Chapter 4 An Invitation

• "Why exactly would you want to help me?"
• "To get my hands on you." He lifted his hands and wiggled his fingers threateningly as if he'd grope me.
• I slapped his hands away. "You're a pig."
• He shrugged. "Valid."
• "Why?" I crossed my arms over my chest.
• "Told you." He dismissed. "Come back here."
• I scrunched up the corner of my mouth in clear skepticism of doing anything he told me to do. "I'm not doing that."
• "Fine." He shrugged. Walking over and catching my hair in a fist and slowly rotating me.
• "Hey!" I objected. Despite that it didn't hurt, he was turning me to lead me backward toward the tub.
• He was chuckling as he led me.
• I was leaned backward trying to swing at him but unable to reach him.
• "Why don't you quit being so full of piss and vinegar for two minutes and let me help you." He walked me to the tub and then knelt, bringing me down with him while I caught fistfuls of my hair behind my ears trying to yank it from his grip.
• "Stop it, you're going to hurt yourself." He swatted the backs of my hands. "Just trust me for two minutes. Then you can go right back to being a hateful cat lady."
• "Ha!" I scoffed. Still struggling as he guided my hair into the porcelain tub. "Knowing you, you're probably planning to wash my hair with Nair."
• "Oh, that's right..." He was quiet a moment. Shuffling bottles around. While he still held a fistful of my hair dumped into the tub and forcing me bent over the edge face up. "Where did I put that?"
• "Ha! Ha!" I said sarcastically. Hoping he wasn't serious.
• I wouldn't put it past him.
• "Is this just another form of torture for your enjoyment?"
• "You bent over the tub backward while I control you by the hair?" He said thoughtfully. Turning on the water and running my hair through it. "Nah. Maybe if I had you bent over the other way."
• I stopped trying to hold my hair and flailed my hand enough to palm him in the chest. My face so heated I thought my skin might boil.
• He grunted and chuckled.
• ***
• Eric grabbed some rubbing alcohol and worked it into my hair around the gum. Rolling it between his thumbs to separate it from the rest of my hair. He picked strands out while I hissed in pain, writhing over the tub.
• "Stop being a baby." He laughed. "I said I was sorry."
• "Did you?" I snapped. Kicking the tub with my heel to avoid the pain in my head. Then twisting to eye him. "Did you really?"
• He shrugged. "Well, I thought it went without saying."
• "When are you ever sorry for anything?"
• "I'm sorry for a lot of shit I do, really." He sounded somber enough I paused to study him. "I have an impulsive problem."
• "You are an impulsive problem."
• "You have no idea." He hovered over my face grinning down at me. His eyes skipped down to my mouth and watched my lips. Too closely.
• Far too close.
• "Eric..." I warned.
• ***
• "What?" He smiled.
• "What you gonna do?" He tugged my hair to remind me he had a handful of it lathered in soap and I couldn't really go anywhere.
• Despite that I'd rather be anywhere other than locked in my bathroom with him.
• He had laughing light blue eyes and spiked white-blonde hair. Eyelashes and brows far too dark to fit that hair. And his eyelashes were longer than mine.
• Another thing about him that annoys me.
• And I wasn't a particular fan of tattoos.
• And he's covered in them.
• He had a partial sleeve down one shoulder. Covered in green and red. Words written up his neck on both sides. Including 'Mama Tried' up one side and 'Caged Animal' down the other side.
• How my mom and his dad thought he was an angel was beyond me. His dad I kind of understood since they'd lost his mother a few years back and his dad felt like his son had been greatly wronged in life to lose his mother so young.
• His jaw was square and well-defined as it led to a pointed chin adorned with lush full lips and crevice dimples outlining both corners.
• Disgustingly perfect.
• If he wasn't so annoying. A fact which Emilia, my best friend regularly reminded me. And she wasn't the only one. Half the girls in my grade swooned over the boy that was a year older. But seemed to catch attention everywhere he went.
• I registered his eyes were still roving my face and was now lingering on my lips. A bit too intensely.
• "No. Eric..."
• But his mouth descended with no hesitation. Catching my lips and his tongue delved into my mouth. Licking the inside in a way that had my whole body relaxing as his chest leaned over mine and I felt the hardness of his muscled pecs smashing my small breasts.
• But after a numbed moment I realized what was happening and bucked up my hips trying to toss him off.
• He laughingly backed off, tipping sideways off me.
• "Had you for a minute there..." He pointed a finger at me. Grinning as he finished scrubbing my hair, he glanced sideways at me as he said, "You'd love being in my bed."