“Yeah, but unlike you, I’m a mechanic.”
That got me a few second looks. Most of these kids had never had a job outside of a mall before college. They backed away, giving me access to the car.
I leaned over, checking connections. “Battery terminals are corroded. You’re not getting a good connection.”
“Could have told her that,” a guy grumbled behind me.
I pulled off my shirt and wadded it to protect my hands from acidic leakage, then scrubbed at the connections.
A catcall went up behind me.
“Jesus, this dude. Anything to impress a girl, huh?”
I ignored them and continued scrubbing the terminals. I just had to get them clean enough for a connection for now. She’d have to get them properly cleaned later.
I leaned back. “Try now.”
She tried. The car still wouldn’t start. There were laughs and jeers. I pulled off my shoe and tapped the battery terminals, rotating them around the battery post so they could make better contact.
“One more time,” I said.
She turned the key, and the Jeep started up.
“Oh my gosh, it worked!” she called out the window. “Thank you so much.”
I slipped on my shoe and walked around the car, ignoring the frat guys grumbling about beginner’s luck or some stupid shit. “It’ll get you home tonight, but you’ll have to take it to the shop.”
“Thanks. My mom would have freaked if she knew I was out here.”
I hesitated by the door. “Better go now, then. No promises it’ll start again later.”
She nodded. “Yeah, thanks again.”
I backed away from the Jeep as she drove off. There was a small crowd watching me. I was still shirtless, so I tugged the dirty fabric over my head and started back toward the party.
The guy who’d given me a beer was watching me with a smile. “If you wanted my attention, you could have just said so.”
I laughed. “Yeah, that wasn’t why I did it. I was just fixing the car.”
He ran a finger over the grease smear across my lower stomach. “Well, you looked good doing it.”
It had been a while since I’d hooked up with anyone. I tended to get fixated on a crush, and no one else would do. I’d always been that way. But I was in a new town. This was a fresh slate.
Maybe I should just let this guy pull me into a dark corner and have some fun.
But even as the thought crossed my mind, a different image overtook it. One of a towering man, broad and strong, with hard features but the softest eyes.
Flynn Donovan was nowhere near here. He wouldn’t be mine, even if he were. There was no reason for me to abstain for his sake.
He saw me like a little brother. No matter how much I flirted. No matter how I’d tried to show him I could be more.
A whole summer working in close quarters, and I hadn’t gotten so much as a kiss.
Maybe my brothers had turned me into a foolish romantic like them. Because when the frat boy smiled suggestively and tugged at my shirt, I pushed his hand away.
“Maybe some other time,” I said.
His smile sagged. “Oh.”
