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Ten

Monday morning I woke up a little excited. It was my first day at the library in the afternoon, and I was nervous, but happy to be having some money coming in. I would cut off my hand before asking my mother to spot me some. She had enough worries without me being a mooch.

I took out my retainer and glanced over at Hunter. He was on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes, as if he was blocking them from the sun. His other arm was slung over the side of his bed. Somehow his sheets always managed to cover what they needed to cover. Except...

I shoved my face under the covers. I did not just see that. I peeked out again. Yup. Hunter Jr. was awake and standing at attention. Oh. My. God. I faced the wall, unable to look at it anymore. He moaned, rolling over. I stayed as still as I could, but suddenly, I got a fit of the giggles. I stuffed my blanket in my mouth, but it didn't help. Hunter sighed and moved again. I really, really didn't want him to wake up.

The giggling continued. I was in deep and there was no end in sight.

“What's so funny? ” His voice made me jump, killing all hope I had of pretending I was asleep. I froze anyway, hoping he'd think I was having a nightmare or something.

“I can still hear you laughing, ” he said, and I heard him grabbing his boxers. How could he get them on over...

“Why don't you come over here and give me a hand instead of giggling like a twelve-year-old, ” he said, somehow getting the boxers on.

“Why don't you just take care of it yourself? That's probably what you usually do.”

“That's what you think.”

He walked out of the room and shut the door. The giggles finally took over and I was lost. Something about man bits was just hilarious. My fit continued until I had tears on my face. I lay in bed after it was over, gasping and trying to regain my composure.

It was only seven, but there was no way I was going to be able to sleep. I might as well get up and do some homework. I needed to wash my face and brush my teeth, but I wasn't going near the bathroom once I knew Hunter was out of it.

I parked myself in the living room with my textbooks, a bowl of cereal and a cup of black coffee. I heard the shower turn off and glued my eyes to my book.

“Shower's free, ” he said, behind me.

I made a noncommittal sound and pretended I was absolutely fascinated with my French textbook. I heard him walking closer and I kept my head facing away. “You come any closer with that and I'll break it off. Got it? ”

“You're feisty this early in the morning. I like it. Watcha reading? ” He leaned over my shoulder, his damp skin inches from my face.

“Go away, Hunter. Seriously.”

“Fine, fine.” He shuffled back to the bedroom, and I went back to my homework.

An hour later Darah stumbled toward the coffeepot.

“What are you doing up so early? ” she said.

“Couldn't sleep.”

“Was that you laughing like a psycho earlier? ”

“Yeah, sorry. I didn't wake you up, did I? ”

“Meh, ” she said, gripping the coffee cup and taking a deep sip. “I wake up if Renee breathes too loudly. Not your fault. So, ” she said, shoving some of my books aside so she could sit next to me, “what was all the giggling about? ”

“It's nothing, ” I said, the giggles threatening to come up again. “Just something I was thinking about.”

“Or someone? ” She poked my shoulder.

“No.”

“Yeah, that was very convincing, Taylor. There is something going on between you and Hunter. Everyone else seems to see it but you.”

“The only thing that's going on is that he drives me up a wall and I want him to get hit by a bus.”

“Right, sure.”

“I'm serious! ”

“Okay, Taylor. Whatever you say.” She gave me a look and went back to her coffee, and I went back to whatever the hell I was working on and not thinking about Hunter.

*****

I headed for my first day at the library with nerves and excitement. I punched my old-fashioned timecard and walked back to the office.

“Hello, Taylor, it's nice to see you again, ” Tom said, shaking my hand. There were a few other people who worked in the department, and I was introduced to Nancy, Mary and Jeff.

“And this is the student worker section. We usually only have two workers at a time. The other student who shares your shift should be here any moment.”

I was a little early. He showed me to a desk that was split into two workstations facing each other with two ancient desktops, lots of stamp pads and pens.

“Oh, here he is, ” Tom said, turning around. I turned my head and saw my coworker.

“Fancy seeing you here, Missy. Small world.” Hunter Zaccadelli, we meet again.

