“Liar.” Riss laughed. “Level with me. What’s going on between you and Tobin? Because he babbled incessantly about you when he was hammered last week.”
“He also asked you out on a date,” Jade reminded her.
“Not seriously. It’s sort of a joke between us.”
“You have no interest in him? At all?”
“Only as a friend. Don’t get me wrong, Tobin is a great guy.”
“But?” Jade prompted.
“But he’s almost . . . too good, if you know what I mean. He’s like a freakin’ Boy Scout. Polite, thoughtful, kind. He always does the right thing, even if it’s not the best thing for him. That’s not the kind of guy who’s a good fit for a woman like me. I’d sour him sooner rather than later and he deserves better.”
“Tobin and I have been messing around,” Jade blurted out. “And trust me; that man is no Boy Scout when he’s got that mouth in motion.”
Riss blinked at her. “How long has this been going on?”
“It’s been this back-and-forth thing since the day we met. We haven’t . . .” Jade blushed.
“What’s the holdup? I know Tobin’s in total lust with you since he freakin’ told me that himself.”
“The holdup is that we’re living with my grandma.”
“So? Give me a legit reason why after granny goes to bed that you shouldn’t be climbing that man like a tree and letting him bang you like a coconut.”
She snickered. “Interesting imagery, Wyoming.”
“You’re stalling. Come clean, New York, on why you’re not getting down and dirty with him every chance you can.”
“Fine. Tobin isn’t a fling kind of guy.”
“And you’re worried he’ll want more than a fling?”
“I could end up hurting him if I say ‘screw it’ and start screwing him. I don’t want that. And I live in New York.”
“Tobin knows where you live, dumb-ass,” Riss said crossly. “And I . . .” She paused and smacked the table. “Omigod. I’m the dumb-ass. You’re not the fling type either, are you? If you start this with him, chances are good you’ll fall for him too and it’ll—”
“Be too late? I think it already is . . .”
Loud pounding on the car window startled her out of the memory.
Riss grinned and opened the door. “Grab your stuff and let’s do this thang.”
As they crossed the parking lot, Jade said, “We’re really getting ready at a truck stop?”
“Not a lot of female truckers. So the women’s bathroom is super-duper nice since it’s hardly ever used.”
An hour later they walked into the Prickly Cactus looking as hot as a prairie fire—Riss’s words, not hers. The joint was a total dive, filled with kitschy western memorabilia—what little Jade could see of it since the only light in the place came from the neon bar signs. They found a table in the middle of the bar area and set it up as their base since it wasn’t quitting time for the blue-collar patrons.
“Another hour and this place will be full.” Riss smirked around the straw in her margarita. “The cream of the crop will come to us.”
“So you’re here . . . ?”
“To get laid? Yeah. Pretty much. Been a while. How about you?” She leaned in. “Please, please, please tell me that you and Tobin have done the nasty like five times a day since the last time we talked.”
“No. We’re still trying to get the timing right. The night it was supposed to happen it didn’t. I haven’t heard from him at all today . . . so he’s probably mad or something. I don’t know.”
“Did you tell him what you wanted?” Riss asked.
Jade sighed. “I’m used to hanging back and waiting for someone to approach me.”
“I think you’ll be surprised at how many times you get hit on tonight. Babe, you’ve got to know that you’re—”
“If you say exotic looking, I will karate chop you.”
Riss choked on her drink. “Fuck, woman. You are funny. I’d totally do you if I was a lesbian.”
She laughed.
Guys started coming in one after another. First they’d order a drink, then they’d look around.
“Okay, show time,” Riss said.
Chapter Seventeen
Tobin mumbled to Garnet on his way past her.
A long-ass day in the truck driving back from Nebraska meant a shower was an immediate necessity. He took his time cleaning himself up, so when he emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later, Garnet had resorted to pacing in the hallway.
She stopped and pointed at him. “It’s about time.”