15. Amala
Fifteen
Amala
“I’ll get you a t-shirt.” My eyes lingered on the tattoo on his chest and the full sleeve of ink on his right arm.
Briefly. “Though I doubt it’s going to fit you.”
“That’s fine, unless you want me half naked in your living room when Nick and Kayden arrive.”
I shook my head, thinking about how that’d look. I’m certain in these circumstances it wouldn’t be an issue, given the injury the man sustained.
“I doubt they’d think anything of it. Unless of course I should’ve left you to bleed out on my doorstep.” He smiled, leaning against the couch’s backrest.
“I took my chances knowing that could’ve been the outcome.” He said. “Why did you help me?”
“I’m not fond of you but I wasn’t going to let you perish unless I were the cause of it.”
He huffed a laugh, the lack of animosity in this conversation and in the air nearly threw me for a loop.
“Let’s talk about this.” He muttered. “Seeing that you didn’t answer any of my questions that night.” I looked over at him, nearly distracted by his physique.
“Wait, let me get you the t-shirt first.”
I didn’t allow him to say anything else as I scurried into my bedroom, rummaging through my closet to find the most ridiculous garment I owned.
When I entered the living room, Ares’ eyes were closed, his breathing even. “Wake up.” I threw the item at him and surprisingly he caught it with ease.
“I wasn’t sleeping.” He deadpanned. “Always knocking a man while he’s down.”
He opened the tee and looked at it, then shifted his gaze to me. “Overworked and underfucked.” He said monotonously.
The bright pink oversized t-shirt looked even funnier on him than the wording itself. “I figured that would summarise your life perfectly.”
“You’re hilarious.” He fake-laughed. “I’m going to be honest with you, Rivera. My disdain for you stemmed from many things but this would be one of them.”
I walked closer, sitting on the couch across from him. “Oh, don’t keep me in the dark. What are the other reasons?”
“You’re stubborn, defiant, and the first time we met you were insubordinate. Refusing to cooperate with me, despite it being your first day out on the field.”
I laughed, tossing my head. “Is that how you remember it?”
“Yes because that’s what happened.”
“I reciprocated your energy. You weren’t my superior but you surely acted like it. You were arrogant, dismissive, and acted like a complete know-it-all. For someone who needed to make a good first impression, you didn’t do a very good job.”
“When have I ever done that?” He asked in disbelief. “We introduced ourselves and somebody asked what to expect. I gave them an honest answer.”
“Yes, you did but in a condescending manner.”
He swiped a hand across his face, laughing bitterly.
“Every other encounter with you was the same and I’ve always hated people like that.”
“People like what?”
“Who think they’re better than others because of something materialistic like their rank or job title. You acted like you were above us, as if you didn’t start at the bottom on your first day too.”
“You baited me, Amala. Disrespected me in front of my colleagues and my superior, was I meant to smile at that?”
“You were meant to acknowledge that I wasn’t going to accept any disrespect either. Years have passed by and to me it seemed like you’d just gotten worse. Besides, you’re the one who refused to work with me.”
“Because you weren’t willing to collaborate with me. How would we have formed a successful partnership?” His eyebrows creased, a tendril in his neck protruding.
“See,” I exasperated. “This is what happens every single time. Doesn’t matter what we’re talking about, we’re always at each other’s throats.”
“Okay,” He sighed, placing a palm on his forehead.
“Okay. Let’s just agree to disagree. Seems as if we got off on the wrong foot, let’s start again. What do you say? We’re partners now in any case and it would be in our best interest if we learned to work together without the need to argue.”
I glanced at him sideways, watching him outstretch his right arm and hold his hand out.
I sneered at him in disgust, as if his hand were a poisonous object.
“I’m trying to make amends here.” He turned his palm sideways. “Don’t leave an injured man hanging.” With a heavy sigh, I caved—gripping his hand firmly.
“This doesn’t mean we’re friends,” I said with finality to which he responded with a chuckle.
His awfully cheerful mood unnerved me but I overlooked it.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” His calloused hand enveloped mine but I broke the handshake, pulling away as though it scorched me. “We’re acquaintances.”
“Colleagues.”
“Partners.”
I rolled my eyes, crossing one leg over the other and for a brief moment—almost too quick to capture with the naked eye his gaze dropped to my legs causing heat to bloom in my chest.
“I’ll accept the term partners,” I confirmed. “Work partners.”
“Obviously. What other kind of partners would we be, Rivera?” He mocked.
I opened my mouth to say something but a knock on my door stopped me.
Then Kayden’s voice penetrated it. “Amala.” He called out urgently.
We made eye contact for a split second, the prior conversation still hovering above us. “Well, time for you to head to the hospital.”
I got up, replying with a coming as I walked to the door.
As I passed Ares, he grabbed my wrist and I turned to look at him. “Hey,” He said in a softer tone. “Thank you .. for helping me.”
My eyes widened, blood rushed straight to my face for some reason and my heart thrummed in my fucking eardrums.
He looked vulnerable, almost grateful and I didn’t know if I found it pathetic or admirable.
His grip burnt the skin on my wrist and I coughed, which caused him to release me.
“Don’t worry about it.” I gave a small smile and he returned the gesture, baring a bit of teeth in the process.
Forget air conditioning in hell, at this point, I needed to turn up the air conditioning in my apartment because it felt one hundred degrees hotter.