The song to the right is from a book that I can't wait to read and I think the song fits perfectly with Sydney and Cash. The characters in it ARE NOT mine. They are just someone else's vision of what they think the characters look like from the book the song corresponds with. Sadly it's the only version of the song on Youtube so yeah :/
But do listen ♥
Much love, Nickymb!
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“This doesn’t even make sense!”
Miles flings himself dramatically on my couch, the back of his hand resting lighting on his forehead. His exclamation of the obvious doesn’t do anything but make me want to throw Othello out the front door.
Maybe, if I got lucky, my neighbor will miraculously have her door open the same time. Then I could throw the book right at the stereo that keeps me up all night with it’s dreadful, annoying screams.
“Can you stop being dramatic for one second?” I throw the book in my hand on his stomach and he lets out a small little uhmp.
“If we don’t figure out these questions then we can kiss passing this first grade good bye.”
Miles moves his head toward me, blonde hair falling across his forehead. His glasses lay askew on his nose and he doesn’t even try to fix them.
“Mind I point out Mr. Hottie with the rockin body is not here?” I sigh, making my hair go up with the effort. The fact that Cash Warren still hasn’t shown up is one problem I didn’t want to think about. We all made plans during class yesterday to meet back at my place today but, oddly, Cash didn’t seem to catch onto the memo.
Honestly, I don’t even know if I’m happy or depressed at the fact he didn’t show up. Which is so stupid. I shouldn’t even be thinking about him and his stupid tattoos and even stupider body.
Or the fact he went from hot to cold in a matter of minutes.
Or the sad yet startling fact that he made me smile more often than not.
No, I will not think about any of that.
“I don’t care about Cash. I mean, maybe he has band practice.”
That would totally explain his no show. Miles eyes brighten, as if what I just said is more interesting than the Othello book on this stomach.
Though, really, anything is more interesting than Shakespeare.
“And how do you know he’s in a band?” I try not to curse as I flick a piece of hair off my shoulder. Forening indifference,
I focus on the spot my hair was just occupying. “He sort may be invited me to one of his gigs.” Miles scurries off the couch making me jump in surprise. He rushes toward me, his hand on my shoulders.
“What!” He shouts in my face, making me flinch. He leans back a little and drops his voice. “Are you tell me you passed off hot groupie sex with Cash Warren? Are you stupid girl!”
He shakes me a little, emphasizing the crazy.
“No, no scratch that. You are insane. If Cash invited me to one of his gigs, you best bet your sweet aunt petunia's ass I will be there.” His fingers dig into my shoulder and I grind my teeth together, trying not to notice how he’s the one acting crazy.
“Firstly, your fingers are like claws,” He drops his hands and I rub my right shoulder gringley. “And secondly, I have my own reasons not to go.” He raises a bright blonde eyebrow. “And that would be...”
“I don’t do guys in bands.”
He groans, flinging his hand back to his forehead dramatically. Honestly, I didn’t know how Mac kept up with him. In the short time I’ve known him, I swear that’s hand been on his forehead more time than I can count.
“She doesn’t do guys in bands!” He cries. “God. You make me wish I was straight so I could show you just how awesome guys in bands can be. You think they play guitar good? Girl, what till those hands end up on your body and they play that.”
He drops his hand and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. I scrunch my nose up in mild discuss.
“TMI, Miles. TM freaking I.”
He rolls his eyes before straightening out and standing up. I eye him from the floor, wondering what he is doing. He brings his arms over his head and stretches. When he does, his bright orange shirt rises.
It just made his hot pink pants that more noticeable.
“Get up,” He chirps, bringing his hand out for me to grab. “We need to go wake up one hot ass piece of meat.” I place my hand in his and let him pull me off the floor.
“Can we not refer to Cash as a hot ass piece of meat? It’s weird.” Miles pushes his hair out his face with his fingers.
“Girl, it’s that or Cashy with the cute little assy.” I pretend to gag and he shoots me a mischievous grin before winking obnoxiously.
“Like you haven’t looked.”
Of course I have. I just wasn’t about to admit it to him or myself. He starts to head toward the door and what he is about to do sinks in. Flying forward, I beat him to the front door and press my back against it, blocking his way.
“This is a bad idea,”
“It’s a great idea.” He tried to dodge around me for the door handle and I block his way with my body. “No, listen. What if he’s not there? Or sleeping? Or god, having sex with someone.”
An image of Cash in bed with another girl passe through my mind and I push it away impatiently. Why should I care if he’s with someone right now? I mean god he’s no one to me.
Somehow, that doesn’t stop the knot in my stomach from growing.
“Oh,” Miles says, raises an eyebrow. Obviously he is looking too much into my words. “Is that Jealous I hear in your voice?”
“No.”
