Aaron climbs into the driver’s seat, but I reach out and stop Leigh before she can follow.
“Will you?” I direct the question to her, and she’d be deaf not to hear the hopefulness in my voice.
“I doubt it.” Again, she sounds bored by it all. Maybe I just imagined the interest I thought I saw in her eyes.
“I’d like you to come.” I look down and run my thumb along the inside of her wrist; her eyes jerk down to follow the slight movement.
“Why?”
“I need another good luck kiss.”
She snorts but a small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. “You don’t need me. There will be plenty of girls willing to do that.” She starts to pull her arm away, but my grip tightens.
“I’ll be around to see about my GTO. After work tomorrow.” Tilting her head to the side, she considers this and nods.
“Cool, I’ll be there, late.” I let go of her arm and she turns to leave.
“See ya, Storm.”
She whips around, and I can feel the glare even though her sunglasses are covering her face again. “Don’t call me that,” she fires back before climbing into the truck, but the venom in her voice does not faze me. I watch as Aaron maneuvers the truck asking what’s up because I see her shake her head and point in front of her, telling him to drive.
***
At six pm, Causey finally calls it a day and I head straight to Hank’s, itching to know what the verdict is with my GTO. It probably would have been a better idea to go home and shower, but I’m scared I’ll miss her and she’ll be gone for the day. I pull up in the old Chevy truck Causey’s loaned me.
The music is blaring, and she’s bent over the Charger. Now, I’m intrigued by what she’s doing and stand watching her.
“Whatcha doin’?” I call out from where I lean against the door, and she jumps, dropping a spanner so it lands on the concrete floor and bounces a couple of times.
“Jeez.” She spins around and glares at me. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.” She bends to retrieve her spanner and glares at me before she turns her attention back to the engine in front of her.
“How’s my girl?” Leigh regards me for a long second, and I’m not sure who I mean, her or my GTO.
“Your car.” She nods to my GTO abandoned in the corner. “I’ve given her a quick look. It’s the starter. Aaron will get started tomorrow-”
“No it has to be you,” I rush out. No one is touching my car except her.
“What? Why?” Confused, her nose scrunches up, and I notice a smattering of freckles.
“I don’t trust anyone else.” I make up the first lame excuse that comes to mind.
She snorts, popping the gum in her mouth, and the smell of bubble gum wafts over. Suddenly, I want to kiss her to see how sweet she tastes, to suck on her lower lip and feel her tongue wrap around …
“Aaron’s a good mechanic.” She interrupts my fantasy, and I’d forgotten we were still talking about it.
“I know, but I want you to do the work. I have a list of modifications I want too.” I pull a crumpled piece of paper from my pocket, unwilling to back down. She frowns, her pretty little nose scrunching up again. Damn, she looks cute. What the fuck? Cute? Since when did cute do it for me.
She stares at me as she turns it over in her brain. Eventually, she relents. “Fine, I’ll do the work. Leave the list, I’ll start tomorrow.”
I take that as my cue to leave. “Catch you later.”
“See ya,” she drawls and bends over the engine, treating me to an unobscured view of her gorgeous ass in her worn jeans.
***
It is torture, but somehow, I manage to stay away from the garage. I lie; it’s only because Causey and I work late every night this week that I manage to stay away. Well, not so much stay away as it’s shut by the time I do swing past. Each time, my heart sinks and I turn to head home, my tail between my legs. But on Friday, we finish early and I head home for a quick shower because I stink. Meghan is shutting the front door as I rush past her.
“Where are you off to?” she asks, kicking off her shoes.
“To see about my car,” I explain hastily and give her a quick hug before I run out the door and down the steps to the beat-up Chevy truck.
I pull into the lot outside the garage, and I’m in luck. Not only are they still open, but it looks like Leigh is the only one here. I can see her bent over the engine from where I’m parked in the truck. The sight of her ass in the air has my dick stirring to life; never have I had such an immediate reaction. Fuck knows what it is about her. Besides the obvious good looks, maybe I react to the fact that she doesn’t like me. I’m a sucker for a challenge and Leigh is certainly proving to be the biggest challenge.