Last Perfect Regret teaser of the day...

First I want to say THANK YOU for all the awesome birthday wishes!  I can't tell you how much it means to me to have each and every one of you supporting me and my books the way that you do!  So here is the final Perfect Regret teaser for my Birthday Extravaganza!  This scene is shorter than the other two...but it's pretty steamy!  Enjoy some Riley and Garrett lovin'!!!  This is unedited so forgive the typos and grammatical mayhem!

*Intended for mature audiences- over 18***

*************

He lifted my hair and swept it over my shoulder.  His lips were hot on my skin as he kissed my neck.  “We can’t keep doing this.  I can’t stand you,” I said in a shaky voice as I felt the tip of his tongue glide along the outside of my ear. 

  Garrett turned me so I faced him, his eyes smoldering as he looked down at me.  He grabbed the hem of my shirt and yanked it over my head, leaving me in only my black lace bra.  He traced his finger along the top of my breasts, making me shiver. 

  “I can’t stand you either.  Your mouth just doesn’t know when to stop.  The shit that you say makes me want to strangle you,” his voice was low and rough as he cupped my breasts, his thumbs rubbing my already taut nipples. 

  Garrett leaned down so that his lips brushed against mine.  Our breath was coming in short, erratic bursts.  “I don’t particularly like you Riley.  But right now I want to fuck you,” he growled.  My eyes widened, my heart sped up and my panties grew instantly wet. 

  My fingers curled into his messy hair and I pulled with enough force to make him wince.  “You’re an asshole,” I whispered, not trusting my voice at the moment.  Garrett’s emitted a low groan as I yanked on his hair again.  I bit his bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth.

  “And I want you to fuck me,” I said raggedly.  Garrett gripped the back of my head, holding me in place as his mouth slammed down on mine.  I hated him.  He made me want to pull my hair out.  But goddamn it, I wanted to taste every inch of him.  And I knew by the frantic way he touched me, that he felt the same way.

Happy Birthday TO ME!

Throughout the day I will be posting some Perfect Regret teasers.  One now, another one this afternoon and then one later tonight.  I also have an awesome Perfect Regret surprise to share with you later!  But for now, have a look at the awesome friendship between Maysie and Riley.  You were introduced to their fun dynamic in Bad Rep.  Maysie was the the angst filled, sometimes whiny sorority chick while Riley was the snarky, tell it like it is best friend.  Now see how thing have flipped for the both of them.  Riley is a bit of a mess and Maysie is there to help her sort it out!  Enjoy!!!


*******

     “Riley, don’t make the same mistakes I did.  I almost lost the most important thing in my life because I had unrealistic expectations about what a relationship should look like,” Maysie warned, taking the bowl of popcorn from my hands.  I didn’t even try to stop her.  I was too busy processing the fact that at some point in all of this mess our roles had reversed.  Maysie had, unbeknownst to me, become the no nonsense voice of reason and I had become the screwed up head case with a bad case of I-can’t-make-up-my-mind.

 

  I started to chew on the skin around my thumb.  “I know I’m being a hypocrite.  I know I’m not making a shit bit of sense, but…”  I let my words trail off.  No reason to cut myself open completely.  I was feeling way too vulnerable and way too touchy.  I hated that my world had turned upside down because of a guy. 

  Somehow, someway, Garrett Bellows had gotten underneath my skin in the worst way possible.  He was like a parasite, slowly sucking me dry.  That’s what he was!  I gigantic, blonde haired, too-cute-for-his-own-good tape worm, eating away at me from the inside out. 

  “He scares you,” Maysie piped up, grinning at me as she shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth.  She needed to keep that mouth full because I wasn’t appreciating her on the nose analysis of my internal conflict. 

  I made a noise that sounded like I was choking.  “Scared?  Give me a fucking break, Mays.  Annoyed? Yes.  Frustrated?  You betcha.  Ready to take off someone’s head? Looking more and more like a definite,” I said giving her a pointed look.  “But never, ever scared,” I said with more conviction than I felt.

  Maysie chuckled.  “Oh yes he does.  He gives you butterflies.  He makes you sweat.  He calls you on your bullshit and keeps you on your toes.  You both love and hate how he does that.  He has you tied up in so many knots you can’t get out.  And Miss I-Have-My Whole-World-Figured-Out is going crazy because of it,” Maysie seemed entirely too proud of her deduction. 

