Redlight

by Winter Travers

  She blinked twice. “I think I’ll do that. At least, for now.”

  “That mean eventually you’re going to want to visit strapping me to the bed?” I knew there was a physical attraction between us since we had wound up in bed before. I was hopeful it would happen again, but I knew it was way too soon to see if she was ready to revisit things.

  She closed her eyes and shook her head. “It means I’m going to go watch TV and not think about you and...well...you at all.”

  I stood up and pushed my stool under the counter. “Gonna be kinda hard to do that when I’m sitting right next to you.”

  Her eyes snapped open. “I’m sitting in the recliner. You can have the whole couch to yourself.”

  I held up my hands. “Whatever you want, Del.” I had definitely pushed her far enough.

  “Follow me,” she mumbled.

  It wasn’t like I needed her to lead me into the living room. The house was open so I saw the living room right when I walked in.

  “You, there.” She pointed at the couch and snatched the remote off of the coffee table in front of it. She scurried over to the recliner.

  “Del, you’re crazy, girl.”

  She grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the recliner and laid it over her as she sat down. “Smart, Jay. I’m smart. I’ve already fallen for your charming ways.” She pointed to her stomach. “Need I remind you of the baby I’m cooking in my stomach right now?”

  I grabbed one of the flowery throw pillows and stuffed it under my head as I laid down. “No need to remind me about it. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since you told me.” The baby and she were all I thought about.

  She huffed and pointed the remote at the TV. “There’s a blanket over the back of the couch if you want one.”

  “I’m good right now.”

  She flipped through the channels, stopping every now and then to watch a show for a few minutes.

  “Del, pick a damn channel already,” I grumbled. She had been flipping the channels for the past half an hour.

  “I can’t find anything good to watch. What do you normally watch?”

  “I don’t watch TV often, but when I do the TV is normally on the Speed or Discovery channel.” Except last week when I was watching that girl shit mindlessly while I freaked out about Delaney being pregnant.

  “That is not going to happen,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Whatever you want,” I laughed.

  Delaney finally settled on the new Herbie movie. “Compromise?” she asked. “It’s got a car and stuff in it, but I still like it.”

  I didn’t want to tell her I wasn’t interested in a magically Volkswagen Beetle. “That’ll do.”

  She sat back in the chair and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

  I wasn’t going to watch the movie.

  The thing that had my attention was the pretty woman sitting in the recliner who was cooking my baby, as she put it.

  Best thing I had watched in a long fucking time.

  *

  Chapter Eight

  Delaney

  That was probably the most boring night Jay had ever had in his life.

  Ten minutes after I had settled on watching the Herbie movie, I had promptly fallen asleep.

  It was now five AM, and I was standing over a sleeping Jay.

  “Crap.” Should I wake him up and tell him to go home?

  I knew sleeping on the couch wasn’t comfortable. It was old, worn out, and if you sat on it just right, a spring poked you in the butt. Or in Jay’s case, it was probably poking him in the back right now.

  “Are you okay?” he grumbled.

  I jumped back and bumped into the coffee table.

  His arm shot out, and he wrapped it around my legs to steady me. “Easy, Del.” His voice was rough and low and sent a shiver down my spine.

  “I’m fine,” I said breathlessly,

  “Then why are you awake?”

  “I had to pee.” There was me being straight to the point.

  “You go?”

  “Uh, yeah?” I had spotted him when I had woken up, but my bladder told me I better get my ass into the bathroom before I started freaking out over Jay being on my couch.

  “Good. Why don’t you get in your bed and get a couple more hours of sleep?”

  “Um, what about you?”

  He rolled onto his side and crammed the pillow back under his head. “I’m good here.”

  “How?”

  He cracked open one eye. “Have you ever been in a race trailer?”

  I shook my head.

  “This couch is good, Del. Once you see where I sleep on race weekends, you’ll get it.” He shut his eyes and reached blindly behind him for the blanket.

  I pushed his hand out of the way and laid the blanket over him. “There’s a spare bedroom if this gets too uncomfortable. It’s the first door at the top of the stairs.”

  “I’m good here. Now get in bed. You need to sleep, Del.” He reached out again and brushed his hand down my legs. “Take care of our baby,” he whispered sleepily.

  “Okay,” I whispered back.

  Part of me wanted to crawl onto the couch with him and the other wanted to run out of the house.

  What in the heck were feelings like these? Things were normally so cut and dry in my head. When Jay was around, I didn’t know what I wanted though my body tried to tell me exactly what it wanted.

  Jay.

  I slipped out of his hold and lightly jogged up the steps. I climbed into bed without even turning on the light and stared up at the dark ceiling.

  “What the heck is going on, baby?” I whispered. I laid my hand on my stomach and sighed.

  It had to be that I was still tired. That was the only thing that could explain me wanting to climb into Jay’s arms.

  I knew exactly what kind of guy he was.

  I had to hand it to him for trying to get to know me, but I knew his interest in me would fade once I had the baby. As long as he stuck around to be a dad to our baby, he could forget about me.

  All that mattered was he loved the baby.

