I had done scarier things than this. I would do scarier things than this. Fear, I thought, was more like a hallucinogenic. It was all in your mind, and there was nothing to really be scared of as long as you knew and expected the worst and the best.
“Hi, Birthday Man,” I managed to get out, still grinning at him with my stupid heart beating in my throat even though I told it not to, trying my best not to look too hard at the very dark ink permanently etched into his skin.
Rip slid me a look out of the corner of his eye as he pulled the chair in front of mine out. He took the seat. Rightthere. Right by me.
Okay. I could play it cool. I could take it easy.
“You been here long?” he asked in that grumbled, deep voice that constantly sounded irritated… even now.
I shook my head. “Just about twenty minutes,” I replied. “You?”
He made a noise that sounded like a grunt as he raised the glass of whatever he was drinking to his lips and took a sip.
Well, it wasn’t like it really mattered how long he’d been around.
“Is anyone else coming?” I asked him when he didn’t say anything after setting his glass back down on the table. I’d overheard a couple of the guys talking about Rip’s half-hearted invitation when I had taken a bathroom break, but I hadn’t heard more than that.
His gaze hadn’t left mine from the moment he had spotted me, and it didn’t go anywhere as he shrugged and said, “Doubt it.”
I must have made a face because he added, casually, “I’m not exactly anybody’s favorite, Luna.”
The smile fell right off my mouth, and I couldn’t help but frown at him. At the harshness of his words. At the… fact-like nature of them. That wasn’t very nice for him to assume. That wasn’t very nice to assume at all, and it bothered me… even if it was true that Mr. Cooper was my favorite person at the shop. And I was his. And Miguel’s—
Crap.
“I’m sure—“ I started before getting cut off.
“I’m not,” he told me, tapping his short fingernails against the glass. Rip tipped his chin up a millimeter, giving me a slightly better view of the shading tucked up against his jawline. He swallowed, everything about his body language saying that he was telling me these words in this way because it wasn’t a big deal to him. He didn’t care. Why should he? His body said.
His next words confirmed it. “I’m not around to be anybody’s friend.”
All righty then.
I wanted to tell him something that would make it seem that it wasn’t like anyone hated him or disliked him.
Most of the guys were just… wary.
Even I was wary, and he didn’t scare or intimidate me… unless I screwed up.
But I didn’t know what to say to that comment. I hated liars as much as I hated aggressive drunk people and cooked carrots. So I did the only thing I could think of: I smiled at him and shrugged. He didn’t look even a little put out or hurt by what he’d been saying. Who was I to make it a big deal if he claimed he didn’t care? “Did you like your cake?”
All he did was tip his chin down as he nailed me with that intense, bright gaze, his fingers still wrapped around the nearly full glass.
And something told me “Do it now, Luna.”
It was now or never.
I gave him a big smile. “Hey, Rip?”
He watched me as he lifted his drink and took another sip of it.
I guess that was going to be his version of saying yes.
Screw it.Do it.
I kept the smile on my face as I rushed out, “Iwanttocashinmyfavor.”
He didn’t say anything for so long, I thought for sure he would end up telling me to fuck off, that he’d only been joking all along.
