Harder (25 page)

Geoff pushes away from the mirror, satisfied that his cheek isn’t marred, but then his smile falls. He looks kinda scary when he’s not smiling. His harsh brows come down and his jaw tightens. He’s very readable.

I’m about to leave the guard room to go back on duty when he speaks.

“Hey Amy, what did you mean about all ass grabs being accidents?”

“That was a little thing I like to call sarcasm.”

“No, I mean, is someone grabbing your ass?”

“What does it look like?” I raise an eyebrow. I like to take things literally. It annoys Neanderthals.

He frowns, shoves his hands in his pockets, and comes forward, backing me up into the table. I grab a chair and sit. He looks at the clock, then back at me. I hate when we’re on break together. With two rotations, there’s always two guards, but why does it have to be him.

“We still got five minutes. You leaving to get away from me?”

“Of course.” What does he think? That I’d want to stay here and listen to his inane ramblings about me needing a man and how good ass grabs can feel? I pull out my phone and start texting. He grabs it out of my hand. “Hey!”

“Hold on. Answer my question. For real this time, smarty pants.”

“Fine. What was your question?”

“Are you, no,
have
you gotten your ass grabbed? Like when you didn’t want it.”

I take a deep breath, praying for patience. I don’t like spending this much time in his presence. It does something to me. I like the way he smells. I like how big he is. I like how completely opposite he is to me. Just one problem, I hate that I like it.

“Sure, what girl hasn’t?”

“Recently though?” He straddles a chair instead of sitting forward (the right way) on it. Just like Ally. But about a million times more masculine. Which is really saying something, since we’re talking about Ally here.

“Hm.”

“Come on. I’ll give back your phone…”

“It’s none of your business. You’ll give my phone back now, or I’ll go to Knight.”

“Tattle tale.” Geoff rests his head on the top of the chair. With his dark eyes and shaggy hair, he looks a bit like a stray puppy when he’s pouting. Knight and him go way back. He doesn’t want trouble with Knight.

No one wants trouble with Knight.

“Give me my phone.”

“Who was it?”

“Who was who?”

“Who grabbed your ass?”

“None of your business.” I stand up and reach for his hands, but my phone isn’t there. It’s disappeared. I reach for his pocket.

“Whoa! Watch it!” He pushes me back.

“Give me my phone.”

“Tell me who grabbed your ass.”

“It’s none of your business,” I whine. I slump back on my chair. “Besides, there’s been so much more than ass grabbing, I can’t keep track of it all.” I was whirlpooled last season, and then nearly raped by two coworkers after that. In fact, Geoff is one of their replacements, though I’m sure he has no idea why we suddenly had two openings.

Men are crass, and harsh, and when I try to open up to them, it just goes wrong. Maybe that’s part of why I like girls. Girls don’t try to hurt you. At least I’ve never had it happen. Rain was even there for me, helping when I got in trouble with the guys.

Plus, men don’t smell as good, or feel as soft. But there’s still something about them…

“Names and addresses,” he says in a low voice.

“What?” I look up, and he’s no longer resting his head on the chair, but rather staring at his knuckles as he cracks them ominously.

“Names and addresses, pretty please,” he adds ingenuously.

“Why?”

“No reason,” he says.

“Forget this. Give me my phone.”

He pulls it out with an exaggerated sigh and sends it across the table. “Tell me if it happens again, Dollface.”

I screw up my nose. “Dollface?”

“Yeah, heard it in a gangster movie last night. Girl was pretty, wavy hair like yours.”

I fight off a blush. His compliments are stupid, and I don’t want to be affected by them.

“You know Dollface, if you got a problem like that, tell me.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I’d protect you.”

I bristle again. He has a way of making me feel like a cat with its claw in an electrical socket. “I don’t need your protection. I just need men to stop being douchebags.”

He frowns. “Ain’t that the truth.” For a moment, his eyes look sad, and his big body slumps slightly, and I don’t know what I set off inside him, but I wish I could take it back.

“Anyway, Dollface, let me know if you need me,” he says, pulling his whistle out of his pocket and throwing it over his head to walk out the front door. “I don’t put up with anyone giving girls shit.” He clenches one large hand into a fist and the knuckles crack. “I handle them.”

