“Okay, hold on,” he said, climbing out of the car and opening the back passenger door. My eyes followed his every move as I watched him grab some items out of his backpack. And then, before I could brace myself for impact, the mechanic pulled his shirt over his head, and instantly my stinky stranger transformed into a rippling Adonis. His upper body was long and broad, and the muscles I hadn’t given him proper credit for earlier were now glistening in sweaty, unbelievable perfection. His chest and stomach were riddled with bruises and scabbed over blemishes. They matched the faint black eye. Had he been in a bar fight or something? Surprisingly, that made him even hotter to my overly active imagination. Somehow I couldn’t imagine Dr. Schlong rearranging some guy’s face over a shot of tequila. I swallowed back my lustfulness and realized my mouth had suddenly gone bone dry. Dammit, if I hadn’t given him all my water, I’d still have some saliva left todrool.
The mechanic caught me staring, and his eyes shone in amusement, although I didn’t catch his merriment until my own eyes had completed their full rotation of his very pleasing male parts. I caught his gaze, but instead of giving in to embarrassment, I simply smiled my appreciation. He blinked his surprise at my boldness and then looked away himself.Score. Finally I was back to my old ways of making others uncomfortable. He used his old shirt to mop up the sweat before applying deodorant under each armpit and pulling a fresh t-shirt over his naked uppertorso.
“Better?” he asked, arms out to the sides as he slid back into thepassengerseat.
I fanned my face with my hand. “I think I might need a shower now, but yes, better. And thank youforthat.”
He burst into laughter at my unexpected comment, but to his credit, he didn’t fire back with some snarky reply. I liked that. I’d grown tired of men who knew they were smoldering and wanted the world to celebrate with them. This one was a humble rarity among hot guys: he let his sizzle speak foritself.
“I have something else you might like,” he replied, lifting his leg and revealing a nearly erased greasestain.
“How?” I asked in astonishment. He was just one surprise after another. If my lava hadn’t been boiling before, it was now sending bursts of liquid fire though every nerve ending in my body. Speechless, I could only mutter, “Where?When?”
“I swiped a salt shaker and spoon from the diner and worked it out on the ride over. Justforyou.”
It was those last three words that spoke to me and shook loose the first jagged pieces of steel from my hardened heart. This was no ordinary guy. It wasn’t just his dedication to my happiness that had me, it was the fact that he’d cared enough in the first place to remove a grease stain from his jeans for a woman he hadn’t expected to ever see again. There was something so endearing about that. My swoony eyes settled onto his beauty. Wow. Justfrickin’wow.
He hadn’t caught on to my middle school girl worship because his attention was elsewhere – namely, my vents. Leaning into them, he smiled as the cold breeze hit his reddened face. “So just exactly how do you plan on sneaking me into a sold outfestival?”
“I haveconnections.”
“Really?” He sat up straighter, his affecting eyes shining with interest. “Like what kind ofconnections?”
“Like the kind of connections where I know people who can possibly getyouin.”
His brows arched, intrigue highlighting his handsome face. “Who do you know?” he whispered,conspiratorially.
I put my hand up. “Do you want me to work my magicornot?”
He grinned. “Workit!”
I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face as I picked up my phone andtextedJake.
Can you get me a ticket for afriend?
What friend?The response arrived almostimmediately.
A friend, I replied, not wanting to go intospecifics.
Male orfemale?
Gender’s not important, Iwroteback.
Ooh…a guy? Nice job, Em. I can’t promise I can get your ‘friend’ the same wristband you & the rest of the family have but I’m pretty sure I can get him a VIP or artist pass. IsthatOK?
Anything you can get would begreat.
I’ll text Sean and get backtoyou.
Thank you. Is it rude to ask you to hurry? We’re outside thefairgroundsnow.
You couldn’t have given me earlierwarning?
Sorry.Hurry.
I could feel my passenger still watching me. After a few seconds, he seemed to give up trying to figure me out, and instead, settled back into his seat. “Hey, do you mind if I turn up your airconditioner?”
“Be myguest.”
