Chapter 10
Biology Class
Day 12
“Books.”
I looked over to see Dax glaring at me. He had pulled out his seat but hadn’t sat down yet. I glanced at the chair he was indicating and saw the huge hairball I had grown and rolled myself sitting on the seat.
“Yes?”
“Is that yours?”
“It’s on your seat. Maybe it’s a present.”
He placed his hand on the desk, leaning in closer to me, and whispered, “You don’t want to play these kinds of games with me. I don’t lose.”
“I’m not scared of you.”
He stared at me for a long, dangerous moment before he leaned over and blew the hairball off his seat. His legs sprawled out in front of him as he sat down, his shoulder brushing against mine ever so lightly.
A wave of chills puckered my skin.
The bad kind. Not the good kind of chills.
He made the pretense of looking at Mr. Gray as he spoke to the class, even going so far as to fold his arms and look every bit like he was paying attention. Then his arm pressed against mine a fraction of an inch more.
I wasn’t going to move. That meant he would win. So we stayed like that, glued together until the end of class.
Mr. Gray was wrapping up when Dax looked over at me. I looked at him. His eyes swept lazily down our arms and back at me, leaving a trail of goosebumps flooding my skin.
Ah, crap.
That was the good kind.
“Let me think,” Dax began loudly as he leaned against the workbench. “What fun things could I make Ivy Brooks do that would be better than fixing my Lego car?”
I folded my arms, waiting for him to continue, a touch of unease growing in my belly. His tone didn’t sound like a man who was about to cater to my very specific whim. Dax didn’t cater to anybody.
“Let’s see what I remember about you. I know you used to like reading textbooks, but I don’t have any of those, unless you count the Lego guidebook.” His hopeful gaze was shut down with my annoyed look.
“Sunset Harbor doesn’t have a Key Club, or Beach Club, or some sort of Happy Smiles Club for you to be president of, so that wouldn’t work.”
“There’s no such thing as that club,” I interjected.
He went on, unfazed and enjoying himself. “I would have you join the Beach Clean-up Club, but you’re probably already a member.”
I was. At least, I used to be. But he didn’t need to know that.
“I’ve done stuff, okay?” I broke in, my hands across my chest. I wasn’t completely sure why I felt like I needed to prove this to Dax. Because I didn’t.
“Let’s hear it, then.”
“No. You’ll just make fun of me.”
“Tell me you didn’t TP a house.”
I scoffed. “It wasn’t just once; it was several times. And we never got caught. ”
His mouth dropped open. “Our part-time rent-a-cop didn’t catch you hooligans?”
I shot him an irritated look.
“What’s another thing?” he asked, sitting on the counter, facing me. “You’ve got me curious now.”
I shouldn’t tell Dax anything when he was just going to use it against me, but for a small moment, this was reminiscent of what I felt like sitting next to him in biology all those years ago.
Completely off balance.
A thrill for a girl whose life had always been so measured and calculated. If I got these grades and took these classes, I’d get into this college. If I smiled and shook hands and perfected the art of small talk, my dad wouldn’t be embarrassed of me. If I got a doctorate and taught at the highest level possible, my dad would have something to brag about at parties. A structured life of cause and effect.
Dax always surprised me. So much of our time and conversations had been burned into my memories because they were never what I expected. He was never what I expected. Just when I had him pegged as lazy, he’d pick up the scalpel. When I thought he didn’t care about biology, he’d point out something that he thought was interesting. Just when I thought he was turning a corner, he was in the principal’s office for setting off the fire alarms. He lived his life by his own set of rules, and that fascinated me.
“Me and some friends sometimes put bags of goldfish on porches. Then we’d ring the doorbell and run away.”
His eyes furrowed. “Like the crackers? For kids?”
“No, like a bag with water in it and a goldfish swimming around inside.”
Confusion etched his brow. “Why?”
“For that reaction right there.” I smiled, pointing at him.
He brandished a reluctant smile. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to handle what I’ve got for you. ”
“I already crashed into a building, so take it down a few notches from that.”
I could almost feel the wheels turning inside his head as he strode to the counter. He took a large invoice pad and ripped the last blank page out. He grabbed a pen and started writing.
Unfortunately for him, he also left his phone unattended on the counter. While I was waiting there, bored, I added a few songs to his playlist while he was none the wiser.
“Okay,” Dax began, turning to face me. “Let’s not get confused. I want the Lego car finished, but if you’ve got a hankering for a good time, who am I to stop you? There are a few things I’d be willing to trade hours, for the simple pleasure of watching you do them.”
I attempted to peer over his muscled shoulder to determine my fate.
“Number one…get a tattoo. Fifty hours.”
“What?!” I pulled his arm, trying to grab the paper, but he moved it just out of my reach.
“You’re always looking at mine. Thought you must be thinking about it.”
“That’s permanent. That should be all the hours.”
“Good point. Better make sure I put that in the contract…” He trailed off, writing something while he muttered the word permanent under his breath. He looked at me. “I’d hate for you to just get a stick-on for my lack of detail.”
I had the strongest urge to laugh, even as exasperation vibrated off me. “I’m not getting a tattoo.”
“Great. You can keep the fifty hours and get working on my car.”
“Tattoos aren’t a big deal. It doesn’t mean anything if I get one. Nobody will care. So why don’t you pick something else?”
Please pick something else.
Dax smiled. “I know that.” He pointed toward the garage door. “Most people out there know that.” He leaned closer to me, peering deep into my eyes. “But I think, just like the senator, you have an image you like to portray. Nice and buttoned up. And I think letting people see you with a tattoo might be the hardest thing of all.”
I didn’t say anything. I also couldn’t look directly at him.
He leaned back against the counter, getting comfortable with the pen and paper in his hand.
“Number two. Tag a building.” Dax immediately began laughing after he said the words.
“Tag a what ? What does that even mean?”
“Tag a building. I’m sure a rebel like you keeps a few cans of spray paint on hand.”
This list of Dax’s was full of crap. I knew that now. He and I both knew I wasn’t going to do either of these things. Legos were in my future, and my hope was dashed.
“And the grand finale—my personal favorite. Drive a car around the entire island. One hundred hours.”
I scoffed. “There are no cars on the island.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That’s not true.”
I thought for a minute. It was very illegal to have a car on this island. There wasn’t even a way to get one here unless you ferried it on. There wasn’t exactly a way to do that without being seen. There were only two authorized motor vehicles allowed on the island that were bigger than a golf cart.
“You mean the ambulance? So I have to steal the ambulance and ride it around the island?”
“Or the fire truck. You can take your pick.”
“Why don’t you give me something I can actually do on your stupid list?”
“With an attitude like that, you’ll never accomplish anything.”
He tacked the paper up underneath the old pinup calendar and turned to me, a look of triumph on his face.
“Sorry, Books. If you can’t handle any of these worthwhile pursuits, you’ll just have to…I don’t know…” He broke off, waiting until he had my complete attention, and then said loudly and with much emphasis, “BUILD MY LEGO CAR.”
I lifted my hands up in the air as if to strangle him. The frustration inside of me warred with the pleasure radiating up my spine at making him laugh.
Off balance.
“Get back to work, Books. I can’t believe I let you stay clocked in for all of this.”
I headed toward the door, feeling a reluctance to leave that surprised me. Before I got to the door, he called out, “I would love to see you with a tattoo, though.”
I slammed the door to the sound of his deep chuckle.