Devin

 

The girl in the store was asking him what was going on, and all he could do was smile at her. How on Earth was he supposed to explain to her that he was in the middle of running away from two guys from a rival club, The Choppers? Where was he even supposed to start so that she could understand that he was always looking over his shoulder to make sure that he wasn’t going to fall into a trap? That was his life now: a life of an outlaw.

 

So Devin just shrugged.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said instead, watching her standing at the door, with her hand still frozen on the lock.

 

From the moment he had caught sight of her, a comic book in her hand, he had wanted to rip her clothes off. Damn she was hot. She had the perfect body; the kind that always turned him on. She was in a pair of denim cutoffs, and her legs looked smooth and long. She had an old sweatshirt on, through which Devin could tell was hiding an impressive set of breasts.

 

This girl’s hair was wild, and her blue eyes were even wilder. She had a small pink mouth and a frightened look in her eyes. He wanted to hug her, envelope her in his arms and stroke her hair at the same time. He wanted to ravage her body too, one inch at a time. Up until now, his strategy had been to avoid looking at her. That way he wouldn’t be tempted. This was not the time or the place to pick up a girl. Not when he was on the run. But she was insisting on grabbing his attention. Now he had no other choice but to stare at her. And damn was she fine.

 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Why do you need the door closed and the sign turned?” she asked in a sweet voice. She had the voice of a girl who could sing, although she also had the demeanor of someone who wasn’t aware of her own talent. She took a few unsure steps towards him, and the whole time her eyes were darting, from him to the door to around the shop. Was she afraid of him? Couldn’t she see that he wouldn’t ever hurt her? That all he wanted to do, from the moment he saw her, was to protect her? As ridiculous as that sounded.

 

“Okay, you got me,” Devin replied, smiling again, and her eyes softened a little. His brain, on the other hand, was racing a mile a minute. He needed to come up with a good excuse. Something she would buy. He didn’t want to take advantage of her apparent naivety, but he didn’t have any other choice. He couldn’t just simply tell her the truth.

 

“I’m a celebrity,” he told her and watched as her eyes widened.

 

“I knew you looked familiar,” she replied, and a soft grin formed on her lips. “You’re a musician, aren’t you?” she added, and Devin nodded. That was good enough, he could go with that; even though he hadn’t picked up a musical instrument in his life, nor could he sing to save his life.

 

“But what has that got to do with any of this?” she then asked, and a look of distrust entered her eyes again. Devin licked his lips. It wasn’t as easy to distract her as he thought it would be. His gaze fell to her legs again, and he imagined how it might blow his mind to have them wrapped around his neck. He felt himself stir in his pants.

 

“I don’t like cameras. I don’t like screaming fans,” he blurted out for the lack of any other explanation. She softened again.

 

She was standing several feet away from him, but he had studied her closely enough to know the way her skin shone. How translucent and perfect her complexion was. How slender her fingers were and the way she hooked her left hip to one side when she stood. She was driving him crazy, even though he was pumped with adrenaline at the thought that the guys from The Choppers might discover him hiding there. In the first place that they could find.

 

“You’re running from your fans?” She crossed her arms over her breasts. Devin’s eyes were drawn to her chest again, and he allowed them to rest there before looking up at her face. She was grinning now, no doubt at the idea of a famous musician hiding in her comic book store, away from a throng of crazed fans.

 

“It makes me claustrophobic, and I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” he said and shrugged his shoulders again. She shook her head and bit down on her lip.

 

“What’s your name? I’m sorry, I’m not big into music,” she said, and had an apologetic look on her face. She actually seemed embarrassed that she hadn’t recognized him. Devin felt relieved. The fact that she wasn’t into music much meant that he might actually be able to pull this off.

 

“Devin, Devin Rock.” He leaped to his feet and extended a hand to her. She looked at it for a few seconds before accepting his handshake. Her hand felt small in his, delicate as lace and soft as butter. Devin held onto it for longer than necessary while he looked deep into her eyes. She appeared to be struggling to hold his gaze. She was shy, embarrassed, and probably still a little afraid of him.

 

“Camille Griffin,” she replied softly, introducing herself. “Rock, what a curious last name. Is that the kind of music you specialize in?”

 

He had no other choice but to laugh at that.

