She shrugged and a lock of her long blonde hair fell over her shoulder. “I guess I can say ex now. I just caught him banging some red head over the side of his truck. So, that’s over.”
I opened my truck door and stared down at her. “He cheated on you? What the fuck is wrong with him?”
That got a grin out of her. “That’s not even the best part. I just moved here with him. From DC. I moved across the country to be with an idiot who cheated on me within days of arriving. I quit my job. I sold my car. I sold my favorite bed set!”
Seeing her cheeks turn red and her muscles tense up in anger turned me on like nothing I’d ever felt before. I wanted more of it. “Sounds like a fucking asshole to me. What else?”
She tilted her head and bit her lip. “What else?”
I grinned. “I’ve had exes before. The lists of things they were pissed about were always longer than that. What else did he do?”
“Oh. Um… He had me help him buy a new truck. It’s a stupid truck. It’s like a shiny new toy. He wouldn’t even let me take the plastic off the seats. And he didn’t apologize tonight! I caught him screwing someone else and he still didn’t apologize! What’s even worse is that he’s sure that I’m coming back to the room tonight. He’s in for a rude awakening. I’d rather be homeless than go back to him.”
I watched as she looked up at my truck and tried to figure out to get into it. “Need some help?”
CHAPTER 5:Elizabeth
I looked at Alex and then back up at the truck. I knew the limitations of my short stature. I could climb into the truck, but there was no way I could do it without flashing him. “Um, yeah, actually.”
He wrapped his hands around my waist and moved like he was going to pick me up but I made a squeaking noise and shook my head. I wasn’t big, but I had curves and they weren’t light. I didn’t want to be mortified if he couldn’t pick me up.
“What’s wrong?”
I stared up at him and felt my cheeks go red. “You can’t pick me up like that.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not exactly a feather.”
He laughed and picked me up. With ease, he sat me down in his truck seat and left his hands on my waist. “These muscles aren’t just for filling up my shirt, ma’am.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing with him, but there was something about him that made it hard to say no. The tornadoes in my stomach were back with a vengeance and every time he made eye contact with me, they seemed to get a little wilder.
“Thank you.”
His eyes were honey brown up close. They seemed to glow as he looked at me. “You’re welcome.”
The silence between us grew. His hands were still on me and the air between us seemed to be alive. My skin was raised with goosebumps and even the light cotton covering my chest felt heavy suddenly.
Thunder rolled in the distance and Alex’s fingers tightened on me. “It’s going to be a big storm.”
I looked past him and watched the night sky light up with a lightning bolt. Anxiety played at the edge of my mind until I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I pulled away from Alex and crossed my arms under my chest. “This wasn’t how things were supposed to work out.”
“Fasten your seatbelt.” It was all he said before closing the door and walking around the front of the truck to get it. He slammed his own door shut and then started the truck. “Ready?”
I shrugged. “Where are we going?”
“My trailer. This storm isn’t going to be nice and there’s no way I’m leaving you out here in it.”
Heat blossomed south of my stomach and I shifted in my seat. “You don’t have to do that, Alex. I can’t go to your home.”
“You can and you will. You can even take the bed. You’ve had a long night.”
“You’re being so nice. Thank you. I mean it. I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if it weren’t for you.”
He pulled out of the lot as the first fat rain drops started to fall. “I get to spend some time in the company of a beautiful woman. Things could be a whole lot worse.”
“And you promise you’re not a sex-crazed pervert?”
He laughed. “I’m not a sex-crazed pervert. Promise.”
I tried to relax into the seat, but it was hard with him sitting so close. “Thank you for giving me a place to stay. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I just knew I wasn’t going back to that motel while he was there, waiting.”
“What are you going to do?”
I looked out at the storm that was just starting to pick up. “I don’t know.”