“You have got to be kidding.”

“Do you two know each other? ” Tom looked both confused and uncomfortable.

“We're roommates, ” I said.

“Well, it is a small world. That's not going to be a problem, is it? ”

“No, not at all, ” I said. There was no way I was giving up this job.

“Agreed, ” Hunter said.

Tom gave us a look, but took our word for it. “Okay, then. For today I just need you to complete a few workplace safety tests. It's a pain you have to do them, but they're required for all new employees.”

Hunter sat down directly across from me and booted up the computer. I did the same as Tom told us how to log in to the website and what the test would entail. Didn’t seem too difficult.

“You sure this is okay? I know how hard it can be to work with someone you live with. My wife used to work in this department.” He smiled and we both reiterated that it would be fine. At least for now. We’d only been there for a few minutes, and I was still reeling. I didn’t believe in luck, but I seemed to be having a lot of the bad kind lately.

Hunter and I got to work on a stupid safety multiple-choice test. I had to keep moving my feet because he kept invading my space.

“Will you stop that? ” I said after he stretched his feet out under my chair for the millionth time.

“Why? I like pissing you off. It's the best part of my day.”

I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but instead I turned my attention back to my computer screen. Seconds later, my email made a pinging sound to tell me I had a new message. I'd pulled it up in case any of my professors sent a message that I needed to read right away. I didn't need more than one guess to know who the ping was from.

Subject: You're totally picturing me naked right now

Missy,

So how about you and I head up to the stacks to do some “shelving”?

I glared at the message before hitting reply.

Subject: This is a work environment and this is harassment

Mr. Zaccadelli,

I am writing to inform you that your proposition has been rejected. Due to both the fact that we are coworkers, as well as roommates, I would find it inappropriate to “visit the stacks” with you. I will reject all further offers at this time. If, in the future, I decide to entertain such an offer, I will inform you via correspondence.

Respectfully (not) yours,

Miss Taylor Caldwell

P.S. Stop fucking emailing me.

I watched his eyes skim the message and a smirk cross his face. He looked straight into my eyes as he typed away, never glancing at the keyboard.

He banged the enter key with a little nod.

Ping.

Subject: Not a chance

Missy,

I accept your challenge, and may I remind you, that if you want me to leave you alone, there is that little bet we have going. Win it, and I'm gone.

Impatiently (and nakedly) yours,

Mr. Hunter Aaron Zaccadelli, esquire.

P.S. Bring it on.

Oh, he was not getting the last word. I turned the volume down on my computer and did a quick visual sweep of the room to make sure we weren't going to get busted. Everyone else was absorbed in what they were doing.

Subject: Challenge accepted

Mr. Zaccadelli,

If you keep this up, I'm going to report you to the workplace hotline for harassment. They don't take kindly to tattooed, guitar-playing dudes making advances toward sweet, innocent girls. Game ON.

Sincerely,

The Girl You Will Never Have

P.S. Esquire? You are so full of shit.

I heard a muffled laugh from Hunter's side of the desk, but I kept my eyes glued to the computer screen. Ladders. Safety precautions when working with ladders...

Ping.

I glared at the computer in irritation. Guess you couldn't turn the sound off.

Subject: Get back to work

Missy,

You're distracting me from the very important topic of workplace safety. How would you feel if I improperly climbed a ladder due to not learning the proper procedure and then fell to my death?

Always,

The Boy You Dream About

P.S. I'm also a lost prince from a faraway land. Want to do me now?

“How are we doing? ” Tom was back.

I closed my email window and went back to the test. I wasn't as far as I should be with the test, but that wasn’t completely my fault.

“Done, ” Hunter said with one last mouse click. Asshat.

“I have a few left, ” I admitted.

“Okay, well come find me when you're done, and we'll do a little tour and get you started on some shelving.”

Hunter leaned back in his chair, and from the look on his face I could tell he was pleased with himself. God, I wanted to punch him again, but then I'd get fired and I really needed this job.

