He shrugged. “Let’s just say, if I were you and my date was chatting it up with someone else? I might look to bail out early. Bogs is a good guy but no one is worth making yourself a fool over.”
Great, so others had noticed? Her cheeks heated.
“Okay.” She stood up and followed Jonah to his truck. She glanced over her shoulder hoping to see the door open and Bogs standing on the porch. Instead she saw an empty porch. Jonah opened the door and she stumbled her way up to the tall cab. His truck was a work truck. It was dirty and dusty, with papers on the floor and covering her seat. She piled them together and handed them to him when he got in.
“Yeah, sorry for the mess. I practically live in this truck between work and jobs.”
She laughed and smiled back at him. He was very handsome. He had incredible arms, very muscular and tattooed. Jonah was the ultimate bad boy by all appearances. His face wasn’t beautiful like Bogs’, he lacked the innocence and all-American boy next door vibe that Bogs had, but Jonah was beautiful in his own hard way.
She gave one last look at the Garrison house before descending down the driveway. How long would it take for Bogs to realize she left? The pit in her stomach churned. Would he notice? It was so odd the way the night had unfolded. He was so excited and eager for her to meet his family. Had she done something?
She was feeling uneasy and alone. Alone. This was the first time she had been away from Bogs. This was her chance and right now she really needed to hear the sound of Taylor’s voice. There was a good chance, Trent had taken it from her but she could at least try to call. She glanced over at Jonah.
“Hey, you think I could use your phone really quick?”
He eyed her suspiciously. “You lose yours?”
No, Bogs took it and refused to give it back.She kept that piece of information to herself. “Um…yeah?” She knew from her tone, she wasn’t convincing.
Jonah nodded and sighed. “Look, Kenzie, I don’t know all the details of what’s going on but I know enough that if you don’t have your phone there’s probably a reason for it. Now if you need help and want to call nine-one-one then yeah, you can have my phone, but if it’s for anyone else, I’m gonna have to say no.”
She folded her arms and sagged in her seat. Completely defeated.
“How long you and Bogs been a thing?”
She snorted. “What makes you think we’re a thing?”
He shrugged, his face illuminating in the soft glow of the dashboard lights. “The look he was giving me earlier when I was talking to you on the deck makes me think you both have something going on.”
She jerked her head. “What look?”
He turned his head. “Possessive. I read it as ‘back the fuck away’.” He chuckled.
“Then why did you offer me a ride?”
“Sometimes, even the good guys need a reminder, if you don’t take care of what’s yours, you could lose it.”
His face transformed to a hard-scowled profile. Even the air in the truck changed to ice cold. The truck veered off down a dark road and the vibe she was getting sent chills up the back of her neck. She glanced over at Jonah. His eyes were trained on the road. The intensity of his face was pronounced by the clenched jaw.
“You have a girlfriend?”
Jonah blinked and chuckled giving her a side glance. She’d obviously caught him off guard with the question. But it worked, the mood shifted. “Ready to replace Bogs so soon?”
Kenzie grinned. She wished she was ready to drop him. “Not quite, but hopefully this teaches him a lesson.”
The phone rang. Jonah didn’t even make a move to answer, though he did glance down as if he was reading the name.
“I think it will.”
“Can I ask why you don’t have someone or is that too personal? I mean, you seem like a really nice guy.”
“Thanks.” Jonah shrugged keeping his hand steady on the wheel and gaze focused on the road. She imagined it took a lot to shake this guy or make him feel uncomfortable. She envied him.
“Got a lot of shit going on in my life, always have. I find women like to be the center of their man’s world.” He cocked an eyebrow with a smirk. “As they should. I just don’t have the time or attention to give.”
“Because of work?”
“Among other things.”
