Almost Perfect

by Doyle, Dawn

  “Hi,” he said, a beaming smile spreading across his face, making his eyes sparkle in the light, which was difficult under the peak of his black baseball cap. But, they did, the green standing out more than ever.

  And angels sang at the sight of perfection as it bloomed before them.

  “Uh.” I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head, shaking away what the hell was going through my mind. “Hey,” I managed. “What are you doing?” And how much had he heard of that conversation?

  He rested his arm on the surface in front and his other over the back of the blue fabric-covered chair. “Sitting here. Since, by your admission, we never see each other, I thought I’d rectify that problem.” He held his hand up when I opened my mouth. “Yeah, yeah, no need to—I remember what you said—but what if we did see each other more?” He pumped his blond-brown brows once. “It’d make Daria happy.”

  I balked. “You’ve spoken to Dar?” A cold sweat broke out on my skin, and if I had a mirror, I’d no doubt be able to watch the color drain from my face.

  Maddoc shrugged a shoulder. “Cash, but I got the gist of the problem.” He tapped his index finger above his brow. “Which got me thinking… If it looked like we were trying to get along, that’d make both our friends happy, right?”

  My teeth squeaked from grinding them so hard. I held my hands together, my palm cupping my other fist on the wooden desktop. “Doubt it,” I mumbled. I stared at my fidgeting fingers, already noticing how visible the tremors were without lifting them; it was the same in my stomach.

  “I know it,” Maddoc countered, then relaxed back in the seat. “Solves two problems.”

  I took a steadying breath through my nose and was immediately overcome by the familiar smell that was all Maddoc. Something crisp, soapy, like the ocean-type body-washes, and with an undertone of eucalyptus. God, I wanted to lean in and sniff him all over like a dog.

  Jeez, Kaia, calm the hell down.

  “I know, I smell good, right?” he asked, leaning toward me.

  “What?” I yelled, gaining all attention, yet again, and my skin burned with embarrassment, flames climbing higher up my neck until they scorched my cheeks. “You’re a jerk.”

  Maddoc placed his hand on his bright-red T-shirt, over his heart, and closed his eyes, showing long lashes that cast shadows underneath. “Thank you, you say the nicest things to me, Kaia.”

  I faced the front, not able to endure any more of his features. “No I don’t, and that’s more than enough reason to go back to whatever seat you came from.”

  Fourth row from the back, the first seat in the aisle because of the extra leg room.

  I hated that I knew that, but there was no doubt in my mind that Maddoc would relish that fact and use it against me.

  “You know where I sit,” he purred, then proceeded to tell me exactly that as though I’d spoken the words out loud.

  “Then go back there.”

  Maddoc shook his head, and from my peripheral vision I could see he was still smiling. “You haven’t heard me out,” he countered.

  “Do I need to?”

  He leaned closer again, so close that I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. “Yes. First problem is that our friends don’t like that their friends don’t get along. We can show that we’re trying to, for their sakes.”

  “And, the, uh,” I cleared my throat, “second?” Was I ready to hear it? Probably not, but that wouldn’t stop Maddoc. He had no filter, especially when it came to getting a rise out of me.

  “Regardless of what you think, I’m good at this class. I overheard Daria telling Cash you struggled with certain elements, so I figured I could help you out.”

  My head whipped to him. Big mistake. I hadn’t counted on him being as close as he was, and as I turned, the front of his cap brushed gently across my forehead. He lifted his hand and pushed it back until he took it off, his mussed hair falling down toward his brows.

  I stared, completely frozen, unable to form a single word as his breath fanned over my mouth. Instinctively, my tongue darted out and ran over my bottom lip, just as my senses returned in full force. I snapped my attention back to the front, just as Professor McNulty graced us with his late presence.

  “I’m doing just fine,” I whispered.

  “Your average is a C, sometimes scraping a B.” He paused to shrug. “And I know you wanna hit that A so, so bad,” he added with a slight groan in his voice.

