Both guys frowned at her as if she’d just spoken some foreign language.“Why wouldn’t we give you a choice, Love?”Spiky asked.
Okay, I’m done with the damn nicknames,Lola thought as she folded her arms in front of her and began to tap her foot.“What are your names?And why do you look like that?Why are you following me?Are you sex traffickers, because I’m totally not going to make it easy on you.And if you are, are your mothers aware of what you’ve chosen to do in life?Can you imagine how incredibly sad and disappointed they are at your determined profession, if you can even call it a profession?And whatever happened to just stealingthings?Did we really have to throw people into the mix?What about just good ol’ theft of crap that doesn’t belong to you?”Lola shook her head as she glared at her two might-be abductors.“What?”she snapped when they blinked at her like stupid, cartoon characters.
“Nothing.”Spiky held up his hands.“I was just being polite.Making sure you were done.”
Her brow rose.“Oh, so you’re considerate sex traffickers?How progressive of you.”
“First,” Green Hair held up a hand.“I’m Tag,” he pointed to himself, and then to Spiky, “And this is Cam.That’s to your first question.”
“Tag?”She almost smiled.“Like tag you’re it?”
“I’m not much into chasing things,” he shrugged.“I leave that to the cats and dogs.”
Lola’s foot paused in its tapping rhythm, and she sighed.“I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“Second question,” Cam said, “you live in New York city.Our appearances can’t be that odd to you.”
“Not to mention, your own sk–” Tag started, but grunted when Cam elbowed him in the solar plexus.
She tilted her head, and shifted her weight to her other leg, letting her hip pop out.“No.Go on.Let your friend say what he was going to say.”
“I wasn’t,” Tag wheezed as he sucked in a breath, “saying that you look weird or bad.Your skin is cool as shit.”
Cam closed his eyes briefly as if he was attempting to gain his composure.“I think what my companion means is you’re quite lovely and the vitiligo only adds to it.”
She took a step back.“You know what it is?”
“I can be quite curious when I find something I’m interested in,” he smiled.“Or someone.”
Her foot began tapping again.“Uh-huh, and what about my six other questions?”
“I can answer all of them with one,” Cam said as he slipped his hands into his pockets.Tag rubbed his abdomen as he continued to stare at her with an intensity that made Lola want to hide from.“We’re not sex traffickers.Is that what those two other gentlemen told you?”
“What two gentlemen?”she asked, attempting to sound clueless.
“We know who they are.”Cam tilted his head down and gave her a reproving look, as if to call her out on her obtuseness.“And they’ve just pulled a classic maneuver on a potential victim.”
She took a step back.“Potential victim?”
“We’re not the threat,” Tag said quickly.“They are.Cam is saying they’re trying to convince you we’re the bad guys so you’ll trust them.”
“When they,” Cam picked up, “are in fact the ones you should be wary of.”
Lola’s hands began to sweat.She grabbed the straps of her backpack, pulling them forward so the bag pushed against her back.The resistance gave her something to focus on while she tried to process what Cam and Tag were telling her.She didn’t know any of these men and had no idea which of them was telling the truth.
“Look,” Cam took a step back.“I don’t want to scare you.”
“Too damn late,” she muttered.
“We just wanted you to know we’re not the enemy,” Cam told her.“And like I said, we’ll keep an eye on you if other males are bothering you.”
“Why?”she practically gasped.“Why would you keep an eye on me?You don’t know me.You’ve been in NNP twice and asked me for my number, which I totally shot you down, if you recall.So, why on earth, do I matter to you?”
“Do you believe in fate?”Cam asked.Tag still watched, his eyes never leaving her.Was he even blinking?
“I believe in a lot of things.Most of all,” she released one hand, held it up and made a flicking motion.“I believe in the right to walk home without being followed by possible sex traffickers, narcissists with body morphing addictions, or both.”Okay, so she hadn’t meant to say that last part, but her eyes had jumped to Tag, and that damn forked-tongue had made an appearance again.
“Body what?”Cam frowned.
