He rounds the car and opens my door, holding it open for me, his hair ruffling in the wind. I don't see it down much, and it isn't really long, just enough to be able to tie back, and it's a good luck on him.
Not that I like him or find him attractive in any way. Nope.
“Do you need help?” he asks.
“Nope.” I rush out as I scramble out of the car, accidentally bumping into him, but he doesn't move. He just closes the door as I move out of the way.
“Come on, princess.”
He sets off walking towards the garage, and I reluctantly follow him with a grumble. “Will you not call me that. I have a name.”
He side-eyes me as he lifts the shutters. “Does it annoy you?”
“Yes, it annoys me. Stop calling me that, or I’ll find you an equally annoying nickname too.”
He smirks. “Go for it… princess. Can't wait to see what you come up with.” My fists clench, and I internally scream.
“You are so fucking annoying.” I storm up to him, but he doesn't look back as he checks out a very rusty car.
“I know,” he replies without a care. “Take your hoodie off; I've got a spare one in the office.”
Is he actually listening to me? Clearly not, given the way he lifts the bonnet to check inside while I glare daggers at the side of his stupid, pretty head.
“I’m not wearing your hoodie.” I refuse.
“Why not?”
“Because I like mine.”
He straightens up and turns my way. “Do you want to get it dirty?”
“Well… no, it's a nice hoodie.” I got it made for when I went to an Alex Warren concert.
“I’m not trying to get you to change into my hoodie for a chance to see you partially naked,” he smirks softly. “I don't want you ruining that when we work on this.”
My mouth opens slightly at his words. He did not just mention me being naked, did he? No, I’m imagining things.
I feel his fingers slide under my chin, pushing up till my lips are together.
“You'll catch flies like that. Now go on, my office is clean, and if you need help, just ask.” he turns back round, head ducking into the bonnet near the engine, and I’m absolutely speechless.
There are no words. My brain is blank, and my cheeks are warm.
But I head to his office anyway and do not ask for any help.
“You know what you're doing, right?”
I roll my eyes at his question as I help him fix the brakes on the rusty car and push a piece of hair back behind my ear. “I could do this in my sleep.”
We have been working on this car for a few hours now, and I don't want to admit it, but I've enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong, he's annoying sometimes, likes to push buttons, but he's distracted me. I needed it. At first, I thought doing something I used to help my dad with would make me sad, but it's done the complete opposite.
Also, it isn't too bad when the man I’m working with looks the way he does. After a while of awkward silences, we ended up chatting, and it turned out there are a lot of layers that make up Elijah Lawson. He spoke about his family; he's the oldest out of five boys, and they moved over here when he was thirteen, hence why he still has a slight accent compared to the rest of his siblings. From the way he talks about them, I can tell how much his family means to him.
“Alright,” he steps back from the car, wiping his hand on his t-shirt before smiling at me. “I think we deserve a break, don't you?”
I watch him head over to his office before coming back out with a big bag that is full of something. “Now, don't tell anyone I shared my secret stash with you.” He hands me the bag, and inside is an insane amount of chocolate.
“I’m not the only one with a sweet tooth,” he says. “Coffee?” I know it was a question, but he sticks the kettle on anyway and pulls out two mugs.
