Page 30 of Little Devil

“Can you?”

“Can I what?”

“Surf,” I draw out, raising a brow when I realize she’s staring at me again.

She shakes her head no and opens her mouth to speak, but then she changes her mind and looks away.

“Say it.”

She rolls her eyes and grabs another slice of pizza, hesitating a minute before she decides to do as she’s told. “You’re just.. not what I expected, I guess.”

“How’s that?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs, pausing to take a sip of her drink. “I mean, when I first saw you I thought you looked like a quiet loner boy, but then you opened your mouth and turned into this cocky, big headed player with no chill.”

I chuckle at that, turning my head to tip my chin at the guy walking along the street with a black hood pulled over his head and his hands in his pockets. “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you look at him?”

“I..” she trails off, confused by the change of subject. “I don’t kno–”

“Don’t think. First thing, princess.”

“Cross the street. He’ll stab me.”

“Alright.” I nod, expecting that. “What if I told you his grandmother’s dying in a nursing home not far from here, and he dresses like that when he goes to see her because he knows she likes it?”

A tiny grin betrays her and she looks away, side eyeing him from beneath her lashes. “You don’t know that.”

“Just like you don’t know he’ll stab you,” I argue, lightly bumping her elbow with mine. “Ever heard of don’t judge a book by its cover?”

“Ever heard of Jack the Ripper?”

I bark out a laugh and she grins for real this time, looking awfully proud of herself while she leans over to steal a small piece of pineapple from the lid of the box between us. The move brings her closer to me and I lift her chin with my forefinger, dropping my eyes to her mouth to watch her eat it.

“You should change the way you look at people.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Sometimes,” I admit, dipping my head to brush my nose against hers. “But sometimes danger can be fun.”

She pulls in a long breath of air and lets it out slowly, mindlessly sliding her tongue over her bottom lip while she stares at mine.

“Hey, Jordyn?”

“What, Xan?” she whispers, choosing this moment to use my name for the first time since I met her.

“I dare you to swim with me.”

13

Jordyn

He must be out of his mind.

“Are you out of your mind?” I voice my thoughts, momentarily stunned by his stupidity. “Why the hell would I do that?”

“Because I dare you,” he says, plain and simple as if it’s just that easy for him.

I blink and he slides off the hood of his car, pulling his t–shirt over his head to toss it onto the back seat.

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