  I could hear the teasing in his tone, goading me, dangling the proverbial carrot in front of my face and waiting for me to take a bite. Knowing Maddoc, though, there was no mistaking the hidden tone of something else. ‘…hit that A…’

  He couldn’t know, I haven’t told anybody, not even Daria.

  “How would you know that?” I asked.

  “Cash and Daria talk, cupcake,” he replied with a pump of his brows. A rush of familiarity flowed through me. Something in the way he called me that name… “I hear so much more than you think.”

  And that thought made my skin crawl. Nothing good could come from Maddoc knowing more about me than I wanted him to. It was fuel for him—a source that would ignite my fiery temper for sure. I had no choice but to relent for the sake of my friendship with Dar and Cash.

  “Good morning, class, apologies for my late arrival. Please finish your conversations so we can begin,” Professor McNulty called out.

  Be good, Kaia. He helped you out, twice, so be civil.

  “Fine,” I ground out. “But this is for Daria and Cash, okay? We’re not friends, Maddoc.”

  He nodded, and pulled his cap back on his head. “We’ll see.”

  Chapter 7

  Kaia

  “Maddoc slouched down in his seat, pulled his peak over his face, and proceeded to snooze through the entire thing,” I said after telling Daria what had happened during class.When she’d finally come back to our place, I’d apologized for my behavior and promised I’d do better to get along with Maddoc.

  “Well, at least you two are trying, that’s the main thing,” she replied. “Coffee?” She got up from the table, walked over to the machine, and pulled two mugs from the white cupboard overhead.

  “Dar, he fell asleep,” I repeated. Maddoc’s thick arms were crossed over his broad chest, his peak pulled over his eyes while he snored softly next to me. I tried not to watch, but his slow breaths were mesmerizing to the point I could only hear him and not what Professor McNulty was saying. I had to look.

  Daria grinned over her shoulder at me, her blonde waves swaying as she moved. “Better than getting on your nerves for an hour and a half, right?”

  She had a point, but that wasn’t was I was talking about. “How is he supposed to help me if he sleeps his way through our class?” God, those words sparked a completely different set of images in my head the second they left my mouth. “I mean, I barely know what’s going on, so how can he know at all?”

  “Trust me, he’s all good,” Daria replied with a knowing look. “He’s smarter than you give him credit for, babe.” She placed a black mug full of steaming coffee in front of me, then sat down again, staring at me as she went. “What’s really going on with you?”

  I shrugged and shook my head. “Nothing, why?” When her head tipped to the side and her dark eyes narrowed, I looked down into the milky liquid, watching the swirling contents still. I reached up and toyed with the necklace around my neck, my fingers rolling the teardrop-shaped pendant back and forth. Now I had it back, it comforted me, allowing my hands to do something when my stomach was knotting up and my pulse was racing. Concentrating on that tiny jewel centered me somehow.

  And it was thanks to Maddoc and the guys that you have that again.

  “Hmm, it’s not nothing, Kai,” Daria said, breaking my thoughts. “You haven’t called Maddoc any names, I get that you called a kind of truce, but something else is up.” She shifted and leaned forward onto her elbows, her hands cradling her own mug. “I’ve known you long enough to pick up on your tells.”r />
  “My brothers,” I mumbled. “They called me yesterday before class started.”

  Daria slumped back in her chair. “I should’ve guessed it from your tone.” She reached out and covered my hand with hers. “Wanna talk about it?”

  I didn’t, but I had to get whatever massive weight that was on my chest, off. It was suffocating me, dragging me down, and the more I held onto it, the worse I felt. Negativity followed me like a bad rash, and I hated feeling like that. I hated not being in control of my feelings, my emotions, and having no outlet to release my burden.

  “They got me tickets to their game this weekend,” I began, and her eyes slowly closed as though cringing inside.

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And you unloaded?”

  I nodded. “Pretty much, even though I never meant to.”

  “Hmm, maybe being friends with Maddoc isn’t such a good idea after all.”

  I flinched at her words, my eyes widening, and a pain gripped in my gut that I was desperate to get rid of. “We’re not friends,” I reminded her. “Classmates, study partners, whatever you wanna call it, but friends we are not.”