  I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off…again!  “I’m not saying this to be mean, but Riley you’ve become your own worst enemy.  I know you think Garrett has nothing to offer.  That you’re embarrassed by the fact that you actually like him.  But he’s a good guy.  He’s a smart guy.  And there is no one else in this world that would lay everything at your feet the way that he would.  Remember that when you’re sitting in your room later, thinking of a thousand reasons you shouldn’t give things with him a try.  Remember he’s the same guy who had your back with Jaz.  He’s the same guy who drove you over three hundred miles to be with your grandmother.”  My throat felt uncomfortably tight and I blinked rapidly to try to hold off the tears.  I will not cry like a little bitch! 

  “And remember he’s the guy who has made you feel like you’re worth all the hassle.  That no matter what you dish out, he is there to take it.  To volley it right back and is there to go toe to toe any time you’re ready.”  Maysie squeezed my hands.  “Damien wasn’t that guy for you.  But Garrett is,” she said softly and I closed my eyes and tried to take a deep breath around the huge, crushing weight in my chest. 

Perfect Regret snippet!

Okay, here's a little glimpse of Riley and Garrett.  This is UNEDITED and subject to change.  But these two have been entirely TOO much fun to write!  I hope you enjoy it and thank you for all the new likes!!!

*This contains adult contain and is meant for readers over 18 years old!!!*

****

I was being smothered!  I literally could not get air in and out of my lungs.  My brain was fuzzy, my head felt like it was being clenched in a vice and my eyes were having a hard time adjusting in the pitch blackness.

Where the fuck was I?

I tried to sit up and realized that the reason I was having such a hard time drawing breath had to do with the heavy, sweaty male form laying prostrate over me.  And did I mention this male form was NAKED? 

Oh God!  I was NAKED! 

I tried to roll out from underneath the unidentified man but all I got for my efforts was to be squeezed even tighter against hot, sweaty, NAKED guy.  

I flopped back down on the bed, trying not to freak out at the feel of a very erect penis digging into my hip.  Because it was quite obvious that I had engaged in drunken, monkey sex with my current bed partner. 

And what was even more messed up was I had no idea who he was. 

I couldn’t make out anything about him in the darkness.  But his hair was tickling the hell out of my nose and I was trying really hard not to sneeze and blow snot all over him and thus making this awkward and mortifying experience all that much better.

The guy mumbled something in his sleep and he nuzzled his face into my neck.  I was a rigid block of stone.  I needed an escape plan.  Like two minutes ago.

But one thing was for sure, whoever ambiguous sex dude was, he smelled good.  We’re talking really, really good.  Like smoke and outdoors and something extremely masculine.  But I could give a shit if he smelled like chocolate and vomited up hundred dollar bills, I had made a decision last night based on too much alcohol and a bad case of rebounditis.  And that made my feelings about my current situation bordering on hysteria.

I glanced over at the alarm clock on the small bedside table.   It claimed to be 5:00 in the morning.  Entirely too early to be up under normal circumstances.  But this was anything but normal.  Because I was living in morning after hell.  And that was about as far from my normal as one could get. 

Mr. Stiffy rolled his hips, grinding his ever-present erection into my side again.  And Riley Walker Junior, who had been happily slumbering between my legs, began to stir.   

Go back to sleep you wanton slut!  I screamed silently to my insolent vagina.  She and I were not in agreement as to the best way to handle this.

Because even though my brain couldn’t remember my night of lust, other parts of my body obviously had clear as crystal memories of it.

Once mystery guy settled back into sleep, I started the futile process of trying to wiggle out from underneath him.  My hands pressed into surprisingly smooth and hard skin and I flattened my palms against his seemingly muscular chest in an effort to budge the massive amounts of man pinning me to the bed.

Even in my moment of self-mortifying disgust, I was pleased that my bed partner appeared to have a nice body.  Glad to know that in my drunken psychosis I could still be called on to pick a guy with a nice set of abs.

Get a grip, Riley!  As if his body really matters when you’re trying to walk of shame out of here!  I scolded myself harshly.