  In the end, that would make me happy.

  *

  Chapter Nine

  Jay

  “Wanna go see a movie?”

  Delaney looked up from her coffee.

  For the record, Delaney was not a morning person. Not. At. All.

  “What?” she grunted.

  I, on the other hand, was totally a morning person. I may not wake up super early, but when I was awake, I was ready to go.

  Delaney and I had both slept ‘til past ten, and now we were sitting at the kitchen island. I was trying to figure out what we could do today while Delaney was just trying to wake up.

  “We could go see a movie today,” I suggested.

  She shook her head. “There isn’t anything good out.”

  “How do you know that?” I couldn’t remember the last time I had been to the movies in an actual movie theatre with popcorn and everything.

  “Uh, because I watch the previews on TV.”

  “Then what do you want to do today, Del?”

  Her eyes dropped back to her coffee cup. “Right now, I’m wishing this tea would turn into coffee. That’s as far as I’ve planned for today.”

  “Why don’t you drink decaf?” Decaf seemed to be a better thing to drink than watered down tea. I set my empty cup in the sink and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Because that is an even bigger tease. Like false advertising. It has the amazing taste of coffee but none of the caffeine to make me go. This way, I know I’ll have zero energy drinking this.” She took another sip and looked like she was ready to cry.

  “Del, I think you gotta start drinking decaf. You, at least, will get a little happiness from it instead of looking like you’re crying while you drink that piss.”

  She looked down in the cup. “It does look like piss, doesn’t it?”

  It sure as shit did. “Get dressed. We�
�ll find a place for lunch and then we’ll go to the store.”

  “Those are our plans for the day?” she laughed. “I’m surprised you haven’t fallen asleep hanging out with me.”

  So we weren’t doing the most exciting things, but sometimes, I needed to slow it down and just relax. Being on the road with the race team was plenty excitement for me. Slowing it down on my off days with Delaney seemed perfect. “Get dressed. Don’t worry about me.”

  She rolled her eyes and moved around the island to drop her cup into the sink. “Better bring a pillow along just in case,” she sassed.

  “Just get dressed, woman.”

  She looked me up and down. “You want me to wear the same thing I did yesterday so we can match?”

  “You’re mighty sassy in the morning,” I drawled. “We’re stopping at my place on the way to our exciting day.”

  “Fine, fine,” she mumbled. She shuffled up the stairs, and I leaned against the kitchen counter.

  I had no idea what Delaney and I were going to do after we got her decaf coffee, but I needed to figure something out quickly. I wanted to impress her, but all I really wanted to do was come back here to watch TV and hope she let me sit on the couch with her. Hell, I’d even sit on the recliner and have her perched on my lap.

  Anything to get her closer to me.

  I was seeing why I was drawn to her before. Too bad I was too drunk to remember any of it.

  It wasn’t often I blacked out to the point where I didn’t remember anything, but wouldn’t you know it, the time I do is when I was with Delaney.

  Delaney jogged down the stairs wearing basically the same thing she had worn yesterday except her shirt was the color of the red light on the light pole of a drag race. Normally a color you didn’t want to see, but it looked amazing on her.

  She shoved her feet into a pair of tennis shoes and “All ready, Playboy.”

  Not at all, but that didn’t matter.

  *

  Delaney

  “What are we doing here?”

  Jay unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car without a word.

  “Okay,” I mumbled.

  We were in Hilltop at the huge car dealership by the hospital. I had no idea why we were, though.

  Jay tapped on my window and motioned for me to get out. “Come on, Del.”

  I wished like hell that Jay’s car wasn’t so fancy so I could crank down the window instead of having to open the door because I needed the car on to roll down my window. “What are we doing?” I shouted through the glass.

  “Uh, looking at cars?”

  This is what he did for fun on his days off? “I’ll stay here.” Admiring cars was not my thing.

  He opened the door, rested his arm on the roof, and leaned down. “Get out of the car, Del.”

  “Why?” There wasn’t a reason I could think of that was good enough to get me out of this car. Jay was a car guy. I totally got that. He needed to get that didn’t mean I was going to follow him around while he looked at cars.

  “Because I want to check out the new cars.”

  “Is this some form of entertainment for you?” I questioned.

  “Yeah. Now get out and keep me company.”

  “What’s wrong with this shiny spaceship on wheels you drive now?” Jay’s car was amazing. Even me, not knowing a damn thing about cars, knew it was nice and totally expensive.

  “This is a Shelby GT350 with five point two liters of screaming all-American muscle. You are completely right saying there is nothing wrong with this car.”

  “Then why are we here?”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the car. “Because there’s always something better, Del.” He shut the door behind me and threaded his fingers through mine. “Humor me?”

  “Just don’t ask my opinion on anything. I know zip about cars, Jay.”

  “I can tell. You drive a death trap and think there isn’t anything wrong about that.”

  “It’s what I can afford,” I mumbled. Sure, I would like one of these shiny, new cars but last I checked, there wasn’t a car fairy who brought you any car you wanted.

  We walked around the large lot of cars with what felt like an army of salesmen circling us. Jay had already told the three of them we were just looking, but they always kept us in their sights.

