Page 12 of Inviting Trouble
He grinned. “I didn’t do anything. Figured you’d need it straight up. I couldn’t get you to drink any last night.”
She’d spent the rest of the party eating and trading insults with the guys. What she hadn’t done was show Park that she was an attractive sexy woman. Not that it would’ve mattered. Park had barely glanced at her, too busy yukking it up with the guys. Just like old times.
Get lost, twerp.
Scram, shortstack.
Shut it, mini.
C’mere, little bit, you’re on my team.Her dream guy. Was it any wonder she’d worshipped him?
She stifled a groan. She probably looked as crappy as she felt, which sucked after all the fuss she’d made last night with Charlotte’s stupid lipstick and her ridiculous attempt to look sexy in jeans. At least she’d brushed her teeth.
Park gave her a sideways look. “How’s your head?”
She slowly moved to the round oak kitchen table and sat down. “Shitty.”
He reached into the cabinet, pulled out the Advil, and set it in front of her. After all this time he remembered her dad kept headache medicine in a kitchen cabinet. He got her a glass of water too. She tossed a couple back.
“You tie one on a lot?” he asked casually, grabbing the bread and putting four slices in the toaster.
“No,” she admitted. She knew he was touchy about that sort of thing because of his crappy parents. And then in case he thought it was because of him, she added, “Just out partying with my friends to celebrate the semester ending.” She still had a week of final exams to get through, which meant no more drinking.
“You’re still in school?” he asked. “I thought you got your associate’s degree last May.”
“I did. Now I’m at UConn with a marketing major.” The University of Connecticut (UConn) was a little more than an hour commute from Eastman.
He stared at her for a long moment.
“That’s why I haven’t been in touch as much,” she blurted. “Between work and school—”
“No problem.”
A few minutes later, he joined her at the table with buttered toast stacked on a plate. He took one for himself and gestured for her to do the same.
They had breakfast in silence. No one in her house ever talked much over breakfast. By the time she finished her coffee, her head was feeling a lot better. Enough for her to test the waters a bit with Park.
“Looks like we’ll be roomies again,” she said, watching him closely. “Pretty close quarters around here. Our rooms are right across the hall.” Her dad had moved back to the master bedroom at the far end of the hallway once her brothers moved out.
He stilled. “You live here? I thought you just crashed last night because you were in no shape to drive.”
“I moved back home to save money for college.”
“That’s awesome you’re going for your bachelor’s.” He gave her a stern look. “Though I’d hoped you’d do that right after high school. What happened?”
You happened.
She raised one shoulder up and down.She’d been devastated when he’d left, listless and anxious, worrying about Park as he moved in and out of war zones, sticking close to the planes that were often first to arrive on the scene. He was flying crew chief, a top mechanic trusted with the most sophisticated of machinery, and the pilots needed him close by to keep the planes in perfect running order. Her anxiety had turned to anger sparking out everywhere. She’d picked a lot of fights, got herself in trouble at school and generally been a teenaged hellion. She couldn’t put all the blame at Park’s door. She’d always been a bit reckless, more so through the rocky teen years as her brothers left home and she found herself alone too much with too much unfocused energy. Ty got her into his dojo her senior year on one of his visits home. She got strong and focused, but not for the easy path. No, she made things hard on herself, testing herself, taking up bartending in a seedy section of New York City, taking a cheap apartment that was frequently broken in to. She needed to prove she could stand on her own two feet after having the overprotective brother treatment her entire life.
Only recently, a couple of years ago, she’d finally gotten tired of her life, feeling like she was stuck in a rut. Josh had helped her, bringing her back home, getting her a job in the much safer town of Clover Park. Even helping her get the paperwork together to get started at community college.
“Mad, what happened to you?”
“Just took a different path is all,” she said, tracing a small circle on the table.
“Well, you’re doing great now. I’m proud of you.”
She huffed.
