Harder Read Online Free PDF Page B

irresistible, edgy clothing, and swallow back drool.
    He sets his head back against the seat rest and exhales slowly. “Not for me. I meant… Never mind. I’ll watch out for you.”
    My chest tightens uncomfortably. “Excuse me? Watch out for me ? This is my crew. Watch out for yourself.” I slam my door a bit too hard and wait for him to join me. He closes his door carefully and strides over, chain jangling.
    His ponytail swings when he walks. I’ve seen this guy in guard clothing so many times before, but it’s so different seeing him like this.
    He’s everything I wish I could be. Tall. Tight. Powerful. A man. That’s the only reason I’m so intrigued by him. I want to be him. It can’t be anything else.
    I ring the doorbell and put my hands in my pockets.
    The door opens and Keri comes out from behind it. Her eyes are rimmed with dark kohl and her hair is green and purple. She looks me over and smiles. “Lookin’ good Ally. Haven’t seen you around lately.”
    I nod. “Busy with work.”
    “Still into guys?”
    “More or less.”
    “Too bad. You’ll be the hottest dude here.”
    I shrug. “This is my friend Ryan.”
    She opens the door wider to eye him. She folds her arms and takes a long, hard look, chewing on her lip ring. “Scratch that. He is.” She loops an arm through his and pulls him in, in front of me. “The straight girls will love him. And the gay dudes.”
    I laugh and follow them in. The house is dim and smells of weed but it doesn’t matter because we’re going outside anyway.
    “So how do you know Ally?” Keri asks Ryan as she opens the sliding back door.
    “Work.”
    “She just kind of came out of nowhere for us. Showed up at Pope park with that car and all that butchness. Surprised she was straight. Are you?”
    “Yeah,” he says.
    I grin and follow them out back.
    The porch lights are on, since the sun is now setting. There are the usual group of scattered white plastic chairs and kids on the lawn. Some smoking, some with cups in their hand.
    It’s an accepting group. Gay, straight, bi, trans, Black, White, Asian, etc.
    Rob holds up a cup and points to us as we join them. Rob is tall, black, and more pierced than a porcupine.
    “So Ally finally brought a dude around,” he says in a deep voice. His cup sloshes and spills a little as he sits back with a laugh. “‘Bout time. He’s cute.”
    Ryan blushes and looks over his shoulder at me, slightly alarmed. I just grin back.
    I grab a chair next to my friend Meghan and put my legs over one of the arms so I can lean back. She offers me her cup, but I wave it away.
    She has short red hair and a cute, chubby face. She’s into chicks. I keep meaning to introduce her to Amy.
    “Who’s this?” she asks, pointing to Ryan, who is taking a chair next to me, looking miserable.
    “This is my coworker, Ryan,” I say, pointing at him.
    “Where you from, Ryan?” Steven asks. Steven has platinum bleached hair and is tall and lanky. Maybe as tall as Ryan. He has hawk-like features and a beaked nose.
    “Here,” Ryan says.
    “Haven’t seen you around.”
    “He’s not our crowd. Usually,” I say, smiling at Ryan. “Is Jen gonna be here?”
    “Jen, why?” Steven asks.
    “Ryan’s looking for a butch chick.”
    Keri laughs and scoots her chair closer to mine. She leans over my legs and I let her. She smiles up at me and then at Ryan. “You mean like Ally? No one’s as butch as her.”
    I gulp. Wrong direction. “More like Jen.” I cough. “Super butch.”
    “Really? Jen?” Kyle asks, pointing to Jen, who is just now coming out of the back door in all her androgynous glory. Dyed black hair spiked up into a fauxhaux. Six feet of pure muscle in a leather jacket and jeans. “That’s your type?”
    Ryan coughs on his drink and sputters for a moment. I laugh and hit him on the back and pull him down into the chair next to me.
    “I’ll introduce you.”
    “Ally, I think you’re misunderstanding something…” Ryan