“For you to change into. Take your wet shirt off.”
Her eyes snap to mine, a bright pink splotch spreading across her cheeks and the bridge of her freckled nose. An excruciating wave of heat courses through me when I realize where her thoughts are at... which are now where my thoughts are at.Do not think of Des’s little sister like that.
I lurch forward in my seat and hold onto the steering wheel for dear life. The inside of the cab is now a thousand degrees. I crank the window furiously and lower it all the way down so a cool breeze caresses my face. “You know what I mean. Just slip it on over your top and do that weird Houdini thing you do where you can pull the other shirt off from underneath.”
“How do you know I can do that?”
“You did it at the bar once.”
“Lovely. I’m like a—” she yanks the shirt over her head in one quick movement “—drunk circus animal performing tricks.”
Even though I saw it before, I’m still amazed how she removes the old top through the neckline of the black t-shirt. She tosses the wine-soaked shirt in my back seat.
“Happy?” she snaps, sounding anything but.
“Yeah.” And I am. My heart flutters in my chest, a strange feeling I normally don’t get around her. Is it because she finally listened? Or is it because my big t-shirt engulfs her in an adorable way? My breath hisses through my clenched teeth as I stomp that thought into oblivion before it can spread in mymind.Adorableis not a word I should use to describe the viper in the seat next to me.
“Anything else you need me to do, boss?”
I roll my eyes. There she is.
“I saw that,” she grumbles.
“Buckle up, Reese’s Cup.”
“Has anyone ever told you how bossy you are?”
As soon as I hear the click, I rest my arm on the bench behind her and reverse out of the spot. “Nope.”
She barks a laugh, slumping into her seat. “I don’t believe you.”
“It doesn’t matter if you do or not. It’s the truth.”
Merging onto the main road, I navigate through the Saturday traffic and wonder if there’s a preseason Denver Dragons’ hockey game I missed. Everyone and their grandmother is out on the road. This is one of the many reasons why I hate traveling outside of Rocosa.
A blue sedan cuts in front of me, and I slam on the brakes. Instinct has my arm flying out in front of Reese as the tires squeal to a stop one foot from their vehicle.
“Are you crazy? Why didn’t you slow down?” She knocks my arm away.
“Why should I slow down when I have the right of way?”
“I don’t know, maybe to be nice? Or maybe that’s a new word for you.”
“You know, for someone who calledmefor a favor, you’re being a little unappreciative.”
“Are you kidding me right now? I wasn’t even calling you in the first place.”
“But you got me nonetheless, and what did I do? I turned around and came back for you.You’re welcome.”
I shoot her a side-eye expression, and she tosses her hands up in frustration.
The clock on my dashboard ticks by, and when tenminutes have passed, I chance a peek at her to see if she’s still alive. Because there’s no way she hasn’t gone this long without saying something snarky.
And she is alive... but something is off. She sulks against the window like she’s trying to lean as far away from me as possible. Her body trembles ever so slightly, and my stomach drops.
Heaven help me. She’s crying.
I immediately put on the turn signal and veer off down a random side street.