“Heres I see it,” Miles says, rocking back on his heels. “You aren’t looking for a guy, especially a guy who seems to be interested in you, though yet you get jealous and angry when said guy goes for other girls? Men, you can’t have the cake and eat it too.”
“That stupid nickname doesn’t even make sense. Since when does Syd rhyme with men?” He shrugs good naturally. “I don’t know. But, I know what you are doing. Don’t try to change the subject.”
“I am not-hey!” Since I am momentarily distracted arguing over the nickname, Miles decides it’s his chance to snag the doorknob.
He pushes me lightly out of the way, easily clearing his path to the door. Before I can even open my mouth to protest more, he slings the door open and runs out into the hall.
Oh, I so hoped the hobo out there ate him.
A small exhale of frustrated air leaves me as I follow behind him. He’s already halfway down the hall, his flip flops smacking softly off the ugly carpet.
His blonde hair falls messily to his shoulders and he runs his fingers through it before he peeks over his shoulder at me.
“You and him being in the same hall is a joke. I thought there would at least be a, oh I don’t know, few rooms. At-least that way I had to guess. But this makes it so easy.”
He brings his hand to the freshly painted door and knocks, making me cringe.
I look up and down the halls before nervously folding my arms over my chest. Please, just don’t let any girls wrapped in only a sheet answer the door.
Besides the obvious fact that I so did not want to see it, I also didn’t want to picture Cash in bed with said girl.
Miles brings his knuckles back to the door, prepared to knock again, when the door wings suddenly wide open. Levi stands on the other side, shirtless yet again.
Miles mouth pops open like a fish and I momentarily have that undying need to burst out in uncontrollable laughter.
Seriously, knocking on Cash’s door is so worth his reaction.
Surprised and a little flustered, Miles takes a quick uneasy step back. “I, Uhm, maybe I-” he runs a nervous hand through his hair, flicks his eyes to Levi’s abs, and turns his whole body toward me. “
I can’t do this,” He hisses under his breath and I can tell from the way Levi raises his eyebrow questioningly that he can hear Miles.
“Miles, I don’t think-” He cuts in before I can finish.
“How can I talk when I got a six pack of godly abs in my face!”
He throws his hands up and Levi’s other eyebrow goes up in mild surprise. I blush, embarrassed for Miles. Ugh, if only he would listen for five seconds. I latch onto his wrist and pull him forward, dropping my voice.
“He just heard everything you said.” I whisper and Miles turns an unnatural shade of pink. We both slowly look over his shoulder and find Levi leaning casually against the door, his hands shoved deeply into his dark jeans.
He even is smiling.
“I’m not going to say they are Gods abs,” He drawls, running his fingers over said abs. “But they sure in hell are holy.”
Oh sweet baby jesus.
Miles mouth threatens to pop open again and I squeeze his wrist a little, telling him this is not the time to drool. Even if I kind of want to also.
“We, uh, we are looking for Cash.”
Levi’s smile got bigger as if he knew that is exactly what we are looking for. Ironic because, technically, it is his apartment.
Levi kicks off the door frame and waves his hands toward the inside of the apartment. “Come in,”
I let go of Miles wrist and make my way into the small apartment, Miles right behind me.
We get halfway through when Levi leans forward and whispers in Miles ear evilly, “But be careful. My abs might bite.”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing and Miles looks as if he is going to pass out. Poor Miles, he isn’t going to last a minute in this apartment.
As we walk into the kitchen, I realize it exactly like Laya’s and mine but... different. Instead of horrible green counters, they are a sleek grey.
The cabinets are a bright white and unlike how Laya and I have stupid little things strewn here and there, his place actually looks somewhat put together.
It’s so different from Ash’s.
I don’t know why I comparing but I am. Because, honestly, it is. Where Ash’s place was covered in clothes, beers, and cigerette buds, Cash’s is the pure definition of clean.
It’s like he is a middle aged house mom or something. Levi maneuvers around us and heads to the fridge, opening it up and pulling out a beer.
“Want one?” He asks Levi and I and we both shake our head at the same time. He shrugs before lifting the tap and bringing it to his lips.
After taking a big swig, he wipes his mouth with his arm and leans against the counter. I think that’s the only thing Levi does.
Lean.
“Cash’s in the shower. He woke up late and was bitching for an hour about how he was going to be late for his English. Lit class meetup. What he didn’t tell me,” He inquires, tipping his beer toward me.
“is that you were there. I think he likes you.” I try not to blush as Miles gaze lands heavily on mine.
“You’re not the only one.”
I want to tell them it doesn’t matter, but deep down it does. I think, over the past couple of days, I’ve fallen to like Cash.
Like yesterday in class when Mr. Parker said something about Shakespeare he put his hand to his heart and dramatically recited the last lines of Romeo and Juliet.
Everyone laughed and I just sat there, wondering how this boy even knew the words to such a play.
