Page 113 of Oblivion

“No more talking, got it.”

I scowled in her direction, then bit down on a smile when she gave me a toothy grin.

Christ, I needed to Google how to co-exist with a younger woman. I didn’t have sisters, and Sadie had been a year older than me. While she and I had our ups and downs, I’d spent more time consecutively with Penny than I ever did with Sadie. Maybe that was why I’d been blinded to Sadie fooling around on me.

I moved stations and dropped into a plank position, smashing out forty pushups with jumping jacks between each one. Breathlessly getting to my feet, I paused to stretch out my limbs.

Penny diligently watched while tapping her foot to Sum 41.I shook my head and smiled. She really was somethin’ else.

Finishing up my last set, I tidied the gear away, then turned down the music. “Done now.”

“Gah,finally.”

She followed me to the elevator and casually leaned against the far wall, skinny little ankles crossed and hair pulled over one shoulder. I felt her eyes on my back as I stabbed the button to my apartment.

“Where are you from, Dante?”

“Born ‘n’ raised in Nebraska.”

“Really? I thought you would have listened to country music?”

I arched a brow and scoffed. “What? Just because I’m from Nebraska means I can’t enjoy a little punk rock?”

Penny shrugged. “You’re from a farm, though, right?”

“Yeah. So?”

“Like, corn?”

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. “Yeah. And your point is...?”

Curious eyes looked me up and down. “You don’tactNebraskan.”

My eye twitched, and I barely stopped my neck from cricking out of place. “How the hell does oneactNebraskan?”

“I dunno. Just…” She waved a hand in my direction, as if that explained everything.

“Oh right, so next time I’ll wear my overalls and straw hat, pop out my fake tooth and smear pig shit all over myself?”

Her little smile cracked wider. “Yeah. Or corn dust.”

“Corn dust,”I muttered. “Get the hell out of this elevator before I send you back down without a key card.Corn dust,”I scoffed again, as she breezed past me, leaving a trail of floral scent in her wake.

You could take the man out of the country, but couldn’t take the country out of the man. I grew up on a corn farm out in boondock Nebraska. Wanting to carve my own way in the world, I joined the US Army fresh out of school.

My big brother, Griff, recently took over the family farm with his wife and two-point-five kids, while I—three years younger—pined over the girl walking into my loft as if she belonged there.

Penny stopped abruptly and spun back to face me. “So, what should we do now?”

I paused untying my laces and looked at her from under my brows. “Shower.”

The sassy expression I’d come to expect appeared on her face. “Have fun with that.”

“Oh, I will.” I kicked off my shoes and prowled toward her.

She backed up a pace, then another, and another. With a playful scream that had me laughing, Penny bolted for the stairs. I took those stairs three at a time, easily snagging her waist before she reached the top. Throwing her over my shoulder, because that was the easiest way to carry someone kicking and squirming, I headed for the bathroom.

I’d allow myself one day of indulgence. Hell, I’d already gone and broken the rules twice this morning, so why the fuck not make it a third?

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