Eight
Montana
Gathe waved out the window of his truck and winked as he drove away from the stables.
He’d been there for almost an hour when Than told him that Linc had called for him to come to the main house. I enjoyed his company, but only because he was nice. He was also funny.
But he hadn’t been a complete distraction. My gaze kept roaming over to Than, who was cleaning the stalls.
At one point, Than pulled his shirt off, and I was answering something that Gathe had asked me, but forgot what I was going to say. Than hung his shirt over the fence, then took a water hose, leaned over, and poured water all over his head and chest. When he was done, he straightened, then ran a hand through his wet locks. I was transfixed. The water droplets running down his tanned chest and over his chiseled abs made my mouth go dry.
Gathe cleared his throat and snapped me out of it. The realization that I’d been ogling Than and been caught doing it made my face heat, and I knew I turned red as a beet.
Gathe had given me a knowing grin and shook his head. “His excuse for that display is gonna be that he was cleaning the shit from the stalls off him. But make no mistake. That was on purpose. I gotta give him props. It worked.”
The entire scene had been porn for females, but Than hadn’t done it for my benefit. I hadn’t said anything though. There was a chance Gathe was going to hate me, too, once Linc talked to him. I told myself that didn’t matter. I wasn’t here to make friends. I was here to safely get my high school diploma.
“Linc texted me a list of things you need for Monday. We have to make a run to town to get them,” Than told me.
I turned from Gathe’s retreating truck to look at him. He still wasn’t wearing his shirt, and I wished he’d put it on so I could think properly.
“If there is anything else you need to pick up, we can stop and get it too.”
I was sure what he was saying was important, but the tattoo on his left biceps that spread down to the top part of his lower arm had my attention. That and the arm itself. Did he lift weights?
“Montana.” He said my name, and I swung my gaze up to meet his, and the scowl on his face was enough to snap me out of the trance his body had put me in.
What had he said? Stupid, muscular arms. Ugh. Why hadn’t he put his shirt back on?
“Do you need to get anything else while we’re out?” he asked in a tight voice.
I started to shake my head and stopped. I was almost out of my face wash and toothpaste. “I, uh, yeah. I need a couple of things.”
“All right, let’s go. We can grab lunch somewhere while we’re out.”
He began walking, and I followed, not trying to keep up with his long strides. I watched his back muscles flex with each step he took. There was also a tattoo on the back of his right shoulder. I studied it to keep from admiring the rest of him. It looked like the Joker but as a skull with a flame behind him. The coloring was gorgeous, even if the smile on the skull was creepy. My gaze drifted down his back as it narrowed from wide shoulders. I sucked in a breath and blew it out at the sight of the Apollo dimples just above the jeans that sat low on his hips.
SHIRT! Put on your SHIRT! I mentally screamed at him.
Why was I attracted to him only? Gathe was gorgeous. He had almost platinum-blond hair that was a touch on the long side and seemed to want to curl some at the ends. He reminded me of a surfer. A deep golden tan and light-blue—or were they green?—eyes. I hadn’t spent that much time looking at him. My attention had been on Than, even when I wasn’t watching him.
Did I have a thing for guys who hated me and I didn’t know it until now? Than was the first guy to dislike me. Maybe that was it. Jericho had screwed me up and given me some warped daddy issues. Now, apparently, I was into guys who didn’t want anything to do with me because that was how my father treated me.
A cell phone rang, and Than pulled it out of his pocket, then lifted it to his ear.
“Yeah?” was his greeting. “Can’t tonight, darlin’,” he said.
My ears perked up. He’d called someone darlin’.
His deep chuckle made a shiver run through me.
“I’m sure you would, but it’s work. Not available tonight,” he drawled.
My thoughts turned sour as I imagined the things she was telling him she would do. Did he have a girlfriend? I’d not heard him talk to her before now. Wouldn’t she have known what he was doing?
“Soon as I can escape, I’ll take you up on that.”
He could escape whenever he wanted to! I wouldn’t stop him.
Another chuckle, and I hated that my body reacted to the sound. Damn him and my traitorous body.
