Trucker (The Good Guys #1)(23)

She turned to Beverly. "Are you coming to the summer festival?"

"I suppose I have to. They block off all of Main Street. People come  from all over, and for some reason, you can get into town but it's  almost impossible to get out," she chuckled.

Angel stood and thanked Beverly for hanging out before turning to me.  Her hair was in that sexy side-braid again and I tucked some loose  strands behind her ear.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," she said back as a small smile played on her lips.

I brought my thumb up to the corner of her mouth. "You have a little chocolate right here."

"Oh." She blushed and tried to rub the spot, but I'd already wiped it off.

The air crackled with sexual tension, like it always seemed to when we were around each other.

Beverly made her way back into the house, muttering something about young love and what sounded like ‘a fine piece of ass'.

I had no idea what that was about but Angel snickered, so it must've been some kind of inside joke.

As we walked down the sidewalk, I grabbed her hand and laced our fingers.

"I'd love to go with your mom but I don't have a lot of money for new clothes," she said, our hands swinging between us.

"Don't be surprised if my mom insists on buying. But don't worry. Mom  never pays full price for anything. I think she plans to go to the  thrift store over in Daywood. They're having an eighty-eight cent sale."

"Eighty-eight cents?! Like, for a dress?" She stopped on the sidewalk, gaping.

Had she never been to a thrift store before?

"For anything. Everything in the whole store," I informed her.

Angel squealed, then started doing that hopping thing she did whenever  she got really excited, which made her tits bounce up and down.

I felt my cock start to thicken and I groaned under my breath.

Fuck.

I was wound up so tight from holding myself back with her all week.  Sleeping next to her. Kissing her. Touching her. But never going any  further. It was the best kind of agony I'd ever experienced.                       
       
           



       

However, rocking a boner while walking down Main Street wasn't on my to-do list today.

"Here." I turned and offered her my back. "Hop on."

Maybe if I couldn't see her, my suffering would be over. A piggy-back  ride was the only thing I could think of at the time, and I quickly  realized my mistake when her legs wrapped around me and I could feel her  breasts pressed against my back.

Motherfuckingshit.

I looked to the sky in frustration, then tried to make it back to my  apartment before anyone saw the bulge straining in my pants.





ANGEL

I slipped on the black bomber jacket I'd found and I was thrilled when  it fit me perfectly. As I ran my hands over the smooth exterior, I  realized it was real leather. I almost didn't want to take it off,  scared that someone else would try to snatch it from me.

Seriously, who would give this away?

"It's crazy what people throw away, isn't it? One man's trash is another  man's treasure," Karen said, reading my thoughts as we shopped.

I nodded enthusiastically. "This would cost hundreds of dollars new," I whispered at her as I kept a tight grip on the jacket.

As I continued my search for the perfect dress, I sorted through the  endless racks of clothes. Racks and racks of clothes everywhere. The  small thrift store was bustling with activity-probably because of the  sale-and everyone seemed to be talking about the upcoming festival.

Beverly wasn't exaggerating when she said it was a big deal. We were in a  town ten miles away and people were still talking about the tiny town  of Tolson as though it was hosting the event of the year.

A woman close to Karen's age approached us. "Karen, it's so good to see  you," she said. The woman attempted to give Karen a hug but it didn't  work very well because her arms were so full of clothes.

"You, too, Rita." Karen smiled and motioned towards me. "This is Angel, Travis's girlfriend."

My eyes went wide at the title she gave me, and the woman gasped. "I didn't realize he was dating anyone."

Karen nodded and put her arm around me. "He brought her over for lasagna night."

"It's nice to meet you," I said weakly.

"I think I just heard hearts breaking all over town." The woman giggled,  Karen laughed, and I stood there mutely, like a deer in the headlights.

A few more people came up to us to chat and exchange pleasantries. And  every single time, Karen introduced me as Travis's girlfriend.

And she sounded so proud.

I didn't correct her, and I had to admit it made a warm feeling spread  through my chest every time she said it. But after the third time, I  started to feel a little awkward about it because I wasn't sure how  Travis would feel about our new assumed relationship status.

Karen found a coral short sleeve, knee-length wrap dress, and went to  the changing room to try it on along with a pair of wedge sandals.

Much like her son, she was able to pull off the simple look so well.  Today she was wearing a plain gray T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was down  and she didn't have much makeup on. Everything about her was  understated, yet beautiful at the same time.

When she stepped out of the dressing room to show me her new outfit, my jaw fell open.

"That looks great. You have to get that dress," I gushed.

"You think?" she asked, twirling in front of the mirror.

"Definitely." I nodded.

Honestly, she was a knock-out. It was baffling that she hadn't dated in  so long, and I wondered how many hearts she'd unintentionally broken  over the years. It's not like it was too late for her. People dated in  their forties all the time.

I ended up finding the perfect off-the-shoulder sundress. It was white  with a cinched waist, flowy skirt ending at mid-thigh, and it had lace  detail around the shoulders and bottom hemline.

"Oh, you definitely have to get that," Karen said when she saw me  holding the dress up to my body. "And the jacket, too. Do you want to go  check out the shoes?"

I shook my head. "These are good enough."

"I'm buying," she insisted as we walked over to the counter to pay. "And  don't even think about feeling bad. Travis said you might give me a  hard time about it but, I'll tell you right now, I'm just as stubborn as  my son." She grinned.

"Okay, okay," I surrendered with a laugh.

Actually, I didn't feel that bad about the clothes because the cost was  less than two dollars and it seemed to make Karen really happy.

"Do you know how long it's been since I had a girls' shopping day?" she asked as we walked back out to her car.                       
       
           



       

"It's been forever for me, too. This was really fun," I said sincerely.

On the short ride back to Tolson, she told me some fun stories from Travis's childhood.

"He had so much energy. Some days I swore he was trying to drive me  crazy," she said fondly. "Oh, guess what he wanted to be when he grew  up!" She reached over and tapped my knee excitedly.

"Um, something to do with trucks?" I guessed, amused.

"Close! Real close. He wanted to be a garbage truck. Not a person who  drove it, but the actual truck." Her laughter was contagious. It was  like she'd been dying to tell this story, and I felt special because she  wanted to share it with me.

"And have you heard him singing in the shower yet?" she asked.

"Oh, it's the worst! The first time I heard it, I actually thought  someone was being attacked," I admitted, laughing so hard my stomach  muscles ached. "It happens all the time, so I'm pretty much used to it  now."

"He's done that since he was a little thing. I always knew when it was shower time."

The horrendous shower singing had continued to happen every day. And  every time, he came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. He  didn't even bother to dry himself off all the way, and seeing his toned  upper body slick and wet left me tongue-tied.

When Travis sang, it sounded like a pack of dying coyotes, but I couldn't make fun of him. Not when he looked like that.

I suspected he was doing it on purpose. It's not like he couldn't bring  clothes into the bathroom with him. If he was trying to distract me, it  was a very effective tactic.

All too quickly, the ride ended and we were pulling up in front of  Travis's apartment. I was a little sad our time to hang out was over.

"Thank you for the clothes. And I had a really good time," I said, not  making a move to get out of the car yet. I wanted her to know how much I  appreciated spending time with her. "Travis is so lucky to have you as a  mom."

The look she gave me was sympathetic, and I wondered if she could tell how much I missed having my own mother in my life.

"I'd love to get together any time." She reached over the middle console to give me a hug and I returned it.