Or those moments when he didn’t think anyone was looking, his lips will pull down in a frown and he will bring his fingers to the rope necklace around his neck.
He will rub his pointer and thumb against it until something else catches his attention.
He’s a mystery while at the same time being someone who can make me laugh. It’s been so long since someone except Layla has made me actually appreciate the little things in the moment.
So, yeah, it did kind of matter if he liked me.
I’m not ready to let this complicate boy go just yet.
“The problem is,” A deep voice says, cutting through our conversation. “I don’t think she likes me half as much as I like her.”
I jerk around at the voice and discover Cash Warren himself leaning casually against the wall connecting to the living room. He’s lacking yet again a shirt.
Script crawls up his side in dark swirls and I try to keep my eyes off his rigid stomach and many tattoos.
Miles on ther hand looks like he is about to have a heart attack. All the shirtless men in the room must be getting to him.
Cash’s gaze locks onto me and he let’s the right side of his mouth tip up in an amused smile. His messy hair tumbles across his forehead in dark, wet waves.
So Levi was telling the truth earlier.
I casually set my hip against the counter, trying to hide my own smile. “The problem is,” I tease, pushing my hair over my shoulder.
“Is I can never like a guy who can’t even show up on time.”
“If I promise to show up on time text group meeting, can I get that date I asked for when I ran into you?”
My heart sputters but I know he’s only kidding. I don’t know which is worse; The anxiety building with the idea of going on a date with him, or any guy, or the small part of me that wants to blush as his statement.
“Are you ready to admit you are in a band?”
“Are you ready to admit your blonde?”
I snort unlady like. “No.”
That smile of his tips higher. He shrugs before kicking off the wall lightly. “This is the point in the conversation where I would say that if you don’t admit you’re blonde I won’t go on that date, but I passed such casualties.”
He stops halfway to me, ducking his head a little to hide his grin.
“I really want that date.”
My heart lurches and when he lifts his head, his gaze searching mine from between his long eyelashes, I decide it is not fair for guys to look as good as he does.
And it’s hard.
It’s tournament to know that while I want to get lost in those eyes of his but yet can’t. Fear and Ash are too strong of a reminder of what getting attached to guys like him can lead to.
I look away, breaking eye contact, and instead focus on the grey countertops. I hear him let out a small exhale of breath and thankfully Miles pops into our back and forth.
“As much as the idea of going on a date with you makes me all warm and fuzzy, we do have an assignment to finish.”
Levi makes a sound in his throat, somewhere between a scuff and laugh. He finishes off the last of his beer before chucking it into the trash can.
“All this talk of school and dates makes me want to eat a bucket of nails.” He walks past our little group , bringing two hands to his forehead in a farewell.
“See you later. I have some more interesting things to do. And by do, I mean women.”
Miles watches his body extract from the kitchen mournfully and I want to reach over and smack the lovesick look off his face.
He must see my intentions because he sticks his tongue out at me comically. “Sorry I don’t have hot ripped musicians begging me for a date.”
I blush and Cash ignores his bold statement as he reaches across the counter and lifts a shirt off it.
How it got there is beyond me.
“The assignment,” He starts, pulling the shirt over his head. Levi and I try not to watch the way his muscles flex and tighten as he slowly rolls it down his stomach.
“What exactly is it?” He runs his hands through his hair, making a few wet droplets land on my arm. I look down at them and scrunch my nose up.
“Really?” I ask, looking up and raises my eyebrow. He just shoots me one of his devil may care smiles. Levi continues to look at this stomach like he wishes Cash would just take the shirt off again.
“Imagine sixty pages full of a dramatic love and then a whole paper on analyzing the characters and their actions. Honestly, if I have to read one more scene with Othello and Desdemona, I’m going to cut the book in half and tell Mr. Parker that it met an unfortunate end.”
“Oh please,” I roll my eyes. “You just are mad that they have a better love story than you do.” Miles raises an eyebrow and pieces of blonde hair fell across his face. “Were you even listening when I told you about that cute little Mexican I was with last night.” I slap my hands over my poor ears, narrowing my eyes at him.
“No. I am not hearing that story again.”
Cash, watching the whole exchange, lets out a burst of barely concealed laughter. I start, dropping my hands.
He shakes his head, his mouth quirking up at the side. “As amusing as this all is, I really would not like to fail English. Lit. Unless,” He brightens and his eyes land on me.
“It’s due to going on a date.”
“Not going to happen.”
“Won’t keep me from trying.”
I push off the counter, my body and heart doing funny things at the same time. “Come on boys. We have some Othello to get through.”
I make my way toward the door and peek over my shoulder to see if they are following.
Cash is still leaning against the counter and when my eyes meet his, his lips tip up at the side in a barely contained smile. And, before I can stop myself, I smile back.
Even though we don’t say it outloud, we both know that smile means more than any date ever could.