Chapter Twenty-Three
Eden
“Friend-zoned,” Zeke said. He was lounging on a chair in the courtyard, soaking up the rays and drinking a Gatorade while I painted my poppy field.
“I friend-zoned you and that’s working out fine.”
“No offense but I friend-zoned you. Killian gave me strict instructions that you were off-limits. I want to keep my job. It’s a cool gig.”
“He actually said that? Why?” I turned to look at Zeke whose eyes were closed.
“Probably because he knows I’m the resident man whore.” Zeke held up his hands. “I’m not even apologizing.”
“I can’t believe Killian. That should have been my decision, not his.” Which was true. But did he feel like there was a connection from the first time we met? I’d never had sex like that. It was so intense, so mind-blowing, so much of everything. He knew how to play my body, how to get me begging for more. With him, I had a feeling I’d always want more. But last night was more than just the sex. He held me in his arms all night, my back against his chest, and it felt so right and so good. It was hard to believe we’d taken so many detours to get to this place. I belonged in his arms, in a way I’d never felt before, not even with Luke.
“You would have gone for me?” Zeke asked.
“No. You look too much like my brother Sawyer.” He didn’t really look like Sawyer, but Zeke didn’t do it for me, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
“Your brother must be a stud,” Zeke said.
“He’d like to think so.”
Zeke snorted with disgust. “My ego is being bruised and battered. I’ve been relegated to brotherly love. And I’ve been friend-zoned. What the hell?”
“Just accept the challenge. Doesn’t it get old going from one girl to another?”
“Nope. They’re all different girls. That keeps it fresh. I like to keep my life simple. No complicated emotions to bog me down. If Hailey thinks I’m deep, she’s sadly mistaken.”
“Are you scared she’ll find out you’re just a pretty face?” I teased.
“Hey. That’s not fair. I’ve got a hot body too. My body is my temple, and she should be worshiping at it instead of treating me as a…friend,” he said, as if friend was a dirty word.
“Then just forget about Hailey. No one’s forcing you to be her friend.”
“I know you put her up to this.”
I shrugged. “All I did was suggest it. This was Hailey’s call.”
Zeke sighed. “Like I said, my reputation precedes me.”
I stepped back to study my field of abstract pink poppies.
“Your mural looks awesome.”
I wasn’t so sure, but it was nice to hear. “Thanks.”
“I need to ramble,” Zeke said, grabbing his skateboard. “Catch you later.”
“See you.”
A few minutes later, I looked inside the bar and saw Zeke talking to Killian. I smiled to myself when I heard them laughing.
I hooked myself up to my music and got back to my mural. The brick was cracked in places, parts of the wall crumbling. I liked that it wasn’t perfect and that my mural looked more like graffiti. When I finished this, I was going to work on my next piece—my street art.
“Time for a break,” Ava called from the doorway.
“I need to finish.”
She dragged me away and forced me to eat with her. I didn’t realize I was so hungry until she unpacked the deli sandwiches and tossed me a bag of chips. She bought enough to feed a small country. I offered her money, but she waved it away. “Killian and Louis gave me money. They’ll eat most of it anyway so get in there before they get here.”
I knew all about fighting for food in a household of boys, so after checking out the selection, I grabbed a turkey and Swiss and ripped open my bag of chips.
“Wanna do half and half?” Ava asked, holding up half of her sandwich.
“What’s yours?”
“Tuna melt.”
I swapped half of my sandwich for half of hers and took a big bite of the turkey sandwich.
Killian and Louis came outside with bottles of water and Killian took the seat next to me, with Louis next to Ava. Killian’s hand found my thigh under the table and he rested it there, on my bare skin, as if his hand belonged on my thigh. A little thrill shot through me. I loved that his hand belonged there.
“Yes!” Ava said, punching the air in victory. “My coffee arrangement worked.”
Louis chuckled. “It takes a village.”
Killian snorted. I concentrated on eating my food, but with Killian’s hand branding my skin, it wasn’t an easy task. My pulse was racing, and my stomach was all fluttery as I stuffed my face with food I wasn’t hungry for anymore.
I side-eyed Killian. Do you know that your hand is setting off a five-alarm fire inside me?
