Midnight Muse

Darling? I want to snort. Or grimace, but like the lovely woman I am, I swallow it down in favor of trying to get out of here without my state of mind plummeting further.

“Lovely,” I offer, trying for a smile, but it feels forced. His lips twitch higher as he catches me smothering the look. “And yourself?”

“Fantastic.”

I nod, pinning the sour remark on the tip of my tongue to the roof of my mouth. Yes, I’m sure your party was just lovely, unlike the rest of my night.

Jerk.

“Right…” I trail off, eyes flickering down to my basket in an attempt to tell him to hurry the fuck up without so bluntly saying hurry the fuck up like I so desperately want to.

“First year here?”

“Second,” I answer flatly, praying he starts moving. The muscles of his arms flex where they’re on display and he reaches into my basket, examining the first tube of paint he pulls out. Phthalo Green.

Not for anything specific really, like maybe, say, eyes.

I know that I shouldn’t be trying to make even worse enemies with the boys who live next door, but I can’t help myself. My attitude is on the fritz due to their actions. They should be the ones that have to deal with the consequences.

“I’m a junior,” he says, picking up the check-out gun as slow as possible.

“Congratulations,” I answer, trying to force a lighter inflection to my tone. He doesn’t seem to buy it by the huff of laughter that slips past his lips.

His mirth-filled gaze sweeps over me again and I try not to duck my head, fighting off the fire of both a blush at his attention and my irritation at his less than leisurely pace.

“I’m Ace,” he muses, and the chirp of the scanner going off makes me blink. “I think we’ve met somewhere before.”

It’s what I’ve been waiting for; the teasing. I remember him perfectly. The one who answered the door after Knox, leering at Rory like the horndog college student I’d expect him to be, before slamming it right in our faces again.

My temper snaps when he puts the gun down to pull out a bag, taking all the goddamn time in the world to unfold the paper sack. My fingers curl into fists and I can feel my gaze turning into a glare that my brother tells me could cut glass. “Are all three of you always this insufferable?” I blurt, cutting to the chase.

It’s a rhetorical question, one that I already know the answer to, but Ace answers anyway.

“Most call it charm,” he shrugs, grinning as he moves onto the next item in my basket.

I don’t hold back the urge to roll my eyes.

“That’s exactly the word I was thinking,” I mutter. If he hears it, he doesn’t acknowledge.

“So, your roommate is pretty cute,” he drawls, scanning another tube of paint. That’s two in the span of one minute. He should be fired for all of his lollygagging. I glance at the door, praying that his roommate doesn’t waltz right in, because that, I think, would mean that I actually have the worst luck ever. “Does she have a name?”

I cut my eyes back to his and narrow them. “Don’t we all?”

“And yet, I didn’t catch yours.” Ace cocks his head and his blond hair flops from one side to the other.

“It’s Quinn,” I grind through clenched teeth. My already thin patience is now threadbare. Only a few strings keep hold of my sanity, but Ace is quickly sawing through them with his grating banter.

“Nice name for a lovely girl, I’m sure,” he teases, but there is nothing funny about his words. These boys might be having their fun, but to me it was never something to laugh at and the situation has only gotten worse. “And your roommate’s name? Does she have a boyfriend?”

“Sorry,” I bite, “She’s not the secret fuck type.” Though, she might just be after her breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Max, at the beginning of summer.

Thankfully, my basket is nearly empty. I dig around in my purse for my credit card in haste, wanting to be prepared for when Ace finally tells me my total. The quicker I can pay and leave, the quicker I can hole back up in my apartment. Maybe take a nap on the couch.

“Trust me, Darling,” Ace says with a wink. “It wouldn’t be a secret.”

I can’t help the splutter of a laughter that bubbles up my throat. He startles, shocked by my sudden chortle as I stare up at him, incredulous. “That usually works, doesn’t it?”

I watch his façade falter and I lift my chin with pride. Clearly, I’ve caught him off guard.