11. Joel

CHAPTER 11

JOEL

" T his is one of the best pizzas I have ever had," I announce, my mouth full. I burned my tongue on the cheese when we first opened it but that was so worth it for the way Anna laughed at me.

God, what is happening to me? I've never had a crush on anyone so ordinary and never this fast. Yeah, I've made plenty of connections with women before, but they were fun and over before I knew their names. Something about Anna is different. She's not afraid of me, or awestruck, or hankering for my attention. She's treating me like I'm average too. The way she doesn't think I'm anything special makes me think she could be the real deal.

And she does keep glancing at me, biting her lip, letting her fingers rest against her neck. All classic signs of attraction. She seems determined to resist though — all she's done since I got here is batter me with insults and act like she's angry at the whole world. I want to know why and she won't tell me. I want to know all about her and, even worse, I want to tell her about me. And not just the Joel she thinks knows. I want to talk about stuff I've never said before.

Not that I'd expect her to listen. Who would?

"Where did this come from?" I ask, hoping I the question gets through the sticky layer of cheese that's currently gluing my mouth together.

She rolls her eyes and smiles. "Carmelia's Pizza Palace. They're hidden down an alley on Marchion Street. I had a place down there, once, and Carmelia's is cheap as they come and so good. I used to eat there a lot."

"I can see why."

"I guess you've always been waited on. With being a billionaire's son and all." She sounds so bitter and I can't understand why. Ben's never said that their family were hard done by — aren't their parents business owners of some kind? I just can't work out what Anna's deal is.

"I can't deny it," I say. "But you and Ben must have had fun as kids too. I mean, it's not like you were starving or anything. Right?"

The way she glares at me makes me feel like I've dived headfirst into a pool of stingrays and got surprised when they all zapped me with their tails. "Not everyone gets a family fortune just handed to them," she mutters.

Stupidly, I decide to push because that's the most honest thing she's said to me so far. "Ben said you owned a business."

"He did? When?"

"I don't know, he just said it one day. You did all that yourself?"

"Oh, look, the feeble little girl did something for herself! Look, just drop it will you?" She turns away from me and I can feel the electric shocks of putting my foot in it again. I have to figure out how to explain to her that I really am interested and clearly not ask her when she's already upset.

I am starting to put together some pieces, though, and I can't help but wonder when the last time she spoke to her parents was. Or Ben, even. I'm not sure she even knows how much he talks about her, or how proud he is that she's built everything she has with her bare hands. I know I couldn't do it. I was born to be a spoiled little brat and it's the only role I know how to play.

So I decide to change the subject back to me.

The TV remote is on the coffee table next to me, so I pick it up and surf until I hit the celebrity news channel. Olympus City is one of those places where you wouldn't blink twice at riding the train next to a superstar, so of course we have a dedicated news channel about our mishaps.

"Ugh," says Anna, reaching for another mozzarella stick. "Do we have to watch this crap?"

"I just want to see if I'm still there."

"Egotist," she says, but there's a lightness to her tone again, the worried crease between her eyes a little softer.

"What can I say? I'll be able to get out of your life if they've stopped parading my face for everyone to see."

She grunts in agreement and decides to grab another slice of garlic bread at exactly the same time as I do. Our fingers bump against each other clumsily and I blink in surprise at her cold hands instead of pulling away like I know I should. What's really interesting is that she doesn't back off either.

Not straight away, anyway. There's definitely a hesitation in there. I'm trying not to make this into something it probably can't be, but I felt a spark and not from a stingray. I can't think of a more romantic electric animal, but my point still stands.

I don't think it's just in my imagination that she likes me.

"Sorry," Anna says as she sits back. She's looking at me with her wide green eyes and I feel like I'm tumbling into them. "Go ahead."

This is so stupid. I'm Joel Lockhart, I don't fall in love. Work hard, play hard, fuck hard; that's my motto. Not that this is love. But whatever it is, it's deeper than anything else I've ever felt.

I take a slice of bread and pick up another to hand it to her. "Here," I say. "It's good."

"Yeah," she agrees and I could swear she's looking at my lips. I'm doing everything I can not to let my eyes drop down to her chest because she's in her pajamas and not wearing a bra. Not that I would notice that kind of thing.

Not that I would think about touching her body at all.

On an impulse, I let myself lean in just a little closer to her to see if she flinches. Nothing. Good. I reach out tentatively as if to put my hand on her leg — just a little gesture, something she can easily push away from — but before I can close the gap, she snorts in laughter again as the TV grabs her attention.

"They really did manage to get an awesome shot of you, huh?"

There I am on the screen, pants down and butt crack pixelated out as I stand on top of the poker table, chips scattered everywhere, my shirt hanging limply from my body like it's struggling to stay on, a bottle of champagne in my raised left fist and dripping everywhere, and a woman wearing almost as little as I am in my other arm, pressed against me. The only good news is that my hand isn't on her ass too.

For the first time in my life, someone laughing at me actually makes a hot flush of shame burst inside me.

I chuckle halfheartedly with her. "Yeah. We were on a real bender. And that's why I'm in hiding."

"I can see why," she says, still teasing with her teeth bared. But my heart's not in it anymore. I'm experiencing real regret and it's a rock pressing down on my lungs. No wonder normal people don't do crazy stuff like that if this is how they feel. The guilt is sour and unbearable.

And it's ruined the mood, even if the mood had only been in my head. I'd been having a great time. As usual, I just had to go and spoil it. God, I sound like such a brat. No wonder she hates me. I flop back on the sofa and cover my face with my hands.

I'm expecting Anna to continue to taunt me, but she surprises me again by touching me gently on the shoulder and saying, "Hey, it's okay. It was dumb and you definitely shouldn't have done it and honestly, I think being grounded is pretty mild considering."

I split my fingers to peer through them at her, my eyebrow raised. She shakes her head a little, getting her thoughts back on track. "But," she continues, "This is Olympus. It'll blow over soon. Celebrities are always doing dumb shit like this. You'll be out of my life in no time, promise."

She grins again and I grimace. I'm being crushed by the prospect of reality and I hate it.

And worse, I think I don't want to be out of her life at all.

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm tired," I say, standing up. "I guess I'll just crash in Ben's room."

"Sounds good," she says, getting up too and turning the TV off.

In sync, we start moving towards our rooms. "And don't think I'm making your breakfast tomorrow," she says, hesitating before we have to part. I'd shuffle closer to her except we're already crossing that personal space for strangers boundary. If I let myself, I could kiss her now without taking another step.

If she would let me, I'd wrap my arms around her and carry her off to bed with me where I would trace every inch of her body with my hands and lips. If she'd let me, I'd make her feel so good.

"Guess I'll cope," I sigh, lifting my shoulders and letting them fall dramatically. The way her eyes twinkle when she smiles is so magical.

"Good night, Joel," she says and finally breaks the spell, stepping away and turning towards her room.

"Good night, Anna," I echo, watching her go all the way until she shuts the door behind her.

I am so going to dream about her tonight.