I gulp. Such a disgusting display of raw, masculine anger that I’m baffled as to why it turns me on. Just a bit. He seems like such a simple, ridiculous person, but as he strides back out onto the deck in his dirty tank and wrinkled shorts, grinning and returning a high five with another male guard, I can’t help wondering if there’s more to him than meets the eye.

And once again, I find myself thinking about ass grabs and wondering how one can actually feel good. I shudder, and the guard door opens.

“Amy, breaks over, you need to rotate,” Knight says, blue eyes narrowing at me from where he stands just inside the guard room. “I shouldn’t have to remind you. You’ve been here long enough.”

“I know,” I say. I smile at him and bounce up to get going. “Thanks Knight.” I give him a pat on the shoulder as I go out the door, and he grins and shakes his head.

When I get to the first spot on rotation, Meghan sighs. “Thank goodness. I can’t do another minute on the kiddy pool.”

“I got it,” I say. “Hey, you get the slide tower next.”

“Joy,” she mutters. “Hey, thanks for bringing lunch.”

“No problem, it’s more fun to cook for two anyway.” Meghan’s family is struggling right now. Her mom just left her dad, and I like helping anyone who is having a hard time.

“Amy, you’re the best,” Meghan says, her eyes soft and suspiciously glittery, like she wants to cry.

“Hang in there, girly,” I say, giving her a pat and turning my attention to the water so she can rotate. She leaves with a bounce in her step and I grin. I like making people feel better. I like solving problems. And it’s easy for me to be nice to people. As long as they aren’t Geoff Richards.

He’s over at the lap pool, strong and serious as he walks up and down it. Hmph. Like he’s fooling anyone. He’s probably just planning out his next ass grab, or formulating weird revenge plans against imaginary villains. Nothing of higher reasoning capability could be going on in that stupid, hot head.

Surely.

Geoff

I bribed Sam to let me take his place on rotation so I could be on break with Amy. We should get off at the same time too, if things go right.

Today’s the day to take the next step.

I stare at the clock. It never moves. I make a couple more passes up and down the lap lane, and then finally see Sam coming to rotate me off. FINALLY.

And there’s my lady now, headed for the guard room. I pick up my pace to get over there, but realize that if she sees me coming, she’ll either try to wait until I leave, or run out before I can catch her. This requires an ambush. I duck into Knight’s office.

“Geoff, you’re not supposed to hide out here.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Knight spins on his chair to face me. “What’s up?”

“Nuttin’.”

“What are you doing then?” He joins me near the door and looks out the window. “Oh…”

“Yeah.” I rub my hands together. “I think she’s warming up to me.”

Knight says nothing, just moves his chair back to his desk and makes little clicking typing noises.

“What?” I ask, suspicious.

“Oh, nothing.” He clicks and types and refuses to face me.

“Knight…what the hell?”

He sits back with a sigh. “I just, that’s a tough one. I don’t think you’re her type.”

“She likes dudes too. I can tell.”

“That said, you’re still not her type.”

“Why?”

Knight turns off the computer and passes me to go on deck and issue the closing whistle. Guards start to leave their post. I need to get out there before someone else snatches up my lady, but Knight’s being weird and I need to know why. “Because, while I have seen Amy flirt with guys, they’re generally really…”

“What?”

“Clean cut. Almost feminine.”

“Oh.”

“And that’s…not you.”

“HELL no.”

He raises both eyebrows, like he’s ramming something home, then turns back to his work.

“So she likes the pretty boys, huh?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m not going to discourage you, but I thought I’d warn you.”

“Whatever. She doesn’t know what she wants. I’mma show her.” I flex in the mirror and grin. I have muscles for days to change that head of hers. Oh man, her hair. So soft. Want to touch…don’t get distracted Geoff. We have a mission.

And that body…

Damn.

All short and curvy and wrapped up in the perfect package to put on the back of my bike or in my lap or, for that matter, in my bed. Mmm. “Gotta go,” I tell Knight, kicking the office door open.

“Don’t kick the door—” Knight says. “Oh man, what is it with you and Ally and refusing to use handles unless you have to?”

“That’s just it, we don’t have to,” I say, kicking the door shut behind me with a grin.

I scan the deck for my target. She’s not in the guard room. She’s headed out the back door, I can see her soft hair bouncing, her cute pink shirt and tiny skirt.

