Double Dare(277)

But the thing was that I’d lost mine too. Because I was the one who hadn’t put a robe on, who didn’t grab a jacket before coming downstairs, who’d willingly got into the car on the flimsiest of excuses. And now that we were alone again, I found myself mesmerized by him, that big frame, the muscled arms, the strong thighs and long legs.

“Chris,” I breathed slowly, “what is this about?”

I turned to face him over the center console even as his hands gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead. And slowly, he turned to look at me.

“Lindy,” he growled in reply. “I wanted to see you again.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him, my insides flushing.

“Really?” I murmured. “There are easier ways you know, you could have called instead of coming to my parents’ house at 6 a.m. on a Sunday.”

And he shook his head as if to clear it again before fixing me with a hot blue gaze.

“Oh I know what I’m doing,” he drawled. “I just wanted to make sure it got done right.”

Done right? What was he talking about? I shot him a curious glance and he chuckled deep in his throat in reply.

“You know, I hear college is really expensive these days,” he drawled, nonchalant. “You making your parents’ proud? Doing well at school?”

And I colored then because the truth was, college wasn’t going well. I’ve always studied hard, always been a good student, but unfortunately, I wasn’t that good, not in high school and not now. I dunno, maybe I have dyslexia or something but I’m more of a B+/A- student so I wasn’t able to get a very big scholarship, more just pocket money. As a result, my parents were forking over a sizeable chunk this year, and things weren’t looking up for the next three either based on my freshman grades.

But Chris didn’t know any of that, so I bit my lip.

“I’m doing okay,” I said quietly. “Yeah, my grades are okay, why?”

The big man looked at me speculatively.

“I hear Hudson University’s expensive, that’s all,” he drawled. “Tuition’s something like thirty thou a year right?”

I colored. It was forty plus living expenses on top of that, and I bit my lip again. Jim and Brenda were paying most of my bills and I knew it was a strain, my parents had taken out a second mortgage because of me.

So I gulped, looking at the big man again.

“Why?” I asked quietly. “Is there a scholarship or something I could apply for? Is United Electric sponsoring a grant for students this year?”

It was possible, sometimes local businesses chose a student to support in return for an internship, maybe as a marketing gig more than anything else. And I’d be a perfect fit, the kid of an employee, I’d grown up in this community with strong ties to the school, to other families, it’d be fabulous advertising for United Electric.

But Mr. Jones just rumbled in his chest, smiling slightly.

“Yeah, a little like a scholarship,” he said. “Kind of, but not exactly. Because you know Lindy, I fired your dad last week, gave him a month’s notice but after that he’s gone.”

I sat stock still, stunned for a moment. What the hell? My dad had been perfectly fine this last week, maybe drinking a little more at night, but he’d made no mention of being let go. And why did Mr. Jones come to my parents’ twentieth anniversary party yesterday if he’d just fired my dad? That was like rubbing salt into the wound, making my dad feel even worse on his special day.

As if reading my mind, the big man answered.

“Your dad asked me to come,” he said casually. “I wasn’t going to, but he didn’t want to ruin your mom’s day.”

And I gasped again.

“So this entire week, my dad’s been fired and he’s just been putting on a show?” I asked, my cheeks coloring.

And the big man shrugged.

“Yeah, pretty much. Jim’s got one month before he’s gone for good.”

And at that, I began struggling to get out, futilely yanking the latch, trying to unlock the door.

“Let me out,” I struggled, hissing. “You’re an animal, treating my dad that way, I hate you!”

But my struggles were futile, the big man had locked the doors and I was stuck inside, the dark tinted windows shielding us, the big silver SUV rock steady even as I thrashed inside.

“I can’t believe it!” I shrieked again. “You fired my dad!? Jim needs his job, my mom doesn’t work, I’m in school, how could you do that to him?” I cried, my eyes welling up with tears. “How could you?”

And I was about to throw myself bodily against the door, go crazy and escape somehow, some way, from this confinement. But Chris grabbed my shoulders and turned me to look at him, gazing deep into my eyes, his blue ones piercing, arresting.