If It Kills Me by Rebecca Harris

Author:Rebecca Harris [Harris, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Phoenix Flying Inc
Published: 2014-06-10T23:00:00+00:00

Tucker

“D are I ask why you’re digging through the garbage?”

My quest to uncover the cause behind our earlier disruption has led me to a row of filthy metal trashcans at the far side of the apartment complex. I had no desire to part from Billie, let alone leave her undefended. And for what? To find my rival on his hands and knees, digging through piles of rubbish. The thick evening air clings stale and heavy here. There’s no life, no merriment that enlivens the rest of the party. There is only litter and Ford, frightening away the neighborhood’s stray cat with his frantic scuttling.

“Leave me alone,” Ford warns, continuing to push aside empty cans and week-old leftovers. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Things your date will say when you take her home tonight.”

He pauses long enough to throw me a single unwelcoming hand gesture over his shoulder. I shove my hands into my pockets and play along. “What are you looking for?”

“Lipstick,” he grumbles, continuing to dig.

I let the unexpected answer slide. “What were you doing back here in the first place?”

“Amy, that girl I was talking to? Yeah, I’m pretty sure Owen’s signature cocktail got the best of her.”

“I saw him mixing it earlier,” I laugh. “It looked like he was pouring grenadine into cups of old beer.”

“Figures.” He pushes himself to his feet. “She drank two glasses and then needed to excuse herself from the party for a bit. So I followed her.”

“Because you’re interested in her?”

“No.”

“Because you’re stalking her?”

“Because I’m a gentleman,” he corrects me. “She seemed sick. I was checking to make sure she was okay.”

“Aaaaand that’s when you lost your lipstick?”

“It’s hers,” he clarifies. “She must have lost it and her dinner at the same time. I told her I’d help her look for it.”

“So where exactly is Amy at the moment?”

“With Jason, I would assume.”

“Jason?”

“The tall, good-looking baseball player she left with five minutes ago. He’s a shoo-in for the major leagues. Just ask anyone.”

I attempt to rein in my laughter only to fail spectacularly. “Dude,” I gasp between bouts of wild guffaws. “Just when I think your life can’t get any worse.”

“Since when do you say dude?”

“Since right now.” I stoop to pick up what he’s failed to see, a shiny, silver tube directly behind his heel. “This really isn’t your color, you know,” I say, passing him the powder-puff pink lipstick.

He snatches it from my hand and shoves it quickly into his pocket. “Thanks,” he offers up, however begrudgingly. “I’ll go return it to Amy.”

“Wait,” I say, catching him as he sweeps past. “I’ve been thinking. About you and me.”

He sighs. “I don’t know how to break it to you, Tucker. You’re just not my type.”

“Listen. I think we should stop fighting.”

“You want to call a ceasefire?”

“Frankly, it’s exhausting. Whatever war we’ve created is not doing us any favors, and it’s certainly not keeping Billie…” I stop myself as a shadow passes over his face. “…Shannon alive. I don’t see an immediate end to this job anywhere in sight.

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