After a few minutes I grudgingly realized I was stuck.  My ass wasn’t going anywhere.  And now I had to pee.  My bladder was being pressed painfully by the guy’s weight. 

Ah, Fuck it!

“Hey!”  I yelled, shoving the dude’s shoulder.  He grunted and tightened his ironclad grip around my waist.  If he didn’t get off of me in about ten seconds, he was going to wake up in a very wet bed. 

I leaned in close and moved some hair away from his ear, making a concerted effort to not notice how soft and silky it felt between my fingers.  “Wake up!” I yelled and then smacked the back of his head for good measure.

Yep, that did the trick. 

The guy bolted straight up in bed.  “What the fuck?” he yelled and leaned over to flip on the lamp.  And it was then that I got my first glimpse of my one night stand.

“You have GOT to be fucking with me?” I screeched, hurriedly pulling up the sheet to cover my entirely too naked breasts. 

Garrett Bellows, lead guitarist for Generation Rejects and otherwise annoying human being, ran a hand through his shoulder length blonde hair and blinked at me in confusion.  “What the hell is your problem?” he asked, scrubbing his face with his hands before dropping back onto the bed.  My eyes drifted down the length of his very toned and obnoxiously nice body until they stopped and honed in on a very prominent part of his anatomy that I only too recently felt pressed intimately against me.  And Mr. Veined and Throbbing was at attention and on very prominent display.  I swallowed thickly as images came swimming back through my hazy memory.

Garrett kissing me as though I had been the air he breathed.  Garrett slowly taking off my clothes and then laying me out on the bed I now found myself in.  I closed my eyes and could see him over me as his weight pressed me into the mattress.

I shivered uncontrollably.  Shit, shit, shit!

I opened my eyes and sneered at him, throwing a sheet over his lower half.  “Cover yourself up, will you?” I snarled, leaning over the side of the bed and finding my shirt from the night before.  I quickly pulled it over my head and felt better at having a barrier between Garrett and my skin. 

Garrett had lowered his arm and was watching me.  He didn’t look angry by my attitude.  He didn’t appear to be hurt in any way, which was both a relief and weirdly disappointing. 

He seemed only thoughtful.  Curious even.  What the hell?

“Where are my pants?” I muttered under my breath.  I got out of bed, trying not to die of total embarrassment as I flashed Garrett a pretty picture of my ass while I bent over to retrieve the rest of my discarded clothing.  As I finished getting dressed, I muttered, I cursed and I otherwise fumed at my total idiocy.

And Garrett freaking Bellows didn’t say a damned thing.  He just lay there, watching me, as though he found me supremely entertaining. 

“Do you know where my keys are?” I asked him, hating that I had to talk to him at all.  I would rather have left with my head hung in shame, never to reveal my night as Miss Skankalicious to anyone…ever.

Garrett pointed across the room.  “You dropped your purse when we came in here last night.  I’m guessing you’ll find them in there,” he remarked dryly.  He stood up and I was treated to another view of his body.  And my body tingled in response. 

Time to shut that crap down here and now. 

“I just need to get out of here,” I said more to myself than to him but he heard me loud and clear.

“Why the rush?” Garrett asked, cocking his eyebrow.  His blasé nonchalance prickled my already testy nerves and reminded me of why he annoyed the shit out of me.  People that laid back drove me crazy. 

“No sense in wasting anymore of your time.  I think we’re done here,” I spat out, glaring at him.  I knew I was being a bitch but I was mortified by my behavior.  Riley Walker does not get so drunk she blacks out.  Riley Walker does not have sex with a guy she barely knows; particularly when said guy was one she could barely stand.

And apparently Riley Walker was now talking about herself in the third person. Hello insanity!

Garrett pulled on a pair of sweat pants and lifted my purse.  I grit my teeth as he crooked his finger in my direction.  “You want it, come over here and get it.”  He was messing with me, trying to make me more uncomfortable than I already was.   Well screw him!  

Wait...I already did that...Ugg!

I snatched it from him, making sure not to touch him as I did so.  More flashes flooded my brain.  

His lips.  His hands.  The way he said my name right before he kissed me.

What I wouldn’t give for another bought of alcohol-induced amnesia right about now.