I run to the guard room, trying to be quiet so she doesn’t see me. Lucky for me, Angie stops her on the way out to talk, so I got time.

I yank my locker open and it slams into the one next to it, denting it. Damnit.

I yank out a shirt and throw it on. I reach for the top of my guard shorts, and a shriek interrupts me.

“Eek! Geoff, you can’t dress in here, how many times have I told you?” Rain covers her eyes and waves her hand. “Don’t you dare change in here.”

“Fine, fine,” I say. I jump in the bathroom to pull on my jeans. Now way I’m going out to meet Amy with my guard shorts hanging out of my pants. I step into my shoes and slam my locker and run out. I don’t need to lock it ‘cause I got nothin’ in there worth stealing.

Amy’s head disappears through the door. Oh no she doesn’t. I’m there in a second and yank it open. It slams the wall next to me. Whoops. Too strong again.

I scan for Amy. She’s almost to her car. She’s been putting me off for over a year, and I’m not gonna have it anymore. What kind of actual gay girl chases a straight girl for that long, unless she doesn’t want her to take her up on what she’s offering? And now she can focus on me. Maybe even help me answer some questions I’ve had for a long time, about something very important.

But first, we need to be friends.

Don’t get me wrong, I can do the big dumb guy act when it serves my purpose, but I’m not really dumb. It’s just easier for me if people think that way.

“Amy!” I call out, before she can open her car door.

Her head snaps up in recognition, and her hair bounces, reflecting sunlight. Her beautiful, round, brown eyes meet mine and narrow in a displeased fashion. Shit, already on a bad start.

“What?” she says, looking like there’s no answer I can give that will wipe the frown off her face.

“Let’s go out. Tonight.”

Her mouth curls. “Not a chance.” She goes for her door but I rush to slide myself in front of it.

“Come on, let me wine and dine ya.”

Her mouth curls up further, morphing her whole face into a mask of disgust. “Ew.”

My face falls, for a second. But this is all part of the game. “You can pick the restaurant.”

“Oh lucky, lucky me,” she says. “No thanks. Move away from my car.”

Hm. Not going well. As usual. But why does look like me up and down like she wants to lick me, like she did earlier in the locker room, if she hates me that much?

“What did I do to make you hate me?” I ask, exasperated.

Her mouth slackens in surprise, and her eyes soften. Beautiful, velvet brown eyes when she’s not spitting fire at me. I like when they’re fiery too, though.

“I don’t…hate you. Exactly.”

“Yeah, but?”

“I just don’t like you.”

Oof. “Why? Seems like you’ve hated me since I started.”

Her eyes flash. “Seems like you’ve been annoying to me since you started.”

“That’s how I am with cute girls.”

“Oh,” she says flatly. “I’m flattered.”

“Yeah well, it usually works. You’re a weird one.”

She frowns. “Again, flattered.” She tries to move me out of the way of her door, but I weigh two of her and it’s not happening. “This has been charming, Geoff, but I need to go. I have plans tonight.”

“One of your fancy parties?”

“Well. Yeah.”

“Invite me.”

“What?”

“Invite me for once. Then I don’t have to crash it.”

“I don’t think it’s your scene.”

“What, think I’ll stink up the place?”

Her eyes crinkle a little, and I think she might be amused, a bit. “No, not that. You’d just be bored.”

“Let me spice it up then.”

She blinks a few times, showing me a little of the nice, soft Amy that everyone else sees. “I guess I have been mean to you Geoff. Of course you’re invited. Do you know where I live?”

I shrug. “Naw, let me drive you.” I jerk my head towards my bike.

She raises one eyebrow in a subtle sneer. “No thanks. I’d rather not have—”

“The open road? Wind in your hair?”

“Flies in my teeth,” she finishes.

Oh.

“Meet you there then?”

“Geoff, why do you want to?”

I step out from in front of her door. Good question. “To spend time with you.”

“I mean, why do you want to spend time with me?”

Another good question. I’ll tell her half of the truth. “I like you.”

“Is it really that simple for you? You just like someone, you just go after them?”

“Uh, yeah.”

She looks off in the distance, and wind picks up her hair and blows it around her face. I want to touch it, pull it back. I follow it down her shoulders, to her chest. Damn, don’t look at the boobs. Stop looking at the boobs. Now. She’s going to catch you.