  Daria lifted a shoulder. “Maybe, but if they think there’s something else there, I don’t want them dishing out the Lex treatment.”

  I raised my hands. “That won’t happen,” I said, adamantly. I wouldn’t let it. My brothers could do what the fuck they wanted, but if they thought bullying people away from me in college—friends or not—was going to fly, they were sorely mistaken. “Nobody’s touching anybody, nobody’s hooking up, and nobody’s gonna get the Lex treatment, as you put it.” I didn’t go after guys that were in a relationship, no matter what. I wouldn’t like that done to me; I hadn’t liked that done to me. Not at all.

  “I was just making sure.” She lifted her cup and took a large sip of her coffee, and I didn’t miss the smile she was trying to hide behind the rim. “I have a favor to ask.”

  “Shoot.” While I drank my coffee and waited for Daria to tell me what she needed, my mind began to race. It ran in directions it shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it. It was a sick, sick, organ that seemed to delight in making me miserable, flashing memories and images that I tried hard to get rid of.

  “Cash and I…” she trailed off, waiting for me to make eye contact. The second I did, I saw the blush across her cheeks. “Um, I wanted to ask if you could, maybe, give us some alone time tonight?”

  My mouth fell open. “Are you kicking me out?”

  “No, no!” she rushed, frantically waving her hands. “It’s just, the guys are always at their house, there are more of them, and we’re always stuck in his room to get privacy. We just want a cosy night in together where there’s no chance of somebody barging in, or…” She bit her lower lip, then grinned. “Overhearing, if you know what I mean, and—”

  “Just kidding!” I chuckled and held up my palm. “Of course I’ll give you guys some time alone, it’s hard enough for you that you have to live apart.” I finished my drink, then went over to the chrome sink to wash my mug. “Anyway, I’ve got stuff to do, so I can take it with me to Riley’s tonight.”

  “Are you sure?” Daria stood beside me, her golden brows up, and chewed on the inside of her mouth. “You could go over and study in Cash’s room after you’re done eating. He won’t mind, and the guys’ll leave you alone.”

  The last thing I wanted was to go over and sit in a house full of players that would have Daryl and Sean foaming at the mouth if they knew.

  Maybe I should, just to piss them off.

  But I couldn’t. It wasn’t worth the hassle. “I’m sure. I’ll grab dinner while I study.” I took her hand and smiled. “You and Cash deserve some uninterrupted time together, and the least I can do after my bratty outburst is give you that.”

  Daria beamed, then pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. “You’re the best, babe. I’ll call Cash and tell him it’s on for our sex fest.”

  “Again, I don’t need to know,” I protested, pulling away, but Daria pulled me in again.

  “Come on, Kai, you gotta let a girl spill every once in a while.”

  “I’m pretty sure you spill enough after being with Cash,” I replied, finally pulling out of her arms while she laughed her ass off.

  She cackled. “Wow, that’s the first dirty thing I’ve heard you say.”

  “Depends on how you take it.”

  Daria howled again. “God, Kai.” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “You have a foul mouth today.” She sucked in a huge breath, still laughing. “I think I like it.”

  “I guess I’m not such a prude after all, huh?” I asked, thinking back to when she said I was, and all the times I was told I was stiff, to loosen up, that I wasn’t making an effort, that I was taking too much time…

  Her smile faltered. “You’re not a prude babe. You’ve just got to find the person that makes you feel confident enough to see how sexy you are.”

  I doubted that. “I’ve made it my mission to be more positive, so I’ll get my stuff together, shower, and get ready to give you some time with your man.”

  ***

  “Stay as long as you like,” Brenda said once she saw my books.

  “Are you sure?” I’d sat my ass down in a booth that could fit four, when I could’ve easily sat at the counter. I looked around the fifties style place and saw the growing number of people in here already. “It’s busy. I should just eat and go like I usually do.”