Garrett’s eyes heated for a moment, as though he could read my mind.  His gaze slid down the length of me and then back up to meet my eyes where they cooled slowly.  His mouth, entirely too pretty to be on a guy, set into a firm line and for a second I felt a flash of regret.

Not for our night together, but for the way I was treating him.  He didn’t deserve to be shitted on because I was feeling like a fuck up.  I opened my mouth to apologize, a Riley Walker first, when he beat me to the punch.

He opened the door to his bedroom and gave me a cold smile.  “Oh, we’re done here alright.”  Garrett ran his fingers down the side of my neck and I couldn’t help but notice the way his face softened a bit before he went in for the kill.

“It was fun, but I won’t be signing up for round two.  You can leave now.”  He grinned at me and my face flushed red in a mixture of humiliation and gnaw through his jugular rage. 

Screw the apology!

I leaned up on my tiptoes, my hands gripping his shoulders.  My lips hovered near his and I smirked inwardly at the sound of the hitch in his breathing.  “Well it’s a good thing you were entirely forgettable then,” I whispered, licking my lips slowly and chuckling as Garrett’s eyes dropped to my mouth.

“Now get the fuck out of my way,” I bit out, moving away from him.  Garrett blinked, his eyes becoming once again glacial cool and he gestured me out into the hallway and the proceeded to slam the door to his room behind me. 

Well that went well.  I thought as I made my way as stealthily as possible out of the house.  Maysie was nowhere in sight and hell if I was going to look for her.  I needed to go home, stat!

I started up my car, and chanced one last glance toward the house.  Curtains moved in one of the second story windows and I could have sworn I saw Garrett watching me. 

Crap, there it was again.  

Regret.  

And as I drove away from Garrett’s house, I wanted desperately to leave that unfortunate feeling behind but it took up quiet residence in my heart and I feared it wouldn’t let go anytime soon.

Happy 3,000 likes teaser!!

Thanks so much for all the new likes on my Facebook page.  Your support and love are so amazing!  This is another Light in the Shadows teaser.  Up until now, I've only given you Clay's POV.  But Light in the Shadows will be from alternating POVs.  I thought that was really important, because while Clay is on his own journey, Maggie is doing her thing as well.  So here's a little taste of something sort of happy that will be coming down the pipeline for them.

I hope you enjoy it!!


************
"Um...wow.  Thanks." I said in absolute and utter amazement.  Clay stood at my doorstep wearing dark jeans, a pressed blue collared shirt, black wool coat and holding the largest bouquet of roses I had ever seen.  It was obvious he had checked all of the required boxes on this "date".  Down to his perfectly slicked back hair and over eager expression.

In the previous incarnation of our relationship we sort of skipped the whole "dating" thing.

Somewhere between saying hello and diving headfirst into the turmoil we had forgotten the basics.  Our love hadn't been typically teenage in any way.  We had gone zero to a million without so much as a trip to the movies or an uncomfortable dinner at Applebee's while we chatted about favorite bands and most embarrassing moments.

Looking at Clay, all dolled up and standing almost timidly in front of me, I realized how much we had missed.  How in the heat of our intense and crazy love we had forgotten the most important step in any relationship...the first date.

I felt a sudden sadness at those tiny moments that we hadn't experienced together.  I took a deep breath and reached out for the roses.  Clay's smile was shy and uncertain, showing me that he was as clueless as I was when it came to rewriting our history.

Was it possible to go back to the beginning?  To try and do things the right way?

I gripped the bundle of overpriced flowers in my hands and gasped in surprise.  I lifted my finger and saw a bright red blob on the tip.  Shit, I should have realized there were thorns.  The bite of pain reminded me that we had a long way to go.  That no matter how beautiful the package, the hurt was still there.

And I wasn't sure how long it would take for it to go away.  Or if it ever would.

"Are you alright?"  Clay asked, moving toward me.  I stuck my finger in my mouth.  The tang of copper sharp on my tongue.  I nodded my head and moved away before Clay could touch me.  I wasn't ready for that just yet.

I dropped the flowers on the table inside the door and grabbed my purse.  I joined him on the porch and zipped up my coat.

"You ready?"  Clay asked, trying again for the whole smiling thing.