 

“No, trance isn’t really…” he paused to look down at his clothes, “my style,” he said, and thankfully she grinned at that.

 

They were standing closer to each now that he had stood up, and he could smell the warm vanilla scent of her skin. He wanted to touch her and feel her cheeks under his fingertips. He imagined how delicious she might taste if he were to trail his lips along her throat and then the grooves of her shoulders. She simply stood there, though, still grinning at him.

 

“So you own this little place, huh?” he asked, looking around him. Camille nodded her head lightly but didn’t seem too enthusiastic about it.

 

“C’mon, tell me… what’s your favorite comic? Which one would you recommend if you had to choose one for me?” He watched her closely. Her face seemed to change with that question, and he wondered if he had touched a nerve. She had to have a favorite right? She owned a comic book store for God’s sakes!

 

Camille looked around her like she was trying to think, then she shrugged her shoulders and licked her lips. Her arms were still crossed over her breasts, and that kept distracting Devin. He couldn’t stop thinking about the smashing body she was hiding under that sweatshirt.

 

“Who are you kidding? You’re not here to buy anything. You’re only using the store as a hiding place, and I’m losing business,” she said suddenly, taking him aback. It wasn’t that she sounded enraged or unhappy about it, but he just hadn’t expected her to say anything like that. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised. She suddenly seemed more interested in him buying something rather than talking to him.

 

A noise outside distracted them both. Through the windows of the store, Devin saw a guy on a Harley ride past, and his adrenaline started pumping on overdrive again. He was suddenly reminded of why he was there.

 

“I need to hide,” he mumbled, more to himself than to her. Devin clenched his jaw as he looked around the store. It wasn’t that he was scared. He was confident he could win a fight if he had to, but he was clearly outnumbered in this case.

 

When he had walked out of the cafe where he got his coffee that morning, he saw the three of them start up their bikes from across the road. He had thought about walking over to them and sorting it out then and there. And then reality sunk in. He would be minced meat with the three of them there. He couldn’t possibly take them on. So he did the only thing he could do. He ran. The three of them were on their bikes and hadn’t expected him to run into the alley adjoining the restaurant. It would take them time to park their bikes or ride over to the end of the alley. Either way, it gave Devin enough time to make his escape, even if it was on foot.

 

His gaze fell on a door in the back corner of the store, and without turning to look at Camille, he reached for her hand. She was no match for his strength, and with one quick yank on her arm, he was walking with her trailing behind him.

 

“Wait, what’s going on?” he heard her say, but he was resolute. He reached the back door, twisted the knob and pushed it open.

 

It was a small storage room, and there was barely any light. He didn’t bother to look for a switch even if there was one, and instead, he pulled her into the room and shut the door again.

 

“What are we doing here?” she asked, and Devin tried smiling at her. He didn’t want her to panic.

 

“I can’t risk somebody finding me. Your windows are large and an easy giveaway,” he told her, finally letting go of her hand. She rubbed her wrist where he had been holding her, as she inched away from him again towards the door.

 

“Relax, Camille. Just for a few more minutes and then I’ll be out of your hair.” He tried to sound as calm as possible. She breathed in deeply and looked at him with her brows crossed.

 

“I can’t believe you’re so afraid of being caught on camera. I would have assumed that all celebrities love the limelight,” she said, looking at him suspiciously. Devin tried to keep his anxiety under control. He was torn between trying to hide himself and also to put Camille at ease. The more time he spent near her, the more desperate he was growing to touch her.

 

“I’m not every other celebrity,” he replied, and she grinned again.

 

“I can see that.” She finally smiled. There it was - her full smile, and it violently affected Devin. He felt like his whole world was shaking as he watched her face transform into something even more beautiful than she was. Even in the dark, it seemed like her face was glowing. She had perfectly white small teeth, and her eyes danced as she beamed.

 

“So you’re really that terrified of your fans?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

 

“I’m not terrified of them. That’s the wrong word. I just don’t like being swarmed by them. I hope to lead a regular life,” he replied, and she breathed in, obviously still in disbelief over what he was saying.

 

“You can’t expect to lead a regular life if you’re a celebrity. And clearly, you’re good at what you do… you rock people’s worlds.” She laughed at her own joke, and Devin smiled again. Everything that she said made him want her more. No matter how silly and naive she sounded. He could see that she had a wall up and was trying to hide something from the external world with a pretension of innocence. He wanted to see her wild side too.

