The Unidentified Redhead (Redhead #1)(32)
Author: Alice Clayton

After the shower, I insisted that Jack leave me alone long enough to dry my hair. Holly had come home from the market, and after banging on the door for several minutes to no avail, finally shoved a note under it saying that I had an audition at four o’clock if I could make it. I was meeting with the contractor at my new house at five-thirty, so it worked out perfectly.

It was an audition for a cop show, and I was reading for the part of a crooked lawyer. After finishing with my hair, I had to shoo Jack out of the bathroom and away from my flat iron. He had gotten it in his head that he should help me get ready and would be in charge of my hair. After I vetoed that idea, I printed off my sides and was busily making notes on the character when I noticed that he was making up the bed. He seemed to be having trouble with the bottom sheet.

He couldn’t get it to lie very smoothly.

“You never make your bed at home, do you?” I asked, watching him attempt this.

“No, no reason to. You just get back in it at the end of the day. Why bother?” he answered, staring at the corners, trying to get them to match up.

“Take off all the pillows first, then you can see all the corners and it’ll help you match them up,” I instructed, admiring this technique. That wasn’t technically true, I was admiring the way his ass looked in his jeans, but that was neither here nor there. He began taking pillows off, and then I noticed that it got much quieter in the room.

“Grace, do you have something to tell me?” he asked.

“Hmm?” I questioned, looking up from my notes.

Shit.

He was holding one of the magazines with the Time stories. He’d found my hidden stash under my bed.

Shit. Shit.

“I can’t believe it. You fangirl!” he teased, pointing at me with a glint in his eye.

“No, no, I’m not really. Holly gave them to me. She made me read them!

I didn’t want to … I … ” I stammered, trying to figure a way out of this that wouldn’t leave me looking like a total stalker.

“Grace. Don’t lie to me,” he admonished, looking serious.

I walked over to the corner and stood in it, facing the wall, looking like the guy at the end of The Blair Witch Project. “OK, I admit it. I started reading it because I promised Holly,” I confessed, feeling my cheeks flame.

“And then?” he asked, walking over to me.

“Ummm. Now I’m reading it because it’s interesting?” I asked more than answered.

“Grace … ” he warned.

“I’m reading it because I like it. I more than like it, OK! I, I freaking love it!” I wailed, placing my head against the wall in shame. I waited for him to tease me, to taunt me, but there was silence.

Uh oh, now he thinks you are only interested in him because he’s playing Joshua.

I spun around quickly, ready to show him that nothing could be further from the truth. He was sitting on the end of the bed, laughing.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked, walking over to where he sat.

“I love that you felt so guilty that you stood in the corner!” He laughed again. “But this does mean the official tryst is off, Grace.”

“Well, technically, since when I met you I had yet to read anything, the tryst should still be on.”

“You got me on a technicality, huh? All right then, tryst on. Only if you agree to never call me Joshua when we’re in bed,” he offered.

“Agreed. But could you do something for me?” I asked sweetly, moving closer to him. In my head, I was secretly rejoicing that he talked about us in bed like it was going to be something we did a lot.

I was standing in front of him in the robe I always wear when I’m getting ready. His hands came up around my waist and I leaned closer to his right ear.

“Next time, ya know, when we’re together?” I whispered, planting a kiss on his neck below his ear. He smelled all soapy and warm.

“Mmm hmm?” he answered back, his hands clutching at my hips.

“And things are getting, ya know, really hot?” I continued, switching to the other ear, kissing his neck there as well.

“Mmm hmm?” he said, his hands moving to the tie that held my robe together, starting to pull it apart. His breath was growing heavier by the second.

I had him right where I wanted him.

“Could you maybe, possibly … ”

“Yes?” he asked, pushing open my robe and planting his mouth in between my br**sts, beginning to kiss me.

“Call me Penelope? You know, your woman in the first story? I’ve always wanted to work in a hat store … ” I finished, holding perfectly still. I closed my eyes and my body tensed … I was sooo going to get it for that one. He was still for exactly four seconds, and then he started blowing raspberries all over my chest.

“Grace, that is rubbish! I knew you were as insane as all the rest! C’mere!” I squealed as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I was dying, I was laughing so hard. He carried me kicking, screaming and laughing all the way downstairs and into the kitchen. I was shouting out ideas the whole time through my laughter.

“Maybe,” I wheezed, “you could be all Super Sexy Scientist Guy. Wear a lab coat? Or maybe,” I choked, “you could explain the space-time continuum?

Or maybe … oh, God, I am hilarious,” I began before screeching, “maybe you could just take me away in your little time machine? Hahaha!” I was laughing so hard I couldn’t see straight. This was fine, because I was upside down over the shoulder of an enraged Brit. However, the way he was playing grab-ass the whole way down the stairs made me think he wasn’t too upset.

He carried me into the kitchen, still screaming in laughter. I didn’t even notice Holly sitting at the table with Nick. He went straight to the freezer, grabbed a bag of frozen Green Giant corn niblets, set me on the counter, ripped the bag open with his teeth, pulled my panties straight out like a cash drawer and dumped them in.

I screamed, feeling the corn sprinkle everywhere. In my frenzy to get at the corn, I fell off the counter and onto the floor, landing with a loud splat. I rolled around in a frozen-corn-induced fit, trying to get up, but slipping on niblets every time I got my feet underneath me. Jack was doubled over in absolute hysterics, and I saw Holly and Nick peering over the counter at me. I was still on the floor with corn everywhere.

“You are a pig!” I screamed, finally scrambling to my feet, niblets glued to my thighs and other delicate parts.