Living With The Bad Boy [COMPLETE][VERSION ONE]

Chapter 20

Jase's little brother, Evan, has hung up streamers in the living room when I walk in, and there's a small chocolate cake that says 'Welcome Home Sienna' in messy blue frosting. The entire thing makes me a little bit speechless. And not just because my throat is killing me. When he sees me, Evan runs over to give me a hug, his 11-year-old arms barely able to reach the tops of my shoulders. I laugh. "It looks like someone missed me!"

"Oh, please," Jase says, but he's smiling. "Evan just wanted an excuse to have chocolate cake."

"Is there something wrong with that?" I ask Jase. "Because I can totally take your slice if you don't want it."

My phone dings in my pocket, finally not dead after I charged it in the car, and I see a text from Noah. No, make that a string of texts from Noah, each sending a stab of guilt through me. I look at the most recent one:

Hey, Sienna. I know you're going to reply as soon as you can, but I can't stop thinking about you. Please, please, please be okay. I've literally been pacing the apartment for three days. I've scared off god-knows-how-many customers and I'm pretty sure Aunt Rosalie wants to kick me out of the house now. So please be okay.

My grin drops completely from my face. Noah's spent all weekend worrying about me? And in return, I haven't thought about him. At all. Not even for a second.

Instead, I've been thinking about Jase Turner.

"Oh, is that your boyfriend texting you?" Jase asks from over my shoulder, and there's a strange quality in his voice that I can't quite comprehend.

"Noah isn't my boyfriend," I say stiffly, hugging my phone to my chest.

"Right," Jase says, rolling his eyes like I'm exasperating just to be around. "I forgot, Little Red is too pure to ever get a boyfriend. Or so you say." He leans in closer, almost whispering. "Though, in my experience, that just means that no guy will take you."

Damn it, Jase. I almost believed you. I seriously almost believed you when you said you wanted to stop being an asshole to me.

"Just kidding, Red," he says when he sees the hurt in my face. He's making an effort to show how nonchalant this is, his arm relaxing on the counter next to him and a lopsided smirk on his face, but the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes (or show his dimple) and his hand is gripping the marble countertop firmly, like he's trying to center himself to something. It's clear that pretending to be friends doesn't come naturally for him, either.

I just roll my eyes, cutting myself a large slice of chocolate cake. "I think we both know that I'm perfectly capable of getting guys," I say coldly, thinking back to Jase catching me and Noah making out at the garden party. "And I don't have to cheat on someone to do it."

He's doing his best to look casual, but I can see it in his eyes: I struck a nerve. Good. "Aw, Jase, don't get upset. I was just kidding." I look up at him with a pasted-on smile, enjoying the feeling of making him feel bad, for once.

"Oh, shut up, Red," he says, rolling his eyes, though he's grinning a little bit. I step closer, my mouth a hard, straight line. "Make me."

For a second we just stare at each other, my brown eyes looking into his big, blue ones. His eyelashes are long, unfairly long for a guy. Why do boys always get the best eyelashes and girls, the ones with the actual societal pressure to have long lashes, don't? And why do his eyebrows have to be so perfect- soft, thick dark lines framing his determined face, the hard-set of his too-perfect jawline... his lips...

'"Are you two weirdos just going to stare at each other or are we actually going to eat this cake?" Evan asks before I can think any more about Jase's lips or the fact that I'm thinking about Jase's lips. I jump away from Jase instantly, turning back to the countertop. "R-right. Cake. Sounds good." I put my slice onto a plate and cut into it with a fork, savoring the rich, creamy sweetness as it hits my taste buds. "Mmm. This is incredible, Evan!"