"Okay, I'm bored now," she said, even as her fingers warmed.
"Whatever, you find me charming." He snatched the cup from her hand and sipped, his eyes smiling down into her irritated ones.
"Excuse me!" she scoffed, trying to grab the drink back from his thick hand. "Is it really that hard for you to grasp the concept of simple things like common decency and boundaries?"
"Mm, cherry!" he said, ignoring her. He took another sip. "I was wondering what flavor was all over your lips."
Alisha's eye roll was epic, her laugh incredulous. "Do these lines really work for you? Because I find them utterly ridiculous."
"Haven't had any complaints so far."
"Somehow I find that hard to believe. Give me back my drink!"
"Do you know what I used to do with these when I was in high school?" he asked, swirling the cup around in his grasp.
"I'm sure you're about to tell me," she said dryly, fully expecting to hear something disgusting and no doubt sexual.
"I used to throw them in people's faces." He laughed when her jaw dropped.
"That's cruel!"
He shrugged. "It was funny at the time."
"Can I have my drink back now, or are you going to throw it at me?"
James and Maggie watched the back and forth between Big and Alisha from the window of the fire truck. "You could sell popcorn for this," James said, eyes wide.
"Shh, I can't hear what they're saying," Maggie said, leaning closer to the open window, a smile lighting her features. "Oh, Alisha looks annoyed. Big really rubs her the wrong way."
"Watch this," James told her with a sneaky smile. "Hey, Alisha," he called casually out the window.
Both Alisha and Big turned to look at James. "Yes, James?"
"Did Big fill you in on his traumatic experience with the rats this morning?" He met Big's eyes and smirked.
Big frowned. "Hey, Maggie—be sure and ask James about the mailman sometime," he tossed back, sneering when his buddy's face fell. Don't mess with the bull or you'll get the horns. He turned back to Alisha whose eyes were dancing amusedly.
"Are you—afraid of rats?" she asked, stifling a laugh. She found the possibility highly amusing.
"I'm not afraid of anything," he defended. Keller is so dead.
"Just rats, then. Oh, and maybe giving up the frat boy mentality to make room for enlightened thinking."
"Shut up, Larrington," he said grumpily.
She stole her drink back and smiled. "Nice comeback. Hey, Q, you ready? I need to go harangue my worthless landlord before rehearsal."
"Just a sec," Maggie called back, making plans with James for another date and enjoying the sight of him in uniform.
"What are you busting your landlord's balls about?" Big asked, folding his arms over his chest. The thought of this tiny girl unleashing holy hell on her landlord made him smile.
"When I'll be able to get back into my apartment. He won't return any of my calls and I've left him several scathing messages. He's the epitome of unprofessional."
"That doesn't surprise me at all," he smirked. "Be careful going back to your apartment."
He sounded so sincere, and so—unlike him—that it threw her. "Why?" she asked, brows raised.
"Bums tend to set up camp in evacuated buildings," he said plainly.
"Oh. I—had no idea. Thank you for the warning."
"Just don't go there by yourself, okay?"
Alisha was speechless, and whether the speechlessness was due to the possibility of vagrants taking up shop in her apartment or the fact that Big had been uncharacteristically nice to her was anyone's guess. She just nodded wordlessly and sipped at her slushie.
"It's almost like our lips have touched," he teased, his tone smarmy, as Maggie appeared by Alisha's side.
"That was pathetic. You must still be traumatized from the rats earlier. Go save some lives or rescue a cat from a tree—I've got things to do." With one last sarcastic smile, she hooked her arm through Maggie's and started walking.
"You coming to our show or what?" he called, an impish grin lighting his chiseled face.
Maggie nodded while Alisha shrugged noncommittally. "If I'm not busy. See ya around, Big."
He smirked after her and then hopped back into the rig.
James blew out a low whistle. "She's got your number, dude. I love it!"
"Don't make me kick your ass, Keller," he said sourly as a call came in over the radio. James flipped the sirens on and they sped away.
Saturday night rolled around and Big sat backstage of Otto's Shrunken Head, tuning his guitar and drinking a beer, while his band mates, Mike and Matt, argued over whether pirates or ninjas were more badass. Shit was getting heated and he just shook his head, smirking at their ridiculousness. James was around somewhere talking to Maggie on the phone trying to give her directions.
Part of him wondered if Alisha would actually show up and then he cursed himself for momentarily developing ovaries and having a goddamn period. It's not like he cared if she showed up or not. There was never a shortage of hot women at the bars they played, and he never had a problem hooking one for the night. His looks and demeanor usually did the trick, but add his guitar playing and singing to the mix and the panties were dropping all over the place. (Big = Stud)
James walked backstage and picked up his drumsticks, twirling them deftly between his fingers. "Maggie and Russell are almost here," he said, keeping his eyes on Big's face, grinning when he frowned a little.
"Cool," he grumbled, focused on his guitar strings. God, he needed to get the sand out of his vagina. Alisha never told him that she was for sure going to show up and he didn't know why he fucking cared in the first place. Okay, so maybe he wanted to put her in her place a little and wow her with his skills. She'd surprised the hell out of him with her musical ability and turnabout was fair play after all. "You tools about done with your pirates versus ninjas bullshit so we can go on stage or what?" he asked