I finished my test with Hunter looking on and I didn't get any further emails. I wanted to text him that if he fell from a ladder it would save me from having to try and win the bet, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

The rest of our few hours of work was uneventful, if you could call Hunter “accidentally” brushing his hand on my ass several times as Tom showed us the closed stacks on the third floor of the library where most of the documents were kept and taught us the rudiments of the call number system uneventful.

“One more time and those fingers will be gone, ” I hissed when Hunter brushed my backside a third time as we got back in the elevator to go down to the first floor.

Tom went over our schedules and wrote them on a whiteboard. I was relieved to find that Hunter and I only had two shifts the same, so at least I'd have the rest of the time Hunter-free.

“Well, we're very happy to have you on board and we'll see you tomorrow, ” Tom said as Hunter and I gathered up our bags.

“Thank you again, I really appreciate it, ” I said.

“See you tomorrow, ” Hunter said, gesturing for me to exit first. “Ladies first.”

I walked through and I could feel his eyes on my butt. I didn't say a word until we were outside. I turned around and gave him a sweet smile, stepping close and biting my lip.

“So, um, I was thinking...” Hunter's eyes went wide for half a second before he started to smile. Haha. I grabbed his hand and dragged him into a nook behind the library where people wouldn't see us. I laughed and moved closer to him. He reached for me...

And I slammed him with my bag.

“You asshole! Are you seriously stalking me? Of all the places for you to get a job, you choose the same office as me? SERIOUSLY?! ” I went for another hit, but he was ready this time.

“Hey, hey! I didn't know, okay? ” We fought for control of the bag, but since he had more leverage he won. “Jesus, stop hitting me. Has anyone ever told you that you have an anger problem? ”

“More than one therapist, ” I said, lunging for my bag.

He pulled his arm back and up so it was securely out of my reach. “Whoa, there. Calm down.”

“Don't tell me what to do.”

“Okay, fine. Freak out.”

He held the bag out to me, and I waited a second before I ripped it away from him. For only the third time I saw a look other than cocky assurance on Hunter's face. I hated the look of concern even more than the confident one.

“Screw you, ” I said, storming away. I hated him. I hated how he got under my skin. I hated how, for a second, I thought about pushing him up against the library and making out with him. I hated him. I hated him. How could I prove it before it was too late and I actually followed through with kissing him? I couldn't fall for Hunter. I couldn't fall for anyone.

Eleven

“So he showed up at your work? Kid, that's weird. You sure he's not stalking you? ” Tawny said.

I was in my bedroom, my homework spread on my bed. Hunter was off with Mase getting pizza, so I took my Hunter-free chance to call Tawny and hash out the recent developments.

“He says he isn't, but I can't understand how he keeps showing up everywhere. It's just weird. Renee says it's the universe telling us we should be together.”

Tawny snorted.

“Yeah, Renee would say that. Isn't she the same girl who tried to set you up with that guy, what was his name? ”

“Robbie.”

Most. Awkward. Experience. Ever. Renee had ambushed me one night last year and told me to “get pretty” so I could meet someone. I said hell no, but she wouldn't take no for an answer.

So, I put on some mascara and put on a t-shirt that made my boobs look decent. She'd hauled me out for pizza with her and Paul and Robbie. Turned out Robbie was Paul's only single friend, and of course I was Renee's single friend so we were perfect for one another. Needless to say, Robbie turned out to be a mega creep, and it was no secret why he was single.

“That's it. I still don't understand why he thought you'd want to know about how to properly perform a blow job. I mean, it's not rocket science.”

“He was just trying to spread his knowledge to the world and enlighten us uneducated virgins in the ways of the BJ.” Because we needed to be educated, according to Robbie. He’d gone through every girl he’d ever had in graphic detail while I died a little inside and Renee tried to change the subject.

“Gag me, ” she said.

“Literally.”

“Blow jobs aside, you can say you hate him all you want, but I'm pretty sure he's not going to believe you, even if you do. Because you definitely don't. I think there's only one person you really hate in this world and his name isn't Hunter.” No, his name wasn't Hunter. “I don't know if it's possible for you to hate more than one person at a time.”

