What You Need(34)

And the man was so damn strong, he’d picked me up off my feet and held me in place with no effort whatsoever.

I squirmed, intending to smear the paint all over him, and he laughed. I looked up at him, my glare ready to fry his retinas, but the happiness I saw shining in his eyes stole my breath away.

“I’ll never doubt your ability to refuse a dare ever again, wild thing.”

“Put me down.”

“I will.” He smirked. “As soon as the paint is dry. But while we’re waiting, tell me what time I’m picking you up for our date tonight?”

“When did I agree to a date?”

“Last night at the bar. I saved your pretty neck, remember? I said I’d be in touch, but since we’re both here and it’s a Saturday night, I don’t see any reason to wait.”

“What if I have plans tonight?”

A fierce light entered his eyes. “Break them.”

And I was done arguing just for the sake of arguing. I wanted to see if he was a lousy date, and there was only one way to find out. “Okay. One date.”

“A first date,” he corrected.

“If you two are done playing grab-ass, I could use some help,” Kiley said behind me.

Brady set me down.

I smirked at the paint smeared on his upper torso. It’d be a bitch to get out of his chest hair. And if he asked me nicely, I might just help him remove it.

For the next two hours we worked on covering the graffiti. Again, Brady’s demeanor was different than I expected. At work he’d always acted more blatantly self-assured than quietly confident. Here he was more laid-back than I’d ever seen him.

During our lunch break, Juice said, “Hey, Brady. Whatcha do for a job, man?”

“I’m an accountant.”

I nearly choked on my water.

“No shit? I suck at math.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” Brady said.

“Then why am I getting a D-minus in algebra?” Juice demanded.

“Are you doing the homework problems?”

“Nah, I don’t get how to do ’em. And they’re pointless anyway, ’cause ain’t no one uses algebra in the real world.” He tore into his bologna sandwich. “Why’d you say I don’t suck at math? You some do-gooder who thinks I just oughta apply myself?”

Brady took a drink of water. “Math is like basketball—if you don’t practice it, you won’t get any better. That means doing the math homework every night. It’s a cop-out when people say they suck at math. Numbers make sense. There’s an order and a structure to them. If you add seven to four, you get eleven, every damn time. With English, answers are subjective. So yeah, I think most people make math harder than it has to be.”

“Maybe you should prove that it’s so damn easy by tutoring me,” Juice challenged.

“Then prove to me you want to beat your math phobia.”

“How?”

“Do your homework every night next week. Bring your completed assignments and your textbook the next time and I’ll take a look at it all.”

“What do you want for helpin’ me?”

Brady looked at me, then at Juice. “Advice. See, I’ve got this hot blond girlfriend I want to take out and show off tonight. I’ve been out of the club scene for a few years, so where should I take her to impress her?”

“Flurry,” Juice and Tonto said simultaneously. “That is a wicked fun club. Five dance levels. The sound system cost millions. Lots of neon and chicks dancing in cages. But it’s freakin’ hard to get in. There’s always a line. They pick the hot babes first, then hot dudes. Some rich guy owns the club. I heard the VIP section is sick.”

“How do you know all of that?” Kiley asked Juice.

“My cousin got in one night.”

Everyone started asking Juice questions, as if he were a celebrity who’d actually gotten into the club, and he ate it up. I looked over at Brady. He seemed lost in thought.

“Looks like you’d better track down some slutty club wear for tonight,” Kiley whispered.

I went to bars—and not even all that much anymore to be honest—not clubs. But I wouldn’t waste brain cells worrying about what to wear. My more immediate concern was how I’d keep my hands, mouth and other body parts off my date.

When Brady’s heated gaze met mine, my heart raced. We were combustible.

“All right. Let’s get this stuff picked up and you can go on your merry ways,” Kiley said to her charges. “I appreciate all of you coming today. We’ll do it here again next week—weather permitting.” She pointed at me and Brady. “Let’s give a shout-out to Lennox and Brady for helping out today.”