Was I ready?

Hell if I knew.

But looking at his hopeful expression I knew that I could only try.

Happy Valentine's Day

I wanted to give you guys another Light in the Shadows sneak peak.  I really struggled with which one to use...because I really don't want to give much a way.  But given that today is all about romance I wanted to share something...well...romantic.

This is a bit of a scene from when Maggie and Clay finally see each other again.  I can't say what brings them back together (though you may be able to guess).  I just love writing their love story.  It's so real and so raw and it really takes a lot out of me, but it's consuming.

Enjoy!!

**********

This sadness was painfully familiar. The silent, open mouthed suffering was something I had felt entirely too much of in my life. The barely controllable urge to purge my grief with the slice of a razor was overwhelming. I could almost hear the darkness whisper in my ear, a taunting tease of potential relief. I knew this was the risk of coming back here. I knew that it resurrected a thousand instincts to hurt, to maim and to destroy everything inside of me. Everything that I had worked so hard to rebuild.

Leaving the Center was like leaving a warm and safe cocoon and being thrown headfirst into complete and utter chaos. From the moment my plane touched down in Virginia I struggled to remember that I was in control of these traitorous feelings. That it was my choice to cope in a healthier way.

But returning to Davidson, particularly under these circumstances, was proving a true test of my new found resolve. The meds helped. The stuff I had learned in therapy rattled around in my head, reminding me to breathe. To re frame. To talk myself off of the cliff I was already in danger of toppling over.

But Ruby needed me. Which made my anxiety even harder to rein in. Because I had always been the needy one. The truth of it was that I had needed Ruby. Maggie. Lisa. Even as I had denied needing anyone.

And now I was the one being leaned on and I wasn't so sure I could handle the pressure. I was brittle and raw and I knew that Dr. Todd's concerns about me coming back here were legitimate ones....

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~

I made it through the day. Barely. Even the weather was in mourning; a soft rain falling as I made my way into the church. Everything felt dark. I focused on my breathing even as my guts knotted up inside of me.

It was important I found my strength. That I pull my shit together and be the man who could support someone else and not just leach it. Damn it, I could do this!

I was engaged in this crazy internal dialogue. Jumping back and forth between giving myself a perky little pep talk and mentally screaming at myself to man up. I was totally lost in it, trying to get up the nerve to go to the front of the church and sit with Ruby in the pew where she sat sobbing.

Her grief was almost too much to bare but I needed to get over that. It wasn't fair to leave her alone. Not now. Not when she never abandoned me when I needed her. But there was that part of me that fought for self preservation and I knew this whole scene had the makings of my own personal disaster.

I was very close to running out the side door and never looking back. Drive to the airport, jump on the first available plane and get myself the hell out of Virginia.

I had almost talked myself into it when I felt a stirring in the air. I swear my body started to hum and I just knew she was there.

Maggie.

And just like that the fuzzy black faded away and everything clicked into place. My heart thudded into over drive and my palms started to sweat so I shoved them into the pockets of my gray slacks.

Of course she came. I knew she'd be there. And though I tried not to allow myself the hope of seeing her, I couldn't deny that I had longed for it all the same.

And here she was, looking the same only better. Her dark hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. She wore a dark green wool coat over a black dress. She looked beautiful and perfect and the embodiment of everything I had always craved.

She walked into the church, stopping to talk to an older woman I recognized as one of the local shop owners here in Davidson. I knew I should go and find Ruby. But I couldn't make myself move. I stood there, rooted to the spot, not sure if I wanted Maggie to see me or not, even as I screamed at her in my head to look at me. Please.

As much as I missed her and dreamed of this moment, I was scared of it. I had pushed her away. I had put the necessary distance between us. I had done it for her. Because I hadn't wanted her to get sucked into my crazy life anymore than she already had been.

But God I loved her. She was the piece I had been missing for the last three and a half months. She was everything I wanted in my life but wasn't sure I deserved. And this was why I wasn't good for her. My feelings about Maggie May Young were too intense, too consuming and they always threatened to swallow me whole.

But then her eyes lifted and met mine and everything else disappeared. Her eyes were bright and I could see the way her chest started to rise and fall more rapidly. Before I realized what I was doing, I was moving toward her at the same instant that she began to make her own journey down the aisle of the church.