“Can you love more than one person at a time? ” I said.

“I think you can love multiple people, but in different ways.”

“So why can't you hate more than one person, but in different ways? ”

“Because.”

I sigh. “That's not a reason.”

“I'm your big sister. It's true because I said so, Kid.” She'd used this reason when we were younger, and it hadn't worked then either. I wasn't a because-I-said-so kind of person.

“Whatever. I'm not giving up.”

“I wouldn't expect you to. Still, I don't think it's a fight you're gonna win. You're not going to get rid of that boy.”

“Maybe I can pretend that I love him.” That was my last resort.

“Kid, pretending and the real thing aren't that far away. Just be careful.” I heard the commotion in the living room that meant the boys were back.

“Gotta go, he's back.”

“Spit, don’t swallow! ” Tawny yelled as I end the call. I stifled a laugh as Hunter popped his head in the door.

“You hungry? ”

“Maybe.”

“Aw, come on, Missy. Don't be pissed at me. You were the one who pretended you were going to seduce me and then hit me with your bag. By the way, do you carry bricks in there? I think I've got a bruise. You want to kiss it and make it better? ” He started to lift his shirt up, revealing a few inches of flat stomach. That was just what I needed.

“Why don't you go fall off a ladder? ”

“Can't. I completed the safety test and now can properly use a ladder without incident.”

“Damn.” He crossed his arms and gave me a satisfied look. Why was his face so... perfect? “Why don't you be a gentleman and fetch me some pizza. I'm a little busy, ” I said, pointing to the mountains of notes and textbooks.

“I said I was a prince, I never said a charming one, ” he said as he went out the door. He came back a moment later with two plates of pizza, two sodas and a roll of paper towels under his arm.

“I thought we could celebrate our first day of work. If you're not going to throw this drink at me. That's considered assault in the state of Maine, FYI.”

“How do you know that? ”

“Oh, the vast stores of things I know could fill many volumes, Missy girl, ” he said, handing me a plate and a cup and dumping the paper towels in my lap. I should throw the drink at him. Assaulting Hunter would be quite satisfying.

“I can imagine, ” I said, rolling my eyes. He chuckled and seated himself on the floor.

“Come on, floor picnic.” He patted a spot beside him that was free of clothes. I hadn't had a chance to do laundry in a while, and a few of my clothes hadn't made it to the hamper yet. Hunter didn't seem to care, even though he was an obsessive neat freak, for a guy.

“Are you bipolar? ” I asked. He stared at me for a second and threw his head back and laughed. “No, seriously.”

“Says the girl who has been to more than one therapist.”

“So what? It wasn't my choice.” I didn't want to talk about me. I got down from the bed and moved a sweatshirt out of the way so I could sit far enough away from him.

“Parents make you go? ” he said, taking a bite.

I picked up my piece of pizza and studied it. He'd gotten all my favorite vegetables on it, and he was eating a piece of it, too.

“Sort of. It's complicated.” I did not want to discuss my dark and twisty past.

“I had to go, too, ” he said, wiping his mouth and balling up the paper towel in his hand.

“What for? ”

“It's a long story. Complicated.” His hand went to his seven tattoo and rubbed it three times before he picked up his pizza again.

“Huh, ” I said.

“What? ”

“Well, I just never thought we'd have something like that in common. Guess we're both a little fucked up.” I was a lot fucked up, but I didn't say that.

“A girl like you? No way.”

I laughed.

“Oh, Hunter. You have no idea.” I hadn't showed him even a fraction of the crazy in my head. True, I probably hadn't seen a fraction of his either.

“Well, we can just be fucked up together.”

“No, thanks.” I munched my pizza and scooted away from him. Hunter was always too close for comfort.

“You talk to your sister lately? ”

“Why are you so concerned about my personal business? ”

“Because I'm a gentleman. And your roommate.”

“Bite me.”

“Deflecting, I see. You seem to do that a lot. I bet it's because your sister likes me. Admit it. I've never been with sisters before, but for you I'd make an exception.”