“Later tonight, why don’t you FaceTime me and show me just how you do that?” His voice dropped to a husky, sexy sound that made my stupid nipples draw up tight.
I would not think about what she was going to show him, and I needed to remember to put my AirPods in and turn up the volume on my audiobook when I went to the bedroom this evening.
He said something too low for me to hear, then ended the call and slipped the phone back into his jeans pocket. I managed not to stare at his back the rest of the way, but let my gaze drift over the landscape. Once we reached the cabin, he glanced back at me for the first time.
“You going to change?” he asked.
I looked down at my clothes and shook my head, lifting my eyes back to his. “No.”
His jaw tightened like he was clenching his teeth.
Was something wrong with my outfit? We were going to buy school supplies. Why would I need to change?
“Do you own a bra?” he asked in a clipped tone.
Crap. Had he seen my nipples at the stables?
I nodded. “Yes, but I hate wearing bras,” I admitted.
His brows drew together. “Why? You enjoy the attention it gets when you don’t?”
The mocking in his tone pissed me off. I was getting really tired of his bullshit.
Placing a hand on my hip, I narrowed my eyes. “No. They…” I paused because as angry as I was, admitting this was kind of embarrassing.
He raised his eyebrows, as if to tell me he was waiting for my reason and to get on with it.
Fine. Whatever. I didn’t care what he thought about me.
“They suffocate me.” There, I’d said it.
His annoyed expression turned into a confused one. “You’re aware that bras go on tits, not your face, right?”
The sarcasm dripping from his tone made my hand itch to slap him.
“Yes,” I replied through clenched teeth. “I just feel like I can’t breathe when I wear one. I’ve never been able to wear one.”
“Did you think to loosen it up? They have adjustments on the damn things.”
Of course I’d thought to loosen it up. I spent hours crying over it because I was embarrassed of my boobs in middle school and wanted to wear a bra. Momma tried every style and loosened them so much that they basically hung on my body, but I still couldn’t wear them. Finally, she’d given up, and I’d worn baggy shirts until high school, when I got over it.
“I’ve tried that,” I snapped at him. “What is the problem anyway? Why do you care if I wear one or not? I didn’t tell you to put on your shirt!”
He didn’t say anything to that, and we glared at each other for a moment before he turned and went up the stairs, slung open the door with more force than necessary, and stalked into the cabin. Surprised by his irritated display, I slowly followed behind him so I could get my purse.
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye as I passed the sofa, where he was pulling a shirt out of a duffel bag. When his gaze swung over to me, I snapped mine straight ahead and hurried into the bedroom.
He was angry about a bra. Why?
Confused about the entire thing, I used the bathroom, washed my hands, and ran a brush through my hair before going to get my purse and making sure I had enough cash in there to cover the supplies on the list that Than had. Most of my money was hidden inside the liner of the largest suitcase.
Staring back at the closed door, I wondered if he was calmed down now.
I was starting to wish Linc would trade out Than for Gathe. He sure was nicer, although I was aware he was interested in me. That would be a little tricky, being stuck in this cabin with him. He’d eventually make a move, and I wasn’t having sex with a guy who was also friends with Jericho. I was curious as to how they were all related or connected. They’d not said anything about that. It wasn’t like I could ask Than. I’d probably get yelled at.
This would get easier Monday. I’d be at school during the day, and our time together would be shortened. It was the weekends that would be hard.
I walked to the door reluctantly, but knew the longer I stayed in here, the moodier he’d likely get.
When I opened the door, Than was standing by the front door, looking at his phone. He lifted his head and scanned my body, and his scowl deepened. I guessed he’d been hoping I was changing or putting on a bra. I did own one. I’d worn it twice for a limited amount of time. I wasn’t going to wear it because he’d told me to. He’d have to get over it.
He grabbed the doorknob, and once again, he slung the door open and headed outside.
“This should be fun,” I muttered as I went behind him.
Than was almost to his truck when he barked at me to close the door, as if I had planned to leave it open. I wasn’t an idiot. Rolling my eyes, I didn’t tell him I had.
He turned around then and saw I was only a few feet behind him and the door had been closed already. I gave him a sarcastic smile.
Jackass.