Breaking The Bad Boy (Completed)

Chapter 41: His Hands Are Down My Shirt

"Ash? Are you even listening to me?"

I peered down at him, registering the impatience in his eyes.

"Uh huh, definitely..." I trailed off when he arched a brow.

Thick lashes lowered as he blinked and I marvelled at the way they swept his cheeks before lifting up to brush his eyebrows. Not even my lashes were as long as his.

"You have the attention span of a goldfish," Tyler grunted, standing up to his full height and flicking the skin between my eyes. "Literally, the worst listener to ever exist."

"I am not!" I protested as he bent over to open the oven, checking the banana cake I had oh-so-kindly baked for him.

Although I wasn't in a position to complain, especially since he'd spontaneously made me a rainbow cake two weeks ago; but I was still annoyed that I succumbed to his Bambi eyes and adorable pout today and somehow ended up on washing up duty too. I mean, I baked the cake, the least he could do was offer to clean up. Boys.

"Okay smart-ass... What did I just say then?" He turned around and crossed his arms over his chest.

With a smug smile I pointed my chin up with a confident air, struggling to keep my mask intact when Tyler was approaching me with a frown.

"You said I was the worst listener ever, which I'm not."

He took a step towards me until he was standing directly in front of me.

"I meant before that."

My eyes slid to the open recipe book. I squinted, pressing my glasses closer to my eyes until the words came into focus.

"You were talking about making a carrot cheesecake with pecan and dark chocolate sauce."

He leaned forward, reaching to my side and shutting the recipe book before giving me an irritated frown. I tried to ignore the fact that his hands were planted on either side of me. Imprisoned by his muscular arms, I held my breath before giving him a sheepish smile.

Tyler's frown deepened. "No, I said that we should steal the design of this cake and give the rainbow idea another go."

"You mean the whole layering concept?" I asked, thinking back to the photograph in the recipe book before he slammed it shut.

Tyler nodded with enthusiasm, hopping onto the counter so we were sitting shoulder to shoulder. Our legs dangled in the air and we began to half-heartedly play footsie, nabbing at each other's feet until I kicked him a bit too hard. With a wince, he wrapped his ankles around mine and locked them in place before resuming our previous conversation. My chest flipped at the pressure of his ankles against mine, confused that my palms were getting clammy just because he was studying my side profile with enough scrutiny to make my insides lurch.

"So what do you think?" Tyler asked, lifting our legs so that they swung from side to side.

Surreptitiously, I inhaled his refreshing aftershave, relishing the delicious scent until my nose tingled for a closer whiff. Scooting closer to him, I kept my eyes trained on the sink opposite.

"I think it's a good idea but isn't it a bit too time consuming? How are we going to make seven layers for each colour of the rainbow and then sandwich them together in the space of two hours? The double period will need to cover the decorations too."

Tyler's bright eyes dimmed and his eyebrows scrunched up together as he frowned. Stray strands of gold were sitting on his lashes, shuddering every time he blinked slowly. I itched to push them back and I would have if we weren't in a room with more than twenty other people.