He smirked. Yes. I’m aware of what I’m doing to you.
I tried not to think about his naked body or what it could do to mine. His hand drifted to my inner thigh and inched its way upwards. I squirmed in my seat and pushed his hand away.
“Chips?” Ava asked, dangling a bag in front of Killian’s face.
He batted them away. She arched her brows at me, as if to say, I told you so.
“You don’t eat chips?” I asked, plucking one from my bag and tossing it into my mouth.
“No chips,” Louis said. “No cookies, candy, cake, brownies—”
“She gets the point,” Killian said.
“He even has issues with sandwiches,” Ava said. “Notice how he only went for the ones with the birdseed bread and raw vegetables.”
I peeked at his sandwich choices. Sure enough, he’d chosen two that I’d passed up. One had birdseed bread and the other one was a wrap with raw vegetables and sprouts sticking out of it.
“I almost didn’t order them,” Ava said. “Out of protest.”
“Save your energy for something that matters,” Killian advised, as his hand returned to my thigh. His fingers traced the outline of my underwear and slipped inside, rubbing between my folds. I nearly choked on my sandwich and started coughing, my eyes watering. He removed his hand to give me a few helpful thumps on the back.
“Drink some water,” Killian said, all innocence, offering me his water bottle. I coughed a few times then took a swig of my Coke, glaring at him. He pretended to cower. What a comedian.
“A turkey sandwich can be dangerous,” Louis said, arching his brows. He knew what was going down under the table.
“Especially when it gets stuck in your throat,” Killian said, making it sound dirty.
“Even a small turkey sandwich can cause bodily harm,” Louis said.
“Just think what a big one could do,” Killian said.
“Choke you,” Louis said. “Good thing you don’t have that problem.”
“Exactly,” Killian said. “I don’t eat turkey sandwiches. Something you need to share, Louis? Does Carmen know about this?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Are you guys done comparing the size of your dicks?” Ava said.
“What is she talking about?” Louis asked Killian.
Killian shrugged. “Someone has a dirty mind.” He gave my thigh a squeeze. I smacked his hand away. He laughed.
Ava and I shook our heads at each other as we got up from the table. “We’ll leave you guys to battle it out over the rest of my turkey sandwich.”
“Too bad it isn’t a fat sausage sandwich,” Ava said.
I laughed. “Or a foot-long hot dog.”
I returned to my mural, cracking up over that stupid conversation at the picnic table.
Hours later, I stepped back to survey the finished product. Doves exploded from a grenade and flew through the broken windows of a derelict warehouse and into a cerulean blue sky. I’d painted a cityscape, a little piece of Brooklyn, but mixed it up with an abstract field of poppies. Barbed wire zigzagged across the length of it. I wasn’t sure what had compelled me to paint this peace wall or if it even made any sense.
“It’s a conversation piece,” Brody said, stocking the ice in the outside bar.
“Yeah, but I’m not sure how people will interpret it,” I said.
“That’s the beauty of art. They can interpret it any way they want,” Brody said. “It’s cool.”
“Thanks, Brody.” Brody was cool. Last week, we worked together, and he told me about his travels to far-flung places, seeking out good deep-sea diving spots. I asked him if the whole breathing thing ever freaked him out. He said you just had to keep your shit together and go with the flow.
“You need to sign it, Picasso,” Zeke called out as I snapped photos.
Picasso? I wish.
I signed my name in lower case letters on the far right-hand corner. No need to shout it to the world. When I straightened up and backed up a few paces, I hit a brick wall. Killian’s arms circled my middle and he pulled me back against him.
“It’s amazing,” he murmured in my ear, sending tingles up and down my spine. Zeke’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline, but I pretended not to notice. He’d be grilling me for answers later, I was sure of it.
“Yo, Killian,” Zeke called.
Killian looked over at him. “Yeah?” he said, as if holding me in his arms was a regular occurrence. I couldn’t see the look on Killian’s face, but it probably didn’t look open to questions. Zeke chuckled and shook his head.
Killian walked me closer to the mural and studied every detail of it. “To paint like this…it’s a gift.”
Thank you. You’re pretty gifted yourself.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mmhmm,” I murmured. “You have skills.”
He nuzzled my neck. “I’ll be using them tonight.”