The Tattooed Devil Wears Chucks

The Criminal

Gabby.

The alarm may have stirred me, but I was already awake. There wasn't much sleep to be had during the night. Especially knowing that Jax Parker was right down the hall. I used half the night to wonder if he really is scary and fucked up and the other half telling myself that he's so hot that it doesn't matter. What is it about tattoos that makes me so incredibly stupid? Any other night, I would have been thinking about Kane Porter. Or I would have been completely hung up on some fictional guy from a romance novel.

"Ugh!" Courtney's hand slaps at the alarm clock a few times before making the correct contact needed to stop it from blaring.

Now I understand why you shouldn't have sleepovers on school nights. Seeing Courtney sit up and rub at her eyes, she's just as exhausted as I am. This studying and homework crap makes absolutely no sense. Stay up late to finish a project, end up tired as shit in class. We have an hour before we need to be at school and somehow, I know we will be arriving late, per my usual.

Like a zombie, Courtney slides herself out of the bed, still groaning as if the alarm was still chiming. Half of her curls are flat from being pressed to her pillow. Yesterday's eyeliner is now crusted in the corners of the eyes she can barely open. With the dried drool on the corner of her mouth, it really completes the look.

Courtney looks down to me groggily and rubs at her tired eyes. "I need Cocoa Puffs."

Well, that's a mood.

Without saying another word, she opens the door of her room and disappears to what I can only assume would be the kitchen to fulfill her need. Not wanting to be caught in the tiny pajama situation I was in last night, I reclose the door to dress quickly before joining her. When we stopped at my house yesterday for the poster board, I'd made sure to grab a change of clothes for today, and a toothbrush. I'd chosen yesterday's jeans with a Nirvana tee, and I even made sure to pack a few extra rubber bands that slide onto my wrist and give a good snap. I pull my hair into a high pony as I enter the kitchen.

"Apple Jacks, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, or Frosted Cheerios?" I find Courtney kneeling on her counters as she digs through a cabinet pulling out various boxes of cereal, appearing to be much more awake than she was ten minutes ago.

I drop myself into a seat at the kitchen table. "Apple Jacks."

"Already wanting Jax in you? I didn't even have to try that hard," a deep voice whispers beside my ear. I briefly see the grin on Jax's face before he moves to steal the Cheerios from his sister's hand.

"Changed my mind." I groan, rolling my eyes. "Lucky Charms."

In a move that does not shock me in the least, Jax takes the seat directly beside me. Now surrounded by the sunlight coming from every window of the kitchen and living areas, I'm seeing what I could just barely make out last night—defined abs covered in black, mouthwatering tattoos. It is taking everything in me not to completely turn in my seat to ogle him. I could take just a little peek in his direction while reaching for the milk...

Green eyes immediately latch to mine, even though I intended to aim my stare at a cluster of tattoos. It feels like an inferno erupts in my belly, sending a wave of heat similar to the one felt when meeting him yesterday afternoon. His lips curl upwards, and I'm quick to grab the milk and end the connection.

"Sleep well, Books?" he teased.

He knows damn well that I didn't. He also knows that I'm not about to tell his sister about last night after she told me to stay away from him. It's not like anything happened. It's also like nothing didn't happen either. He's making some sort of game out of me, and I won't be playing.