Page 44 of Under My Skin

Chapter Forty-Four

EVERETT

No one was at Simon’s apartment, so I rode by their parents’ house.

I didn’t think I’d find anything. Lucy doesn’t have a car here, so it’s not like I’d see if she were here from the driveway alone.

Simon is supposed to be working, so when I saw his bike parked out front, I figured I should stop and try to patch things up with him.

Neither of them answered my texts last night, but I figure they’re probably hashing out their own sibling stuff.

I’m not expecting to see Lucy’s adorable button nose and big blue eyes when the door opens, and the sight of her nearly knocks the wind from my lungs. I want to know what she’s thinking—how she’s feeling about all of this. I want to know if she regrets it.

“Oh.” Her eyes widen. I guess we’re equally surprised. “Hey,” she says, her cheeks flushing.

I wish this weren’t so awkward. “Hey.”

“Let me talk to him,” Simon’s voice comes from somewhere behind her, and she looks over her shoulder at the sound. She glances back at me before stepping aside, but she doesn’t argue with him.

Simon steps outside and shuts the door behind him. He might not look as pissed as he was last night, but he definitely doesn’t look happy to see me. Sitting on one of the concrete steps leading to the front door, he nods for me to take a seat next to him.

I take a deep breath before I sit down. For a moment, we both just sit, probably equally unsure of what to say.

My knee bounces after the first few seconds, and when I can’t take the silence, I blurt, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was going on.

I should have. It was unexpected, and I was honestly trying to fight it until it was too late. I don’t know what I was thinking?—”

Simon holds up a hand. “Are you serious about her?”

I scratch the side of my head and glance back toward the house where Lucy sits somewhere inside. “I’d like to be.”

He stares straight ahead and nods. There’s another beat of silence, and I open my mouth to start rambling again, but he cuts me off.

“Just don’t hurt her.” He gives me a sideways glance. “And don’t let anything get weird if this goes south.”

My eyebrows pull together. “You don’t want me to stay away from her?”

Simon stares forward again, seeming to mull over my question. “I don’t want to be the reason anyone can’t be with who they want—can’t be happy.” He looks over at me. “Especially you or Lucy.”

I swallow and nod. “Okay.” Looking back at the house again, like I might see Lucy through the walls, I say, “I don’t know what she wants.”

He laughs. “Yeah. Well, I can’t help you there. But if she wants to be with your dumb ass for some reason, I won’t stand in the way.”

My mouth quirks into a smile. “Thanks.”

Blowing out a breath, Simon shakes his head. “All right. I have to get back to work. Today has been fucking weird. I just had to tell my dad he could never do anything to make me stop loving him.” Getting to his feet, he holds a fist out for me.

Bumping his fist with my own, I say, “Want to talk about it?”

He shakes his head. “Later. We’re good?”

I nod. “We’re good.”

Then he walks down the driveway to where his bike sits next to mine. He mounts the bike and starts the engine before rolling it back and turning it around. A few seconds after he revs the engine and pulls out of sight, Lucy steps outside, her eyes scanning the street. “He left?”

“Had to get back to work.” I gesture to the space next to me where Simon was just sitting. “Want to sit?”

She eyes me warily. “Sure . . .” She collapses onto the concrete step and blows out a breath. “How is it still morning?”

“I saw your text. You’re going back to Denver?”

“Yeah.” She lets out a humorless laugh. “My roommate may have started a minor house fire.”

“Shit. Is she okay?”

Lucy scoffs. “She’s fine. My security deposit and whatever else they’re bound to take from me? Not so much.”

I nod, and silence falls between us until Lucy asks, “Did you and Simon work everything out?”

I scratch the side of my jaw. “Yeah, I think we did.”

She pulls the sleeves of her sweater down so the hem covers most of her palms. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t think he’d react that way.”

“He’s okay now.”

She arches an eyebrow and gives me a sideways glance. “He’s what now?”

I point back and forth between the two of us. “Fine with this.”

“Really?” The word falls from her lips full of doubt.

I shrug. “So he says. He said something about not wanting to be the reason either of us is unhappy.”

She furrows her brow, but it relaxes a second later. “Oh.”

“Oh?”

Her mind looks like it’s somewhere else for a moment, but then she blinks. “You know, it’s kind of funny. Last week, I was dreading coming here. I didn’t know how I was going to survive it, honestly. And now . . . I don’t want to leave.”

“Because you’d have to deal with the fire?”

“Yes,” she says with a breath of laughter, but then her eyebrows pinch. “And no.” Turning to face me, she says, “I kind of want to get to know my parents better.” I pull back, surprised by her answer, and she laughs. “I know. It’s a little lame.”

“I don’t think it’s lame at all.” There’s so much I wish I knew about my dad—so many things I wish I had thought to ask him before I lost the chance.

Not even important things. I want to know the mundane things.

I want to know what he got written up for at school or what his most embarrassing memory was.

It’s the small things that end up making us who we are.

Her expression softens. “And I was excited about our vision for your shop. Things feel unfinished here.”

I shift to face her. “Then stay. Finish what you started.”

Her eyes search my face before they dip to my mouth. “Everything I started?”

The way she’s looking at me has my heart thudding in my chest, and I laugh nervously. “If it’s what you want. I mean, I think you could figure?—”

Lucy kisses me, and all the rising chaos in my body settles. Placing a hand on her cheek, I kiss her back. God, I love everything about her. Simon can say what he wants, but I’ll never hurt her. I’ve never been so sure about anything.

We break the kiss, and movement in the front window catches my attention. I only manage to catch a glimpse of blonde hair before she ducks out of sight, but I laugh anyway. “I think your mom just caught us.”

Lucy glances over her shoulder and shakes her head. “Oh, she’s going to love this.”

“Yeah?” I tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear, noticing the way my tattoos contrast with her perfect ivory skin.

Simon’s parents have always treated me like another son, but I can’t help wondering if I’d be good enough for their daughter in their eyes.

The thought strikes a nerve, but it only lasts a second.

As soon as Lucy’s hand cups my own, holding it to her face, my thoughts clear.

“Trust me,” she says earnestly. “They’re both going to love this.”

I kiss her, and I’ll never get sick of the way her lips soften to mine.

When I pull away, I tap on the phone in her hand to check the time.

The shop has been open for almost an hour.

“I should get back and see what Hal’s up to today.

Want to come? Or I can take you to the airport if that’s still your plan. ”

Lucy’s phone lights up with a call, the name Allison displayed on the screen. She glances down at it and shakes her head. “You go. I’ll take this and try to figure everything out.”

“Okay. Let me know if you need anything.” Getting to my feet, I kiss her forehead, and she smiles up at me. It’s such a simple gesture, but seeing her look at me that way might make my heart spasm.

I head down the driveway, get on my bike, and start the engine.

She’s on the phone now, talking to Allison, but she still waves right before I pull away.

Once my bike pulls onto the main road, I grin beneath my helmet.

This morning, I thought falling for Lucy Blake was a terrible mistake, but it’s not.

If anything, I think falling for her might be the best thing I’ve ever done.