 

“Have I rocked your world yet?” he asked, and she shot him a look. For a second he thought she was going to slap him, but then she broke out a loud laugh. She was beautiful.

 

“You’ve rocked my world, for sure, at least for the day,” Camille said when her laughter finally subsided. Devin grinned and took a few steps closer to her. Her smile disappeared, and she pressed her back against the door, like she wanted to run away, but she couldn’t. The reality was that she could very simply just open the door and walk out. But she didn’t. Devin was hoping that she wanted to stay. Just like he wanted to stay close to her too.

 

“I’m sorry Camille. I really didn’t mean to put you out like this.” He looked at her directly. Their faces were inches from each other, although she had to crane her neck upwards a little to look at him. She seemed much smaller now that he was closer to her.

 

Camille shrugged, forcing out a weak smile and shook her head like it was nothing.

 

“It’s alright. I can understand. I know what claustrophobia feels like. You can wait here for a few more minutes until you feel like the coast is clear,” she said.

 

It suddenly felt to Devin like they were in a trance. That none of this was real. What was the likelihood of him simply bumping into this bombshell while he was on the run from The Choppers? It was like the universe was pointing to her as if she might be able to save him somehow. The truth was that nothing could save Devin from his life. This was the path he had chosen for himself, and this was the road he was supposed to walk down. And none of it was a game. It was dangerous, and a life that he should, in no way, involve Camille in. He didn’t even know her!

 

Devin shook his head to drive the thoughts out of his head and smiled. She smiled too.

 

“Thank you, Camille, you are very kind.” He breathed the words so that his breath made some of her tight blonde curls flutter. Camille’s eyes widened, and she was staring up at him. She looked like she was expecting him to say something.

 

He knew he had to leave soon. He hadn’t heard the sound of a bike outside for several minutes now, and he was fairly certain that the coast was clear. It was now or never.

 

But how could he leave like this? He couldn’t remember the last time a girl had this effect on him, and when he actually wanted to talk to a girl. Or want more than just her body. And he did want Camille’s body too!

 

“I’d like to take you out to dinner. For all this trouble that I’ve caused you,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

 

The look on Camille’s face changed, and she seemed to be shocked again. Nothing Devin did ever seemed to put her at ease.

 

“No, you don’t have to,” she muttered, and he shook his head.

 

“I want to,” he insisted. They both looked at each other in silence.

 

“No, thank you,” she finally replied, and he felt his heart sink. He was a little offended. Since when had girls started turning him down? Everybody said yes. Everybody fell into bed with him. He was Devin Rock; panties dropped all around him all the time, and it was up to him which ones he picked up.

 

Why was she turning him down? She must have noticed the look on his face because she straightened her lips and looked at him quizzically.

 

“No, thank you?” he repeated her words. Camille nodded her head.

 

“That’s correct. No, thank you. Thank you for asking, but no I’m not interested.” This time, she didn’t even bother to smile. Devin cleared his throat in an effort to buy some more time. He needed to come up with an appropriate strategy.

 

Now that she had refused him, he was hell bent on getting her in his bed. He just had to find a way.

 

“How about if I buy a hundred copies of this comic book?” he asked and held up the book in his hand. It was the one he had started reading when he first came in.

 

There was an instant change in her expression. She looked like she couldn’t believe that somebody would want to buy that many.

 

“Are you serious?” she asked, her mouth falling slightly open.

 

“Absolutely. A hundred copies of…” he paused and turned the book over to read the title, “Country Crowns. Fascinating title.” He continued on while she continued to stare at him, “By Ruby Red.”

 

He could see her visibly gulp. He knew he had hit the nail on the head. She wouldn’t be able to refuse him now, although she still hadn’t said anything.

 

“If you come out with me tonight, I’ll buy a hundred of these right away off you,” he said with a huge smile on his face.

 

Camille looked at him and then at the book in his hand, still in clear shock.

 

“Also, this is so obviously a pen name, isn’t it? Who is called Ruby Red? Anyway, I enjoyed the first few pages. This Cammy is a firecracker. I want to keep reading,” Devin added and raised his eyebrows. He didn’t have to wait for her reply to know what she was going to say.