tattooed, mean asshole is cuddled on my lap, under a floral quilt, snoring and not wanting to be alone because he doesn’t feel good. It makes me wonder how many colds Fox has had where he wanted something like this and was forced to deal with it alone.
Unlike Ash and Atlas, Fox never mentions women. I mean, I’m sure he dates someone who looks like him would have to…right?
Still, in the time I’ve been here, there hasn’t been one girl that stopped by.
I like you, Torch.
Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I try to hold back my smile while running my fingers through his hair.
I think I like you too, Fox.
“Areyou sure you’re going to be alright?” I ask hesitantly while standing in front of the door to leave. Fox rolls his eyes before giving me a look of complete annoyance.
“Torch,” His poor voice is still so raspy. “I’m fully capable of handling myself. Go to work and make sure the guys didn’t burn the place down.” Letting out a sigh, I admit defeat before grabbing the keys to his truck.
“Fine, but you better stay up on your medicine! And I want a temperature picture every two hours.” I state as I grab my purse and phone.
He gives me half a salute. “Yes mom. Would you also like updates on my urine output?”
I raise a brow, “Color and frequency.” Grinning at his one-finger wave, I walk out of the house with the umbrella and head toward the truck to go to Hel’s.
As I drive through the rain toward the city, I try to ignore the vibrations of my phone alerts. My phone’s been off since I got back to Fox’s yesterday. It’s been quiet. It’s nice being in the dark about what's happening and what others are saying about me. But I know it can’t last. Eventually, I am going to have to face the music.
“Not today, though,” I whisper to myself while turning into the parking lot of Hel’s Ink. “I’m Janie today, not Jai.”
“Derek,”I groan while pinching the bridge of my nose. “It’s just a cold! He’s doing better today, and I feel fine.”
“Back, Janie.” He warns while holding up a bottle of disinfectant while he secures his face mask over his nose. “I like you and all, but I will unload this entire can on you without a second thought.”
I shake my head and walk over to Atlas, who's currently swiping on a dating site.
“You think she’s hot?” He asks while shoving his phone in my face.
“Nothing pleases me more than knowing I’m the one who has to yay or nay your hook-ups,” I mutter while looking over the photo of the raven-haired woman with bright green eyes and a whole lot of cleavage. “Her eyes are fake, that hair is a wig, and that photo has been overly edited. Yes, including her boobs.” I state, handing the phone back to him. He frowns and looks at the picture as if it betrayed him.
“What’s this world coming to when you can’t trust the hook-up apps?”
Snorting, I shake my head. “Now, now, I’m sure there's someone in here who still believes in the sanctity of hook-ups.” Atlas flips through the next couple of profiles until a photo of a familiar blonde appears on his screen. Atlas’ hand twitches over the image of Ren. She looks gorgeous. I wouldn’t call it ahook-uppicture, though. But she’s glowing in the photo. Her smile is bright and warm, her lengthy hair falls over her shoulder in a loose braid. She has on light makeup, and is wearing a flowy maxi dress with autumn colors and little flowers, with a neckline that clings to her very blessed chest.
“Damn,” I muse. “Ren is quite the hottie.” A muscle in Atlas' sharp jaw is doing this weird twitching thing while he burns holes into his phone screen. “You alright there, At?” I ask slowly. Atlas blinks before staring at me and scoffing.
“I just… Why is Ren on this app? The people on here are not the type of people she should be with.” I look behind me, and both Derek and Ash are ignoring his little rant. Is this common? I figured Ren had a crush on Atlas, but does he also have feelings?
“My guess is because she’s horny.” I have to fight back the smirk as Atlas pins me with a dark glare. “What?” I snicker when his lip curls into a snarl.
“Don’t talk about her like that,” he snaps while looking at her photo again. I watch as he swipes to her next image, andhis breath catches. “Wow,” he whispers, and I peer around him to look at the photo. Ren's wearing a white vintage Rockabilly halter dress that hugs her chest and flares over her hips. Her blonde hair is done in 50s curls and pinned with a sunflower over her ear. Her lips are bright red, and the look her brown eyes are giving the camera… Shit, even I have a boner.
“So,” Atlas turns his phone screen off. “Did you kill Fox?” He asks, his voice sounds weird. It's like he’s trying to move the subject along but can’t. His hand continues to clench and unclench as he walks back and forth, straightening nothing. What is he doing?
“Uh—” I let out a laugh. “No? He’s probably vegetating on the couch or hurling in the toilet.” Atlas smirks while casually leaning against his station. “Spending quite a lot of private time with the old man, don’t you think?”
“I suppose,” I say slowly while raising a skeptical brow, not liking the spotlight being moved onto me. “But I had a rough day, and then he got sick. It would’ve been an asshole move to leave him with a fever.”