I reached behind me for the closest thing I could throw. Turned out to be a kitten heel. For the first time in my life, I wished I wore spiked heels. Really sharp ones.

He ducked my shoe assault.

“Shoes don't count under the assault category, do they? ” I asked.

“Not sure, I'll have to check my law books.”

“You do not have law books.”

He nodded and picked up his pizza, totally blasé.

“My uncle does. A whole room full of 'em. I used to read them when I was a kid.”

“Law books. You, ” I said, pointing to the smirking dude across from me, “read law books? Did you get punished a lot as a kid? ”

“Why, you wanna punish me, Missy? ” His eyes sparkled, and he smiled wickedly.

I closed my eyes and shook my head to rid myself of the mental image of doing just that. It wouldn’t be as fun for him as it would for me, in my version.

“Nah, I just liked reading them. I don't know. There's something comforting about the law. Most of it's written down, and there are rules to follow. It's equal for everyone.”

“Yeah, the law is great.” We were veering into uncomfortable territory, but I didn't want Hunter to know that. “Works every time.”

“How would you know? ” His playful tone was gone, and his face was serious again. Shit.

“I watch a lot of crime shows, ” I said, rolling my eyes and shoving my pizza in my mouth so I wouldn't have to talk.

“Uh huh, ” Hunter said, but dropped the subject.

We both looked up when there was a knock at the door. Mase slowly poked his head in, as if he was expecting to surprise us in a compromising position.

“Hey, guys, ” he said, taking in our floor picnic. He seemed relieved that neither of us was naked. “I just wanted to see if you were coming to the house this weekend? ”

“Yeah, I gotta meet with Joe, so I'll be over for dinner.”

Mase's eyes flicked from me to Hunter and back.

“Cool, I'll tell Dad. See you later, man.”

Hunter nodded goodnight, and Mase closed the door softly.

“Who's Joe? ”

He got up and tossed his pizza plate and chugged some of his soda. “Family friend.”

“You have to 'meet' with him? Doesn't sound friendly.” Well hello, secret that Hunter didn't want me to know. Nice to meet you.

He drained the rest of the can. “I'm gonna go shower. Care to join me? ” The flirty smile was back, but it didn't reach his eyes. Gotcha.

“Hmm, that sounds a lot like deflecting, Hunter.” He slung his towel over his shoulder as I sauntered over to him. I tipped my face up and smiled.

“Now who has a secret? ”

“You know, for a girl who claims to hate me, you're doing a really good job of trying to get into my pants. We could fix that, right here, right now.”

“What about the bet? ”

“Missy, if you slept with me, I'd say screw the bet. Whatever you wanted, I'd do.”

“So if I sleep with you and told you to get the fuck out, you'd do it? ”

“Scout's honor, ” he said, putting up his fingers.

“Bullshit.” I was calling his bluff. Also, I was not sleeping with him. Still, if I had one more chance of getting rid of him, I'd take it. Maybe more opportunities would come my way.

He stuck his hand right in my face.

“Shake on it? ”

“Deal, ” I said.

“Why, Missy, if you wanted to get rid of me, you chose the most fun way of doing it.”

“Oh, Hunter, I’m not going to sleep with you. Dream on, ” I said, brushing my hand on the front of his jeans, just near a very important area. He made a little groaning noise and tore himself away from me, slamming the door.

Who was in the driver’s seat now?

*****

“So who’s Joe? ” I said when Hunter came back after his very long shower. He looked distinctly grumpy.

“I told you, a family friend. Don’t stick your pretty nose in places it doesn’t belong, Missy. You might find something you don’t want to find.” He had no idea.

“How do you know that I don’t have secrets? ”

“Oh, I know you do. I’m just not as overt as you are about finding them out. The best way to get what you want is to pretend you don’t want it.”

“So are you telling me you don’t want me? ” Could have fooled me. I was pretty sure you didn’t proposition people you didn’t want to sleep with every five seconds.

He pointed to me. “You’re my exception, Missy. I don’t make exceptions very often. It’s bad luck. I can want you without liking you, so don’t take that as a confirmation that I like you.”