  “What about this one?” he asked.

  We were standing in front of one of those SUVs that sparkled like a diamond in the sun. It was white and large, but also gorgeous. “I like it.” That was the best answer he had gotten from me the whole time. Again, I knew nothing about these cars we were looking at and didn’t want to seem like an idiot if I said the right thing.

  “Ford Explorer. Good looking and pretty reliable.” He walked around the car while I stayed by the hood.

  I glanced in the direction we had yet to go, and my eye spotted a silver SUV. “That’s pretty.”

  “What’s pretty?” he asked.

  I pointed down the line of cars. “The silver one at the end.”

  He grabbed my hand and led me to the car I had spotted. “This one?”

  I nodded. This one was even prettier than the Exploder or whatever it was he had called it. “I like the front.”

  “The front?” he laughed.

  “You don’t like it?” How could someone not like what the car looked like? I walked to the car window that had all of the information. “Twenty eighteen Cadillac XT5.” I looked at Jay. “What’s a XT5? Have we run out of words that we now just name cars with numbers and letters?”

  Jay threw his head back and laughed. “Only you, Del,” he chuckled.

  “Only me what?” I wasn’t sure what the heck was so funny. It was a legitimate question.

  “I don’t know why they name them what they do, but I’m sure you’re not the only one who thinks that.” Jay nodded at one of the salesmen who was a row away.

  The salesman weaved his way over to us with a big smile on his face. “I see you admiring the XT5. Very nice choice.”

  “Thanks, man. Think we can take it for a test drive?”

  “What?” I gasped.

  “Right away. I’ll just need your license and then I’ll grab the keys.”

  Jay pulled out his license, and the salesman headed into the main building of the dealership.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed.

  “Uh, going for a test drive?”

  “You don’t need this car,” I insisted. The man was insane.

  He shook his head. “The Shelby isn’t exactly the best car to be driving around with a baby.”

  I looked at his car that he had parked by the front door. “I think you can make it work.”

  Jay shook his head but didn’t argue.

  “Here you go, sir. If you two want to hop in the front, I’ll take the ride in the back.” The salesman handed Jay the keys with a huge smile on his face. “Just in case you have any questions.” This guy was totally laying it on thick.

  Jay grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the passenger door. “Try not to look like you just sucked on a lemon, Del,” he whispered. He opened the door and helped me in.

  “I do not look like that,” I hissed before he shut the door.

  He gave me a thumbs up through the window, and I couldn’t help but laugh. So maybe I did look a bit grumpy, but I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t get why Jay needed to test drive this car.

  “Test drives are free, Del. Unwrinkle that brow and pay attention to the car. It’s not like I’m going to buy the first car we test drive,” Jay said under his breath before the salesman got in the back.

  Jay pulled out of the parking spot, and the salesman droned on and on about all the bells and whistles the car had. I drowned him out because I didn’t need him to tell me. I could see this car had everything you could ever want.

  Butter soft leather seats, plush carpet on the floor, a fancy radio, and even a backup camera. I’m sure from where Jay was sitting, it seemed like he was driving a spaceship
with all of the knobs and gadgets in front of him.

  Not to mention, he looked damn handsome behind the wheel.

  Though he seemed to be handsome no matter what he was doing. Driving fancy SUVs or sleeping on my old couch. He looked handsome always.

  “What do you think, Delaney?” he asked.

  The salesman was still talking even though Jay and I weren’t listening.

  “Um, it’s nice. I like the color.”

  “And the front,” Jay chuckled.

  I slugged his shoulder. “That too,” I mumbled.

  “The backseat is roomy enough for the baby seat.”

  I glanced over my shoulder. “Yup, you can definitely have enough room for the baby and all of the stuff you’ll need to haul around.”

  “You have kids?” the salesman asked.

  “I...ah...” I stuttered.

  “One on the way.” Jay grabbed my hand a pressed a kiss to the back of it.

  “Congratulations,” he cheered. He then went into all of the safety specifications of the car and why it would be perfect for a family.

  Jay pulled back into the dealership, and even though I was falling in love with the car, I was ready to get the hell out so I didn’t have to hear this guy keep talking.

  “Let me give you my card and...”

  I wandered away from Jay and salesmen, back to the car. I was getting hungry and didn’t want to be held liable for what I did to the guy if he kept droning on. Hangry was very much a thing.

  “You ready?”

  I was leaning against Jay’s car and admired the way he moved toward me.

  His dark hair slightly blew in the wind, and his sunglasses reflected the sun, though, underneath, I knew there were chocolate brown eyes I could get lost in forever. His strides were long, and with each swing of his arms, his shirt tugged and pulled, exposing more and more of his tattoo that covered one arm.

  I had seen where that tattoo ended on his back, and I wouldn’t mind revisiting that area again. Jay may not remember us being together, but I had replayed that night over and over many times before.

  “You mean you’re not buying a car today?” I laughed.

  He leaned against the car next to me. His arm brushed against mine. “Never buy the first car you look at without looking at everything else first.”