Mine to Steal (Mine to Love) by T.K. Rapp

“What would you like it to mean?”
    “Are you always this evasive?” she huffs.
    “ Are you always this suspicious? I mean you’re the one who gave ‘Doubt’ as her name?” I snap back.
    “Well, when I’m dealing with someone who has the last name Miller, yes.”
    It’s who I am. I guess she hates me on name alone, which is acceptable. For now.
    “Would you rather I had admitted, I met her in a bar the other night ?”
    Her breath catches and I wait to see if she says anything - something to let me know she remembers the other night.
    “Excuse me?” she snaps.
    “I could have gone with the old ‘my brother says she’s someone I’m supposed to remember.’ Like that one?”
    “And how is your brother?” she asks, but I can tell by her annoyed tone, it’s not a question she really cares to hear answered.
    “Was he that bad?”
    “I suppose he wasn’t any worse than say, a pit bull. I guess we all have one person from our childhood that did their best to torture the crap out of us. As it happens for me, it was your brother.”
    “You know what they say, about boys picking on girls .” I wait for her to respond, but she doesn’t. “Probably means he liked you,” I say with an exaggerated tone.
    She turns her eyes to mine and nods her head. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one, too. But I was raised to believe if a boy liked me, he was going to be nice and treat me with respect, not tease me and make me cry.”
    “That’s an interesting take on things. Why is that?” I cross my arms across my chest and wait for her to elaborate.
    She shrugs and finishes the thought . “Think about it, if girls are told from a young age that ‘oh, he’s picking on you, or teasing, hitting, pushing…it means he likes you.’ Well, what happens to that same girl when she’s a teen or adult in an abusive relationship? ‘Oh, he gave me a black eye, he must be in love with me.’ Kinda messed up, don’t you think?”
    I’m at a loss for words. How did an innocent comment spur this response? She does make sense, although I’m taken aback. “That’s a little deep for a first conversation, don’t you think?”
    Her cheeks flush and she shrugs her shoulders . “You asked, and besides, it’s not our first conversation.”
    “Well, if makes you feel any better, Jett annoyed everyone and still does. Don’t take it personal.”
    “Trust me; I don’t.”
    “Well, I’m sorry he was an ass, but can I ask, what’s your issue with me? And before you say anything, I wasn’t trying to hit on you last night.”
    “Is that the same story you told your girlfriend?” She raises a brow and sits back to wait for my response.
    “Kayla?” I can’t help but laugh at her conclusion, but I don’t clarify my friendship. “She’s the one who told me to talk to you. Actually, she said you were looking at me.”
    For a moment, I think I might have gotten to her, but then she squirms in her seat and relaxes into the leather. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
    I am about to say something equally adolescent when the captain, Grayson, and Cavette enter the cabin while carrying on a conversation, putting a halt to ours.
    “Faith .” Grayson smiles, reminding me of those cartoonish wolves you’d see on Saturday mornings as a kid. The only thing missing is the smoke coming out of his ears.
    “Good to see you again, Grayson.” Her body relaxes when he walks over to the seat across from her. They engage in small talk while I feign interest in my phone that has receive d neither a phone call nor text, and I’m envious how easy it is for them. I use the opportunity to my advantage and glean whatever bits I can from their conversation, which isn’t much.
    Apparently she went to another popular bar after she left Ale’s Well last night. She was dressed up for a night on the town in a classy black off the shoulder dress that showed off her legs. I thought it was a bit overkill for where we were, but if she and her friends had other