  Brenda shook her head, her brown curls brushing her jaw. The white, and red rimmed soda-jerk hat on her head didn’t move, the bobby-pins keeping it firmly in place. “Positive, honey. They’re usually the ones sitting here for hours on end.” She leaned closer, the red apron of her white, waitress uniform brushing the checkered table cloth. “I say you go ahead and take your time. They’ll be leaving sooner, saving me a headache of tossing them out on their behinds.”

  I giggled, and Brenda grinned, her red lips stretching wide. “Thanks, Brenda. I shouldn’t be too long, though.”

  She tapped the hat on her head, and turned to walk away after writing down my order. “Coming right up, honey.”

  When she left, I took my books out of my rucksack and placed them on the table, careful not to drop the plastic container that I’d put in there too. I didn’t know why I put the nose in there, but I took it everywhere with me. Maybe so Daria wouldn’t ask questions, which would’ve been the obvious excuse, but the truth was, it had grown on me.

  I glanced out of the large window next to me, watching the cars go by while the sky grew gradually darker. I had at least three hours more to kill, and once I was done, the sun would’ve set. My eyes slid to my car right outside, grateful I’d managed to snag the last spot in front, saving me a walk to the parking lot across the street that was barely lit.

  “Here you go, sweetie,” Brenda said, appearing from nowhere. “Tall shake, extra cream, chocolate sauce.” She placed the mouth watering vision in front of me, saliva already flowing at the sight of white, whipped swirls and thick, flowing sauce. “Food’s coming.”

  I placed the black and white straw into my mouth and took a long draw of my shake, the ice-cold temperature hitting me instantly. “God, this is so good,” I moaned. “You know how to make me happy, Brenda.”

  She chuckled and patted my shoulder. “I like how you’re easily pleased.” She disappeared, then returned a moment later with a red basket full of fries, the paper underneath soaking up the hot grease. My burger looked magnificent. Veggie supreme with extra cheese and a side of salad. “Enjoy, honey.”

  “Thanks.” I cut my burger in half—because I’m not an animal, and I was out in public after all—and began nibbling on my fries.

  With my books open, I studied my notes from class, made extra ones, and read through the lines and lines of text that began to blur together.

  The bell over the door sounded, and as it opened, the sound of loud male voices cut through the conversations and noises
from the kitchen. I looked over my shoulder and saw who’d come in, instantly dipping my head and rounding my shoulders. Out of the side of my eye, I saw their figures pass me, heading right to the counter.

  “Brenda, you’re looking lovely tonight,” Maddoc said, flirting with her.

  “And you’re still a pain in my behind, boy. What do you want?” she asked, making me smile and the other guys chuckle.

  “But, Bren, you know how much I love you, why you gotta do me wrong like this?” He threw his arms wide. “You know how special you are to me.”

  “Yeah, yeah, keep talking like that, and I’ll show you special. Right out the damn door, sunshine.”

  “Can we just order?” Jonah asked, tapping on the chrome-rimmed counter. “I’m starving.”

  They fired off their orders, their voices disappearing as I focused back on my task. I kept my head down as people moved around, walking by, minding their own business as I was mine. It wasn’t long before a body paused by my table, then slid into the seat opposite me. When the scent from across the short distance hit me, there was no mistaking who’d infiltrated my space.

  “Hey there, study buddy.”

  I raised my eyes and took in his appearance. Long green sleeves, and white body of his raglan shirt, his black baseball cap, and a devastating smile aimed right at me. “Can I help you?” I asked, not masking the snark in my tone.

  “Oh, not you too,” he complained, his lips turning down, but perked right back up. “And I thought we were off to a good start, cupcake.”

  “Okay, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me cupcake—I’m not a dessert.” I reached over and swatted his hand as he extended it toward my basket of fries. “And we’re not study buddies. We’re being civil for our friends.” I’d kept my composure, didn’t snap, and hadn’t told Maddoc to get the hell out of my space. I was on a roll.

  His smirk made one side of his mouth curl up, and his face turned slightly away while his eyes remained fixed on me. “Let me have a couple of fries while I wait for mine, and I promise I’ll tell them we’re getting along just great. Hell, I’ll throw in a best buds selfie to prove it,” he replied while shuffling himself toward the window, right in the corner.