Read Online You're Always in the Last Place You Look by T.N. Gates - Free Book Online

he stayed because he was worried about me, but I knew the reality was probably much less romantic. More like he didn’t want to return to Chuck’s trailer so late.
    He’d removed his shirt, and the blanket was tangled among his legs leaving his back exposed all the way down to the waistband of his jeans. I shuffled around, and hugged my pillow, resting my chin there so I could see him better. His hair obscured most of his face, leaving only his thin nose, lips, and chin exposed. I’d never noticed how pink his lips were— probably because his piercing was forever distracting me.
    Zane was fine boned without being skinny. His hips and shoulder were the same breadth while his waist was only slightly narrower. The way he laid, with his arms haloed over his head, his ribs were faintly noticeable. But there wasn’t anything bony about him. He was lithe like our barn cats, and I already knew he could move with just as much power and grace.
    “You’re staring.” Zane stretched, turning his face into the pillow, and I watched unabashed as his muscles pulled tight against his frame before relaxing again. He tugged the blanket up almost to his chin as he rolled onto his back.
    “You’re really going to be shy after you tried to grope me last night?”
    He nodded slowly. Glancing up, he fingered the curtains above his head, his black and green nails a stark contrast to the drab camel brown. His toes were painted in the same colors, but the stripe of green ran horizontally, rather than vertically.
    “Why?” I asked, watching his face as he thought about it.
    He met my eyes. “If you recall, things didn’t exactly go well. But...I don’t know that I was wrong. I think, maybe, you’re just not ready for me yet.”
    I scraped my scruff across the pillow, hiding my smile. “Yet?” I peered over the edge. “Does that mean you like me?”
    Zane sucked on his lip ring, trying not to smile, but it was too late. His eyes softened and warmed. I bit my pillow as my heart pattered against my ribcage. He finally let his lower lip go.
    “Yeah, I like you.” The smile broke free transforming his whole face. I’d seen him laugh on several occasions, however his eyes usually chose to remain distant, and often time’s cold. As he looked at me, the ice had completely melted into a sea of mesmerizing cerulean blue.
    “Why me?” Did I really just ask that ? I felt my face warm. But I didn’t hide. Instead I waited tensely for his response.
    He fingered the curtains again. “I don’t know.” His eyebrows pulled together as a small frown tugged on his lips. “I haven’t figured that out yet.” He batted the curtains, hitting the blind in the process. It flew up, snapping loudly as the end hit the roll. Zane spooked like a colt, and fell off the bed, landing flat on his back. I started laughing at his wide-eyed expression.
    He pinned me with a glare. “It’s not funny. It kinda fuckin’ hurt.” Sitting up, he rubbed his elbow while rotating his shoulder. Then he started to chuckle. “Ow. Damn your floor’s hard.”
    I was still laughing at him, although my eyes had been drawn to the wings—which looked remarkably like an angel’s—sprawled across his chest. It was a huge tattoo, the tips curling almost to the top of his shoulders. It had to have hurt like a sonofabitch when he got it. And here he was whining over falling two feet off the pull-out. I sat up, careful not to hit my head on the roof as I swung my legs over the side of the bunk.
    I grinned down at him. “Do I need to come kiss your boo-boos better?”
    He smirked, then pouted playfully. “Maybe...”
    I slid off the bunk, wincing as my feet hit the floor. The headache wasn’t horrid. It was just sitting there nagging like a chiding parent. The fact my stomach was miraculously steady made the headache about bearable.
    Zane stared at me apprehensively. “I wasn’t serious.”
    I made a show of running my gaze over him sitting on the floor. “I was. But