The Outlaw

02

T W O

"What's this I hear about you and a fuck buddy?" questioned Milo; his eyebrows hitting his hairline. I mentally cursed Scarlett under my breath. She could take a secret to the grave except when it came to her twin brother.

I scowled at the counter as I wiped. Milo and I worked at a nightclub in West Lafayette. I might have been underage, wore a barely there uniform, and came close to getting groped more than enough times, but the cash was good.

Cameron argued I didn't need the job—he worked all-round hours at a garage that paid him well enough. And I, after turning eighteen, inherited my father's capital which I stashed away for security. That wasn't all; I had a trust fund I could control the day of my twenty-first birthday—from grandparents I didn't know I had. Despite being their embarrassing hidden secret, my mother's parents squirreled away money for a child their daughter hadn't felt a concern to look after. It was guilt money, and I didn't care for it.

There was something ironic about it all. I'd been almost homeless at times, barely scraping by, and now I had money getting shoved at me. Where were my so-called grandparents when I was being fostered—when I needed them the most? It proved effective that nothing was promised.

The sole reason for having job with my own income was so the only person I depended on was me.

"Don't believe everything you hear from Scar." The less people that knew about Travis and I, the better. Milo and I didn't share a great deal in any case. "Last week at a restaurant, she made up a story about how her husband was stationed in Afghanistan to score a free meal." I sighed, shaking my head. I needed to get her head checked; or commit her to a rehab centre for compulsive liars. Did they do that?

Milo guffawed. "She's always been such a drama queen. But stop deflecting, Maddie. You didn't answer the question. Is it a friends with benefits kinda thing?"

My head canted to the side. Studying Milo, I relented a little. "You could say that... but we're not friends exactly."

"Oh," Milo smirked mischievously, "so it's more of ­a wham-bam-thank you ma'am?" He let out a low whistle. Well, judging from his mouth, I think he did. The blaring music drowned out the sound. "Damn, you're a rebel. A woman after my own heart."

"I'm not sleeping with you, so quit asking." I whacked him with the cloth in my hand.

Rubbing a hand over his chin, he chuckled, his eyes wrinkling with amusement, looking so much like Scarlett in that moment. "Can't blame a guy for trying." He shrugged innocently. "I don't get it, though."

My brows furrowed in confusion as I flipped a new order of drinks. It didn't take me less than a minute to mix one together; thanks to much practice. "Get what?"

"You're intelligent and headstrong with a wit that knocks me off my ass." I threw Milo an appreciative smile. I turned, hopped backwards onto the bar, and swung my legs over the top. Jumping off, I grabbed the tray I gathered the drinks on when Milo added, "Not to mention an ass that won't quit either."

I laughed. "Will you get to your point?"

"Hard to believe you're single in the first place, baby. You're not exactly lacking. In any department." He dropped a wink that I'm sure was the nature of his charm. Unlike his sister, his hair was a smooth nut brown styled to give that messy bedhead effect, but attractive all the same with those golden eyes.

"Who said I'm looking for a relationship?"

"Why not?"

I hiked the tray onto my shoulder. "If I don't believe I'm worth it, why would anyone else?" That might have been the two vodkas I polished off before my shift talking; nonetheless, it managed to slip out without conscious thought. Sensing Milo wanted to ask follow-up questions, I quickly walked away.