Beautiful Oblivion (Maddox Brothers #1)(64)
Author: Jamie McGuire

“Sit down! Let’s do this!”

“I’m not getting gauges, Hazel. I’ve told you that. Multiple times.”

She jutted out her bottom lip. “But I’m gloved! I’m ready! Did you see the new leopard gauges we got in last week? They’re f**king hot!”

“I don’t want my ears sagging. That’s gross.”

“You don’t have to size up. We can just start with a sixteen gauge. That’s teeny! Just, like . . .” She curved her thumb and index finger to form a tiny hole in the center.

I shook my head. “No, sweets. I did the nose. I love it. I’m good.”

“You love mine!” she said, becoming more deflated by the second.

“Yes. Yours. I don’t want that for my ears.”

Hazel ripped off her gloves and tossed them in the trash, and then she cursed, a lot, in Tagalog.

“Trent will be here any minute,” I said. “Get a new tat. Blow off some steam.”

“That works for you. I need to stab things. That’s what brings me peace.”

“Weird,” I said, walking back to the front.

Trenton blew in, his keys dangling from his finger. He was clearly in a good mood. “Baby,” he said, rushing to stand next to me. He gripped my arms. “The car’s running. I need you to come with me for a second.”

“Trent, the shop’s open, I can’t—”

“Cal!” Trenton yelled.

“Yeah?” Calvin called from the back.

“I’m taking Cami to see it! We’ll be back in less than an hour!”

“Whatev!”

Trenton looked at me, eyes bright. “C’mon!” he said, pulling me by the hand.

I resisted. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he said, leading me to the Intrepid. He opened the door for me, and I sat inside. He ran around the back, and then slid into the driver’s seat.

He drove fast to wherever we were headed, playing the radio a little louder than usual, as he tapped the steering wheel to the beat. We pulled up to Highland Ridge, one of the nicer apartment complexes in town, and parked in front of the office. A woman about my age was standing outside in a pants suit and heels.

“Good morning, Mr. Maddox. You must be Camille,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Libby. I’ve been looking forward to today.” I shook her hand, unsure about what was going on.

Trenton took my hand as we followed her to a building on the backside of the property. We climbed the stairs, and Libby pulled out a thick set of keys, using one to open the door.

“So, this is the two-bedroom.” She held out one arm and twirled slowly in a half circle. She reminded me of one of those women on The Price Is Right. “Two bathrooms, seven hundred square feet, washer and dryer hookup, refrigerator, garbage disposal, dishwasher, fireplace, carpet throughout, and up to two pets allowed with pet deposit. Eight eighty a month, eight eighty deposit.” She smiled. “That’s without pets, and that includes water and trash. Trash pickup is on Tuesdays. Pool is open May through September, clubhouse year-round, fitness center twenty-four/seven, and of course designated, covered parking.”

Trenton looked to me.

I shrugged. “It’s amazing.”

“Do you love it?”

“What’s not to love? This blows my place out of the water.”

Trenton smiled at Libby. “We’ll take it.”

“Uh . . . Trenton, can we . . . ?” I pulled him into a bedroom and shut the door.

“What, baby? This place isn’t going to have vacancies for long.”

“I thought you wouldn’t have the money until after Travis’s fight?”

Trenton laughed and wrapped his arms around me. “I was saving up for a year’s worth of rent and bills, including my half of dad’s. I can afford to move us in now.”

“Wait, wait, wait . . . did you just say us?”

“What’d I say?” Trent asked, confused. “You just said you loved it and it was better than your place.”

“But I didn’t say I was going to move in, too! I said the opposite last night!”

Trenton stood there with his mouth open. It snapped shut, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, so . . . I have a key to your place, you have a key to mine. See how it goes. No pressure.”

“I don’t have to have a key to your apartment right now.”

“Why not?”

“I just . . . I don’t need one. I don’t know, it feels weird. And why do you need a two-bedroom?”

Trenton shrugged. “You said you needed your space. That room is for whatever you want it to be.”

I wanted to hug him and tell him yes and make him happy, but I didn’t want to move in with my boyfriend. Not yet, and if I did, it would be a natural progression, not this ambushing bullshit. “No.”

“No to what?”

“To everything. I’m not taking a key. I’m not moving in. I’m not getting gauges. Just . . . no!”

“Gauges . . . what?”

I stormed out, running past Libby, down the stairs, and back to the Intrepid. Trenton didn’t make me stand in the cold long. He slid in next to me and started the car. As it warmed up, he sighed. “I picked a bad week to quit smoking.”

“Tell me about it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

BUSY WITH PACKING AND MOVING, TRENTON WASN’T around much for the next week. I helped him when I could, but things were awkward. Trenton was more than a little disappointed about me not moving in. He couldn’t hide his feelings any better than I could, which wasn’t always a good thing.

Saturday night, Raegan was sitting on our love seat, flipping channels in a show-stopping cocktail dress. The single shoulder strap looked like shimmering diamonds, and the rest was curve-hugging red satin. The sweetheart neckline made it that much sexier. Her silver heels were sky-high, and her hair was straight, shiny, and half up, half down.

“I wish Blia were here. This moment definitely calls for one of her customized phrases. You are flawless.”

Her buff lip gloss glistened against her brilliant smile. “Thanks, Cami. What are your plans tonight?”

“Trenton was going to unpack for a little while after he left Skin Deep, but he said he’d be here by seven. Travis is having a rough time lately, so he’s going to check on him and then come over.”

“So you’re taking the night off?”

I nodded.