But he was much closer than I expected. Our noses grazed. I gasped and jerked back.
He straightened his spine, his tone flat. “Sorry. You ran out of wrists.”
“You must've run out of common sense. Ask someone before you spray them like that,” I complained, checking to make sure my boss hadn't seen us.
“Says the girl who snapped a thong at me,” he chided.
“That was an accident,” I reminded him sharply.
He arched his brow. “After you threw yourself in my path?”
“Yes.” I tugged my hem down. “I realize itlooksbad, but so does having some guy sniff my neck.”
“Some guy?” He scoffed, propping himself on the display. “Aren’t we old friends?”
I shook my head. What was he getting at? The only time he talked to me was when he needed notes or wanted to tease me.
“Such a shame we never formed a connection,” he said, his gaze wandering over me as if he had no idea why we'd never been more than lab partners.
He’d squeezed my bleeding heart to pass the class, then moved on to the next.
He probably wasn’t even going to buy anything. All these stupid sniff-tests must be a game to him.
What was the point in playing along?
We’d never be friends. Or more than that.
“Something tells me it’s for the best,” I said.
His nostrils flared, and he clenched his jaw. “You’re probably right, pidge. Sorry about all this. I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.”
“I’m not ruffled. No ruffling happened. Besides, I-I’m not a pigeon.” I crossed my arms. “I’m a woman. And I need to get back to my job while I still have one.”
He scrunched his brows together. “You must be really desperate.”
“What?” I balked.
He jerked his chin. “You’re at The Closette when you should be on track for a residence. It’d be crap hours, but at least it has prospects.”
“I have prospects,” I shot back.
“What, sorting underwear?” He leaned in, disarmingly earnest. “Why are you here? Do you need help, pigeon?”
Did he really want to help me?
“No,” I strained, my throat closing with emotion.
His pupils dilated in beautiful entreaty. “Tori.”
For a second, my mind blanked with a burst of X-Ray energy, and the truth stumbled out of me. “I-I might have to defer for a bit. My sister…”
Myfamily…
“…needs me,” I said, stretching the bottom of my shirt to prevent him from baring any other parts of me.
He frowned. “That sounds complicated. Is she going to pay you back? Or pay it forward?”
“That’d be nice, but we're family. She doesn't need to do anything,” I said, hugging myself.
