Page 66 of Animal's Reformation
The jerk fumbled with his keys then opened the door and quickly closed and locked it. Animal stood with arms crossed, watching until he drove away. He smelled Olivia’s enticing scent before he saw her approach him.
“Are you all right?” she asked, her fingers gently brushing his bruised skin.
“I’ll live. Who the fuck was that?”
“Brady Sickles—he’s the gym teacher at Slavens. He’s blaming me for my friend Ivy breaking up with him.” She gave him a weak smile. “The creep conveniently forgot to tell my friend that he was married.”
“What a fuckhead. Why’s it your fault?”
Olivia wrapped her arms around herself. “Good question. The guy’s weird, and I never understood what my friend saw in him. I say she’s lucky he’s out of her life. Sickles gives me the creeps.”
“If he comes around again, let me know.”
“Thanks for coming to my rescue,” she said softly.
“Anytime.” He looked over at his house then back at her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and taste her lips, but he wasn’t sure she’d want him to do that, and he didn’t want to piss her off. Instead he stared at her. Damn … she captivated him in a way no other woman had before.
“Is Lucy at home?” Olivia asked.
Animal saw her shaking from the cold and he tilted his head in the direction of her porch. “Yeah, and you should go inside—it’s damn chilly out here. I gotta get back to Lucy.”
“I am freezing.” She laughed and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to warm them.
“Are you free for dinner on Saturday?”
“I am.” Her green eyes sparkled like a bright, clear emerald, and in the fading light, they looked as though they were deep enough to hold a galaxy. He just stood there intoxicated with their depth. “What time?”
“Uh …?” he replied, his gaze still boring into hers.
“The time you want to meet for dinner on Saturday?”
Animal dragged his eyes away from hers and looked back at his house. “Oh, yeah. I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock. Does that work?”
“That’s perfect.”
“You better get outta the cold. I’ll see you around.” He turned away before he did anything stupid like yanking her close to him and running his hands down to her ass, or telling her that he couldn’t get her out of his damn mind. Shit … the woman had him spinning in circles.
“Bye,” she cried out behind him.
He held his hand up in the air as he walked toward his house. The last rays of the sun faded behind charcoal clouds as darkness crept in. Animal heard her front door close before he jumped up on his porch and went inside the house.
He took out the gun from the waistband of his jeans and went over to the wall safe and put it inside, then he crossed the room and glanced out the window, noticing light seeping through the damn sheets on Olivia’s windows. “When the fuck’s she gonna get rid of those?” he muttered under his breath as he turned around.
Animal walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, then took out a beer, a package of red leaf lettuce, and a large plastic container of food—courtesy of Jada. He unsnapped the lid on the food and put the chicken and dumplings into a pan that was on a burner, and then popped open the beer can.
He was going on a date with Olivia on Saturday. The thought scared and excited him at the same time. If his brothers knew about it, they’d have a heyday with all their joking. The truth was, Animal had never worked so hard to hook up with a chick.
He took a long drink and leaned against the granite counter. The thing that scared the shit out of him was that even though he wanted Olivia in his bed in the worst way, Animal also wanted to get to know her better—to talk to her and share ideas. Yeah … that was fucked up.
He crushed the can and tossed it into the trash, and then ripped open the packaged salad and emptied the contents into a bowl.
