Page 3 of Changing Lanes

“Cute. Beige and boring, that’s me,” she responds easily.

When she drags her gaze back to mine, there’s a defiance in it that gets my blood pumping.

“And you’re Beck, right? Is that short for something?”

“There’s nothing short about me.” Duh.

When the resulting silence stretches a beat too long, Marc supplies, “Beckett,” for her.

I stand mesmerized as long, yet somehow still delicate, hands run down her shirt, smoothing the material.

“You remind me of a dog I had once.”

“Was his name Beckett too?”

Meeting my stare head-on, she says, “No, he was just an asshole.”

Cue a jaw drop accompanied by a cartoon-sized tongue rolling across the floor, ending at Paige’s boot-covered feet. Honestly, I don’t know if I should be offended or impressed. One thing’s for sure though, what our new roommate lacks in a dick more than makes up for with a huge set of balls.

She nudges the forgotten bra at her feet. “Look, I’m sure it’s hard-”

Not yet, but it’s definitely getting there the more attitude she fires off.

“-having me here as your roommate when you’d prefer another guy but it really shouldn’t be an issue. I work graveyard, so you shouldn’t even notice me.”

Too late, girl. Too fucking late.

“Thanks for giving me the opportunity.”

Her eyes stay locked on my boy’s as I narrow mine. “Why do you want to live with us anyway? The apartment across the hall should be available in the next couple weeks-”

“I couldn’t wait that long,” she says, cutting me off and pinning me with a no-bullshit look.

What’s her deal? It doesn’t make any sense why she’d rush to move in with the two of us when she could hold off and live by herself. Hell, Angie did it right up until Coty stole her away to the brand new house he had built for them.

She raises her chin and I grip the empty bottle in my hold.

“I’ve got plenty of experience living with the opposite sex, this is nothing new. I just need to save money and this was the soonest I could get in somewhere that didn’t break the bank.”

Although her emerald eyes didn’t so much as flinch, the rest of her body stiffened at the end, giving her away.

Once upon a time another girl said something very similar but she was running. Always running.

Paige is hiding something.

Where I was mildly curious before, I’m all out suspicious now. And what the fuck does that mean she has plenty of experience living with men? Is she a bed hopper or some shit, always bouncing between different dudes’ beds?

I shoot Marc a what the hell? gesture and he just shrugs. Of fucking course he shrugs. This guy, the one who’s suspicious of a container of sour cream, chooses now to ignore the warning bells hanging over the girl’s head as they blast at near-deafening levels. Unbelievable.

Unless.

Unless he’s into her.

They have been sharing cryptic looks this entire time as if I’m not standing here, too. And he was quick to pick her instead of taking the time to interview other applicants first.

I eye him a little longer.

He hasn’t laid a claim to Paige but that’s not surprising. Dude’s private as hell. He’s like a damn onion with all his hidden layers.