Sparks Fly

Chapter Twenty-Two: Missing Invites and Fact checking

Gavin rolled his eyes, giving the impression that the answer was obvious. "You've got some pretty pissed off girls waiting for that booty call you promised them. I just happen to have a sister who knows a lot of the girls you've blown off."

Of course you do. "Am I the only juicy topic that ever comes up in your conversations? Because it seems to me, there's always something new you have to point out to me about the way I'm living my life."

"My sister would say you're meaty rather than juicy," was the dry response. "Whatever that means."

Teagan chuckled at the disgruntled look on Gavin's face, before silently sending a prayer of thanks skyward for sparing the boy from understanding his sister's raunchy joke. There were some things a boy was better off not knowing about until the later years in life.

"You aren't wrong," Teagan admitted at last. He walked over to the counter at the front of the half empty building to break an old lady's five into ones. He offered her a smile as he handed her the change.

"I'm not wrong," Gavin repeated, nodding his approval. "About what?"

Teagan sighed. He realized that talking about women and his less-than-stellar reputation with a would-be sixth grader wasn't exactly normal. On the other hand, he had no one else to talk to who would listen. Besides, the boy talked about him enough at home, so discussing his problems couldn't really hurt.

Right?

"She's messing up my game," Teagan explained. "Whatever your sister and grandmother have heard about me losing interest in the others... it's true." He ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "I mean, technically, I could still... you know-" the disgusted look on the kid's face told him that Gavin did know- "but I have to work at it. It isn't fun anymore."

Gavin stared at him. "Well, I can't say I know what you're going through, but if it isn't fun, and you find yourself looking forward to spending time with my girl, there's only one thing you can do."

Somewhere faraway, someone was laughing at Teagan's little heart-to-heart with a child. Maybe God? But Teagan didn't care. The simple words out of Gavin's mouth made perfect sense.

Well, all the words minus two. "She's not your girl."

Gavin whistled, looking amused. "Don't be jealous."

"I'm not." Yeah, sure. "But what do you suggest I do?"

"How has Teagan "Tee" Miller gotten all the girls before? The same effort you put into flirting with your one night stands would be a good start."

Gavin Santos might have been a pain in the butt, but there was no denying that he also was wise beyond his years.

xXx

He was crazy for taking the advice of a second year fifth grader.

The process had always been simple when the goal had only been a night in a stranger's bed. Find a girl who looked interesting enough to give you some satisfaction at the end of the night, play up to her with some teasing, a flirty smile here and there, and bam! She was more than happy to give you the hot and heavy relief you were looking for.

But the process failed miserably when the girl in question was a beauty queen with enough class to want nothing to do with him.

Has the goal changed then? The voice in his head sounded very smug, which meant it knew the answer before it asked the question.

And it was right. The goal was different. It had been since the night of the party when he'd been the one rejecting her advances. If all he'd been looking for was a quick lay, the Ice Queen's attempt at seduction would have ended with them in the nearest bed, his morals buried in some deep hole until he worked up the strength to care.