Chapter 15 - Clover

CHAPTER 15 - CLOVER

A ringing phone wakes me but I'm so confused about where I am, it takes whole seconds before I actually become lucid enough to pull together some semblance of reality.

"Yeah." Riggs' voice is low and rumbly as he answers the phone. He sounds tired and… well, sorta sexy if I'm being honest. " What ?" Now he sounds irritated and he shifts in bed.

This is when I realize he's reached over me to get the phone and I'm actually pinned up against his bare chest. Do I move? Do I push him away?

I would, but this accidental embrace feels too good to end prematurely. So I do nothing.

"Well, when will they be back up? I'm on a schedule." His irritation has shifted into anger. "Fine. Call me as soon as you know." This feels like the end of the conversation but then, abruptly, he says, " No ." And now he's definitely angry. "We're busy." Then he leans over my body and drops the handset back onto the cradle, flopping back onto the bed with a sigh. "Are you awake?"

"Hmm," I hum. "Well, I don't want to be awake. Does that count as an answer?"

He scoffs. "The trains are down."

"Oh." I sit up and turn over so I'm facing him. "What's wrong with them?"

"Ike didn't say. But this feels like a set-up."

"You think they know I'm not Hattie?"

Riggs shoots me a snarl. "What?"

"They know. They're trying to keep us here until someone can come sort it out or whatever."

" No ." He sneers this word out. "This is all Ike's doing. I know it is. He's lying. The trains are down ?" Riggs huffs. "Since when? The trains don't go down. Not all of them at the same time. That's ridiculous. It's such a stupid excuse. He's keeping us here because of you ."

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"You were implying that this was about something legitimate. But it's not. He just wants a date with you. He asked me if you were busy today."

I smile, chuckling. "You're jealous."

"I'm not jealous. It's just… fuck him. We're sharing a room, can't he take a hint?"

"You told him we weren't a thing, remember? We're not supposed to be sleeping in the same bed."

"I know that. It's just fucking rude."

"You like me," I say.

" You like me ."

I smile, then turn on my side and prop myself up on my elbow so I can see him better. "Why can't you just admit it? You want to spend the day with me."

"I am gonna spend the day with you. It's got nothing to do with want."

"Are you gonna enjoy it?"

I get another snarl for this question. "You were so drunk last night, you wanted to sleep with him."

"And yet," I tease, "here I am in bed with you."

"You were flirting with him," he continues.

"You were snuggling me when I woke up."

"I was not. I had to reach over you to get the phone."

"Riggs?"

"What?"

"Do you want me to spend the day with you?"

"We are going to spend the day together."

"Why can't you just admit you want me to spend the day with you instead of Ike? Because you're not the boss of me. I don't have to listen to you. I could call Ike back and tell him I'd love to spend time with him today. Do you guys have star sixty-nine here? I bet you do. I'll call him back right now."

I scoot over, reaching for the phone, but Riggs grabs me by the waist and pulls me back, cinching his arms around me like a belt. "You're trying to wind me up."

"You're trying to deny you're jealous."

"You're acting like you're not already mine when you are."

I nearly guffaw. "Says who?"

"Finders keepers, Clover."

"You didn't find me. I found you."

"Same thing. You don't like Ike. You know you don't like Ike. You're just trying to make me jealous. And…" He pauses here.

"And?"

"And… make me rethink leaving you in the bunker."

I rip his hands from my waist and make a serious attempt to get away from him, so this time, I succeed and stand at the edge of the bed, glaring as I point at him. "I am not doing that. And fuck you for thinking I was."

Then I turn on my heel, grab my pack, and go into the bathroom, locking the door behind me and leaning against it as I fume. I really wasn't pulling some femme fatale thing. I really do like him. And he likes me too. He does. He knows he does. We have that whole team thing going between us now.

So it makes me mad that he said that.

I open the door, find Riggs standing at the end of the bed wearing only his boxers, and then point at him again. "Fuck you. I trust you now. And you're the one who doesn't trust me."

He shoots me a smarmy smile as he steps into his pants and pulls up the zipper. "You don't like Ike."

I plant my hands on my hips, suddenly aware that I'm only wearing a t-shirt and underwear. But I rally, since he's half-naked too. " You don't like me ."

He scoffs. "What's not to like about you?"

This catches me a little bit off guard. "Well, why are you being such an asshole?"

"Why are you trying to make me jealous?"

"I'm teasing you, Riggs."

"You're flirting with me, Clover."

"Do you hate flirting?"

"No. Nobody hates flirting."

"Then why are you being a dick?"

"Because I don't like the way you acted last night. You were slobbering all over him, for fuck's sake."

"I was not."

"You were drunk, you don't even remember."

"I was tipsy . And I remember everything." Sort of. But I keep that part to myself.

"You were trying to wind me up and you were using Ike to do it. He's gross."

"I mean… come on, Riggs. He's not gross. On the inside, fine. I agree. He's got a very undesirable mind and a black heart. But he's like a frosted glass bottle filled with poison and all tied up with a shiny, satin bow. You can't not admire it. No one in their right mind thinks the presentation is ugly, even if the liquid inside is nothing but frog venom."

"You're playing with fire here. He's one of those obsessive types. If he even thinks you like him, he'll just claim you, Clover." Riggs points to the phone. "That's why he was calling. He's trying to claim you."

"Well." I shrug up one shoulder and shoot him a smile. "I guess he's too late. Finders keepers, right?"

His smile is slow, but it's real. "I knew you liked me."

I spit out a laugh. "Why are you so incorrigible?"

"Why aren't you more needy?"

"Oh, I see. I see what's happening here." He plays dumb and keeps his serious expression in place, but he's about to crack a smile, I can tell. "You want to be the hero."

"Well, you are a princess in need of saving."

My scoff is automatic. But I shake my head and look down. Men. They are so predictable. I look back up and meet his gaze. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Saving me. I don't think I said that, so I'm saying it now. You are a prince, Riggs. A real prince."

"I can't tell if you're being serious."

I turn and shrug up one shoulder, shooting him a sweet smile. "I'll be in the shower. If you want to find out how serious I am." Then I retreat back into the bathroom, but this time, I don't close the door behind me.