It was like this every time we were together. Our bodies orbited around each other as if pulled by an invisible force that we had no control over.

Fuck me, I wanted this. And I wanted to run from it. I wanted to pull her in and never let go. And I wanted to push her away.

Two minutes. That's all it took for my head to short circuit.

Maggie stopped five feet away and we stood there, staring at each other. I didn't know what to say. What worked as appropriate chit chat when you saw the love of your life again after breaking her heart? And at a funeral no less.

I could see she was struggling as much as I was. And I hated that. Her face was flushed and I could see her pulse throbbing in her neck. I wanted to taste the skin there and feel her heart beat beneath my lips.

So instead I went for the anti-climatic.

“Hi.” I said softly.

Bad Rep sequel sneak peak

Okay, I've hinted around about the follow up to Bad Rep for awhile.  I hemmed and hawed over whether I wanted to follow Jordan and Maysie's story, or whether I should spend some time with other characters I had grown to love.

As you do when you're brainstorming, I wrote all of these snippits...trying to figure out which one I really wanted to write.  And Riley Walker, Maysie's snarky but loyal best friend, kept coming back to me.  The truth is I incorporated so much of my own personality into Riley as I put together Bad Rep that she quickly became on of my favorite characters.  And I've been dying to see where her story goes.

One of the first little bits I wrote went like this:  "I had been dumped.  And we're talking, take-his-testicles-off-with-a-teaspoon dumped."  I just loved that and so the idea for the "sequel" went from there.

There you have it...the next "Bad Rep" book will be about Riley and Garrett, the lead guitarist of Generation Rejects.  Where that ends up, only time will tell.  I know people will be disappointed this isn't a book entirely focused on Jordan and Maysie.  They'll be around of course.  And you'll get to see how they're holding up.  But I really wanted to write in Riley's voice.  Because I love her attitude and I love her snark and I KNOW she will be so much fun to figure out.  So here is a tiny piece of Riley's story, the Bad Rep spin off...Again, no title has been decided on but I usually come up with those as I go.  Will keep you posted of course!

ENJOY!!

**********

Dear God on everything that is holy, please don’t let me strangle this guy! I gnashed my teeth together, feeling the overwhelming urge to smack the shit out of Maysie for dragging me to the seventh level of hell with her. Or otherwise known as a Generation Rejects after party.

Sure this may be her thing. She played the part of rock star girlfriend really well. And more power to her. But she had gotten a wild hair up her ass thinking I needed to party, enjoy my youth, blah blah blah. So here I was, surrounding myself with drunken jack asses as they tried to rub against each other (or me if I wasn’t paying attention) in some sort of scary mating ritual. Sorry, I missed that episode of Wild Planet.

“Don’t you think?” Huh? I blinked in exaggerated slowness, making it clear that I hadn’t heard a damn thing he had said. Garrett wasn’t put off by my blatant disinterest. I think the dude could talk to a brick wall. Garrett Bellows, lead guitarist of Generation Rejects, Jordan’s roommate, and the guy I had been engaged in a one sided conversation with for the past fifteen minutes. One sided meaning that he was talking and I could care less. I had tuned out around the time he started waxing poetic about surfing at night during some trip to Hawaii last year.

I really hated these pseudo philosophical types. You know the ones that smoked a bowl or two and suddenly they were Plato reincarnated; talking about the meaning of life and how it had to be a government conspiracy that McDonald’s only rolled out the McRib a few times a year.

“I’m sorry. You’ll have to run that by me again. I was too busy trying to remember why the hell I let Maysie talk me into coming here in the first place.” I said, infusing more than a little bit of asshole into my tone. Okay, so maybe the guy didn’t deserve to have a firsthand encounter with Riley Walker, Mega Witch, but I was in a bad mood and feeling annoyingly heartbroken; which made me rude and more than a little punchy.

I didn’t handle humiliation and disappointment very well on a good day. And Damien, ex-douche and overall shitty human being had dosed out both in plentiful supply over the last two weeks. And today was anything but a good day.

I fully expected Garrett to call me a bitch and leave me alone to stew in my bitter juices. I was really hoping he would anyway. But the idiot did no such thing.

