Page 14 of Little Devil

“Come in,” I call, feigning a cheerfulness I don’t feel.

The double doors open and a heavy sigh fills my ears, followed by a thick British accent that grates on my nerves. “Why aren’t you up yet?”

“Because it’s Sunday,” I mutter, rolling my eyes when she taps her stiletto against the floor beneath her feet, impatiently waiting for me to show my face.

Maryanne’s a beautiful woman in her early forties – tall and slim with a gorgeous head of thick, black hair. She’s been with us for as long as I can remember, practically raised me herself thanks to my absent mother and her love for work and men, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a massive pain in my ass.

“There’s someone at the door for you,” she informs me, lifting a defensive hand when she catches the glare on my face. “It’s not Noah. We’re all very aware you told us not to bother you if he showed up here today. It’s someone else. Another boy.”

“What boy?”

“I don’t know,” she sighs, moving for the patio doors on the north wall to fling the curtains open. “Come downstairs and see to your.. visitor. And for goodness sake, put some clothes on. Your mother would have a fit if she saw you walking around dressed like that.”

I flip her off behind her back and stand up to grab my white robe from the floor, throwing the cool silk over my shoulders to cover the short pyjama shorts and cropped tank top I’m wearing. I make my way down to the front door and swing it open, pulling my head back when I find Xander Reid standing on my front steps in the exact same spot as last night, only he’s not smoking a cigarette this time. His eyes widen a little bit when he sees what I’m wearing and he curses, blatantly checking me out from head to toe.

“My eyes are up here,” I point out, crossing my arms over my chest to hide my body from him.

“Yeah, but your ass is down there.”

I drop my jaw at that, honest to god wondering if he was dropped a lot as a kid. “You’re..”

“I’m what?”

“Disgusting,” I decide. “You’re disgusting.”

A real life grin spreads across his stupid face and he dips his head, glancing up at me from beneath his lashes in a way that’d make him look hot as fuck if he didn’t irritate me so much.

“What do you want, new boy?”

“Me and Trav are gonna go grab some breakfast at Lucky’s,” he tells me, tilting his head at his cousin’s car parked behind the Camaro on my driveway.

Travis offers me a nervous smile from his spot in the drivers seat and I reluctantly smile back, working my jaw when I catch the look on his face. It’s pity, and I don’t miss the way he can barely look me in the eye after what happened here last night.

“You wanna come?” Xander asks, purposely ignoring the tension between me and his cousin.

“No.”

“Why not?”

Because all my so called friends will be there and I don’t have the courage to face them right now. I’m fully aware I’ll have to see them at school tomorrow, but this is my day – the one day I’m giving myself to wallow in my own self pity until it’s time to face the music.

I don’t tell him any of that, though.

Instead I keep my mouth shut and take a second to look at him, really look at him for the first time since I opened the door just now. He’s wearing yet another pair of ripped jeans and a black t–shirt, his purple hair still a little damp from the shower he must have taken before coming here. His eyes are hazel, I only just notice, so light they almost look gold in the light of day. They’re annoyingly gorgeous and magnetic, and I can’t help but wonder how he’d look on the other side of my camera, leaning back against the Camaro I’m not sure how he can afford, his hands shoved into his pockets with his head cocked to the side, that cocky little smirk on his face that makes me want to punch him..

Fucking sexy.

That’s how he’d look.

“What’s with the hair?”

He raises a brow and I blush before I can stop it, inwardly cursing myself for asking that out loud.

“It was a dare,” he says simply, shrugging like that explains it. “You like it?”

“I..” I consider lying to him but decide against it, knowing it’ll boost his already massive ego but telling him anyway. “I don’t hate it.”

He laughs lightly at that. “Thank you.”

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