She pressed her lips together, obviously enjoying the innuendos. “It’s a possibility. You know how things go—you take care of one thing and then suddenly something else, you know, pops up.”
“Pops up? Interesting choice of words…”
She laughed again, tossing her head back. Drops of sweat rolled down her neck and it took everything I had to not leap across the car, throw her over my shoulder, and into the back of my truck. I could imagine that little body wrapped around mine, that giggle piercing the air as I had my way with her.
“If I can get this car running, and that’s a big ‘if’, what do you think is a fair price for my time and effort?”
I figured I’d give her a chance to either play along or opt out. As much as I’d like to get to know this little beauty, I wasn’t going to press myself. It wasn’t my style.
“I’m not sure,” she smiled. “What are you thinking?”
“Well, I don’t really have anything else to do today. But it could takehours.”
“Really?” She looked alarmed. “I don’t want you—”
“It might take minutes,” I cut her off, shrugging.
Shetossed me a flirty smile, one hand on her narrow hip. “Are you sure you’re up for the challenge?”
“Ah, sweetheart. You have no idea.”
Biting her bottom lip, her eyes sparkling, she ran a hand down the side of her neck. She knew exactly what she was doing to me. “Fair enough. What’s it going to cost me?”
“It’s going to cost you two things.” I tapped my fingers against the hood of the car and waited for her response.
“Two things?” She sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes for effect. “Well, my options seem pretty limited, so let’s hear it.”
“The first thing is your name. Only seems fair that I know whose car I’m fixin’.”
The gorgeous girl in front of me cocked her head to the side. She was smarter than I gave her credit for. I knew she was attracted to me and I knew she’d give me her name, but she was smart enough to consider it first.
“Kari Stanley,” she said finally.
“Alright, Kari Stanley. The second thing you need to do before I fix your car is say yes.”
“Say yes?”
“Say yes to having dinner with me tonight. I think that’s totally fair. If I get this fixed, the least you can do is share a meal with me.”
She pretended to consider my proposal, her tongue darting out to lick her bottom lip.
“How do I know you’re not a serial killer?” she asked playfully.
I grinned mischievously. “I never said I didn’t bite.”
Her jaw dropped. She started to speak but nothing came out but another laugh.
“But I promise you’d like it if I did.” I narrowed my eyes, fighting the grin on my face, too.
She looked shocked for a split second and then regained her composure, trying to play it cool. “Okay. If you can get this started, I’ll go to dinner with you. But I have to say—I’m a little disappointedin your creativity. For some reason, I expected you to want more than a meal.”
I tossed her the keys and a wink. “Don’t be. You don’t know what all dinner entails.”
She caught her key ring with a grin. “Fair enough.”
“It’ll be better than fair, I promise. Now quit wastin’ time and use those,” I said, nodding to the keys in the palm of her hand.
“What do you want me to do with them?”