Instead he laughed. He freaking laughed! Was he missing a few of those brain cells that were required to recognize when someone was being a complete and total fuck face to you? Oh God, maybe he thought my attitude was endearing! Shit, I hadn’t thought that he might be one of those crazies who got off on bitchy girls. Retreat Riley! Retreat!

“You have one huge ass chip on your shoulder. Does it work for you?” Garrett asked lazily and my eyes snapped up to his. He spoke in a slow drawl that was either meant to be dead sexy or a perfect cure for insomnia.

“Does what work for me?” I asked him warily, not sure where he was going with this. He pushed a hand through his hair and narrowed a pair of thoughtful blue eyes in my direction. I couldn’t really make up my mind if I thought Garrett was good looking or not. His dirty blonde hair was on the longish side, hanging down to his shoulders. I wasn’t typically into guys with long hair, but this dude sort of worked it. He wasn’t overly tall, probably coming in around 5 foot 11 with a wiry frame that he seemed to like to show off, given the amount of time he spent without a shirt on. Though if I had defined abs like that, I’d probably be topless all the time, tits and all.

His cornflower blue eyes could have been appealing if they weren’t blood shot and glazed over. He exuded that laid back could-give-a-shit demeanor that only came after inhaling a copious amount of THC into your system. And given the number of chicks who had attempted to get his attention since he had plopped down beside me to begin the most asinine conversation in history; he must have some sort of magnetism. Too bad I was wearing my armor of snark and not remotely susceptible to any of his possible charms.

I could admit that I had already dismissed him as a low functioning stoner who was smoking away the last of his brain cells. But then his question and his following statement caught me off guard.

Garrett leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He waved a hand in my direction. “This. The whole I’m-a-bitch-so-stay-the-fuck-away act. I get that this probably isn’t your scene. I bet you’d rather be at some eco warrior save the pandas meeting or something. You seem like the idealistic save the world type.” I bristled at his annoyingly astute observation.

“Wow, so you picked that all up from the complete lack of conversation we were having? Can I add deluded quasi psychic to your resume? Right under wannabe rock star?” I said rather nastily, not wanting to give anybody the upper hand. Particularly this grunged out dope head whose eyes seemed to have cleared a bit. And I couldn’t help but notice that, yeah, they were pretty appealing. How obnoxious.

“Well, you’re wearing Reco jeans, which points to the fact that you think you’re environmentally conscious but in reality it smacks of pretention if you ask me.” I opened my mouth to tell him he could take his bullshit preconceptions and shove them straight up his ass. But I didn’t get a chance because he just kept going, whether I wanted him to or not.

“And then there’s that shirt. I’m sure you spent a long time stitching all those little patches together. Does that make you feel better than everyone else? The fact that you sew your own clothes and wear pants made from plant shit? Because I bet you just feel really lonely. And sad. So you throw out this attitude and judgmental BS hoping no one calls you on it. And if they do, that only proves they aren’t worth your notice or your time.” Garrett delivered his stinging critique with a frustrating blasé smile. Like he was commenting on the weather! When in truth he was flaying me alive. I wanted to punch him in his stupidly attractive face. Because yes damn it, I suddenly realized he was pretty darn cute. And I hated him!

“Whatever.” I hissed out getting to my feet. Garrett laughed and I realized I had reacted just as he expected me to. Well, who cares, I didn’t need this crap.

“Have fun dulling your senses and killing your brain cells.” I bit out as he pulled a joint from his pocket and lit up.

He pulled in a lung full of smoke and slowly exhaled. “And you enjoy standing up on your soap box while you doll out your all-important criticisms. I’m sure it’ll make for a fun evening.” He said drolly as he turned to a pretty girl who sat down beside me. She giggled and leaned into him as he slung an arm around her shoulders. He literally turned his back to me as though I had been dismissed.

What a dick!

I stood there fuming. No one out bantered Riley Walker. Especially not a guitar playing, pot smoking, needs a hair cut in the worst way, jack ass.

So I stormed off. It was only much later that I realized Garrett Bellows had done something more than piss me off and incite my urge to maim and kill. He had made me forget about Damien. And for the first time in weeks I hadn’t been depressed and miserable.

Huh. Interesting.