“Am I bad luck? ”

He laughed.

“No, Missy, you’re a jackpot. Best lucky break ever.”

“So you’re saying you do want to sleep with me? ”

“Given the fact that I just took my millionth cold shower since I’ve moved in here and I have to constantly recite the Gettysburg Address and The Bill of Rights in my head when I’m around you? Yeah, I’d say so. Why, you want me, too? ”

“No. I hate you.” I gave it a shot.

“Not a chance, Missy. But if you wanted to get this over with, I could be out of here in an hour.” He hopped up on his bed and started pulling his shirt over his head. Oh, God.

“No.”

“No? ” He stopped, with half of his stomach exposed.

“No.” My voice was firm. It was not going to happen. Joking aside, if he EVER tried to force himself on me, they would have to drag me off his dead body because I would have beaten him to death. He must have seen my anger rising or sensed that I was about ready to do something crazy again, because he pulled his shirt back down and put his hands up in a peacemaking gesture.

“Message received. Shirt is staying on. Well, until we go to bed, but that’s nothing new.” He rubbed his tattoo again. I’d seen him doing that more than once.

There were other little things I’d noticed about him. Like the fact that he was really into the numbers three, five and seven. Well, the seven was obvious. Five was more subtle. I’d heard him counting under his breath once, like it was a way to calm himself or something. When we walked, sometimes he counted his steps, one, two, three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five. I’d never said anything about it because I knew he wasn’t aware of it, or he didn’t think I was aware of it. I didn’t want him knowing I noticed things like that.

When we’d had our pizza night with our neighbors, he’d freaked out when we had thirteen people.

“It’s uneven. We have to have fourteen.” So he’d stuck his head out the hall and yelled, “free pizza! ” and some dude we’d never seen before joined us, and Hunter had seemed relieved. He was always giving my peacock stuff a wide berth.

Hunter was quiet as we both finished our homework and prepared for bed.

“I wrote something for you, ” he said, grabbing his guitar for our nightly “music sex, ” as he called it. The first time I’d heard his singing voice, I’d been blown away. His talking voice was amazing, but his singing was like honey and smoke had hooked up in the back of a van at a rock concert and had a love child. Smooth and rough at the same time.

“Awesome. I can’t wait to hear it.”

He strummed a chord and grinned.

“Oh, believe me. This is Billboard material. Top Ten. Platinum record.” He started a little meandering tune.

I’m gonna tell you a story bout a girl I know,

Her name is Missy, and wants to do me so,

I wanna tell you about my Missy girl,

Her hair is brown and her lips are pink,

Her eyes are greenish or bluish I think,

She fights and flirts with me all day long,

Which is why I decided to write this song,

She may think that I’ve crossed the line,

But she tells me she hates me all the time,

So I don’t really believe anything she says,

I like the way she glares when she’s mad at me,

I like the way she smiles when she thinks no one sees,

She may think this song means I like her,

But she’d be very wrong,

I was bored in macro, so I decided to write a song,

There are two more things about Missy I like,

Could someone please hand me a mic?

The way she flips her retainer when she reads vampire smut,

And I really, really like her… He winked at me.

…ass

I threw a pillow at him, but that didn’t stop the song. It was all about me.

My silly, cute and sexy Missy girl… Missy girl… Missy girl…

He strummed the last chord and then quieted the guitar.

“So? ”

I bit my lip so I wouldn’t laugh. What a ridiculous song.

“Is it possible to be both impressed and insulted? ”

“Sure, why not? What do you think of my song writing? ”

“Not much.” I couldn’t hide my smile. No one had ever written a song about me, let alone all the weird things about me that I thought other people would hate or find unattractive. The weird part was, I had no idea about the retainer thing. That was news.

“So you like the retainer, huh? ” I said.

“Nothing like a girl who has good oral health.” I rolled my eyes at that, and he plucked a string. “And a cute ass.”

“I never knew it was song-worthy, ” I said, getting up and craning my neck to look at it.

“You need to stop doing that.”