“Baby steps, let's see if we can get you up to second gear first.”
They drove up and down the rode for a while. Whenever she shifted, the gears would grind in a way that made him want to cry, but she got it done.
It was great to see her so excited, so overjoyed at something so simple. In San Francisco, Ayumi had always been so serious. His complete opposite, it had been almost impossible to make her life. He never would've imagined that something as simple as making this lonely, taciturn woman smile could've made him feel so good about himself.
She knows all your deep dark secrets. Knows what a bad person you're capable of being. And she's still sitting here, laughing with you.
Liam wasn't sure how long he'd been zoning out for, just staring at the back of her head and listening to her laugh. She was attempting to turn the huge car around and was leaning almost against the wheel. When they were pointed in the other direction, she sat back down again, almost completely on top of him. He squirmed uncomfortably as perfect-ass met quickly-hardening-penis.
“Can I drive us to the next spot?” she asked, gunning the engine and getting them up to third gear.
“Maybe we should wait a while before we let you loose on the freeway,” he laughed, then bit back a groan when she started moving her hips to the song playing on the radio.
“I'd do fine. We're only going like half an hour, right? How hard can it be to drive to Santa Barbara?”
“Ayumi.”
“Huh?”
“Stop the car.”
The brakes squealed as they rolled to a complete stop.
“What's up?” she asked, trying to look over her shoulder at him. He leaned forward and turned the key, pulling it out of the ignition. Then he wrapped his arms around her and her forced her to lean back with him.
“Me,” he murmured, brushing her ponytail to the side and kissing along her neck. “You're very sexy when you're having fun, Ms. Nakada.”
“You're insane,” she laughed loudly. “Me driving turned you on? Is there anything that doesn't turn you on?”
“Um, astrology?” he threw out the first word that came to mind, then he lifted his hands to cup her breasts.
“I'm sure if some busty blonde was willing to read your star sign, you'd get turned on,” Ayumi challenged.
“Ah, but I don't like blondes.”
“Brie is a blonde.”
“It's very annoying how well you know,” he sighed, lowering one hand so he could shove it up under her sweater. “I don't like blondes anymore.”
“Oh, really? And what kind of hair types do you like, Mr. Edenhoff?” she asked, resting her head back on his shoulder.
“I find I'm very partial to black hair, all of a sudden,” he murmured, trying to work his hand under the cup of her bra. She squirmed in her seat, pressing her ass harder against his erection.
“We can't do this,” she breathed. “I don't have sex outside in broad daylight.”
“Really? That's weird, because you're about to.”
“Maybe if we make it really fast, we can still -”
The sound of a cough behind them startled her so bad, she shrieked and sat up right. She cracked Liam in the nose with her head and he groaned, pulling his head away from her. He turned to the side in time to see a forest ranger stroll up next to their door.
“Howdy,” the guy said, peering over the top of his sunglasses. Out the corner of his eye, Liam could see a scarlet blush creeping up the side of Ayumi's cheeks, and it made him smile big. He tightened his hold on her, then looked up at the ranger.
“Hey there, what's up?” he asked casually, ignoring her hands as she started pulling at his wrists.
“You know this is a private road, right? Authorized vehicles, only,” the officer informed them.
“We're so sorry,” Ayumi gushed. “I didn't no how to drive stick, and really, it's dangerous for only one of us to know, what if he had a heart attack or something, and I need to drive? Or, or ... zombies?”
She's kinda cute when she babbles.
“Zombies, ma'am?” the ranger seemed to question her sanity.
“I was giving her a driving lesson,” Liam spoke before she could make herself sound any crazier. “Sorry, we didn't know this road was off limits.”
“Well, it is. Off limits to driving lessons, and off limits to make-out sessions. Neither of you are teenagers, you should know better,” the officer scolded them. Ayumi blushed even more, but Liam just laughed.
“Sir, if you're not making out with your partner like you're still teenagers, then I feel sorry for you. I can't keep my hands off her,” he said, then squeezed various parts of her body to drive his point home.
The ranger glared at them for a moment, and Liam could feel Ayumi hold her breath. Then the other man chuckled and took off his glasses altogether.
“That's an excellent point, young man,” he said, and Ayumi had to cover a laugh with a fake cough. “I get it, I really do. But don't do it on government property, okay? Why don't you continue this 'driving lesson' elsewhere.”
“Will do, officer.”
The man stared at them until Ayumi started sliding off Liam's lap. She got her foot caught in the steering wheel at one point and her giggle fit almost started again, but Liam got her loose and soon enough he was saluting at the ranger as they pulled away.
“Oh my god,” Ayumi breathed as she pressed her face into her hands. “That was so embarrassing.”
“Why?” Liam laughed. “Why do you care so much what people think?”
“I don't, not really, I just ... making out like teenagers!? What if we had gotten arrested?”
“I guess we'd have to call good ol' Wulfy to bail us out.”
“Don't even joke about that,” she groaned. Liam lost his smile and glanced over at her.
“Still ashamed of me?” he asked. She glanced back.
“When it comes to Wulf – yes. I don't think he likes you very much.”
Liam barked out a sharp laugh.
“I think that's putting it nicely.”
The drove in silence for a while, making their way back to the real road, and then out of the park altogether. It was a perfect California day – sun was shining, it wasn't too hot, hardly any other cars on the road. He sighed deeply, breathing in the perfection of it all.
“We should stop in Santa Barbara.”
“Huh?” Liam grunted, glancing over at her. Ayumi had her bent so she could stare down at her phone.
“You said you didn't care where we went next,” she pointed out. “You said, and I quote 'follow the sun, stop where we want', so I'm throwing out a suggestion.”
“Okay. Okay, yeah, Barbara's got some great surf breaks, actually. Good idea,” he said, kinda surprised she would think of the place.
“Actually, I thought of it because it has some great wineries,” she corrected him. He grimaced.
“Wineries?”
“Yeah. We did your thing, can't we do something I like?”
“Well, I mean, it's my road trip, technically.”
“You run a bar, you like to drink, maybe you'll find some new wine for the bar upstairs,” she pointed out, twisting in her seat to face him.
“I like to drink whiskey,” he said. “Or vodka. And I think the only bottle of wine we have upstairs is the same one I got as a free promo two years ago. I'm not a wine dude, Ayumi.”
“Please, Liam?” she raised her voice and clasped her hands together. “I promise I'll make it fun. Please, please, plase?”
He had a weakness for begging, and when he looked over at her, he was completely done for. She was kneeling on her seat and she'd shoved her glasses up on top of her head. She had her full lips shoved out in a pout, and her dark eyes were opened wide. She blinked her long lashes at him and he groaned.
How could she ever, for one minute, believe she's not perfect?
“Only if you really promise funness,” he warned her, and she clapped her hands together. “I am all about the fun, go
t it?”
“Funness isn't a word,” she said, falling back into her seat properly. “And you will have a blast. I love wine tastings, it'll be great.”
FOUR HOURS LATER, AND things were not great, nor were they even remotely close to fun.
Liam was standing in a corner, holding a glass of wine in one hand, and yanking at the tie he was wearing with his other hand. A fucking tie. He hated ties, couldn't even remember the last time he'd worn one. The wedding, with Katya? Like three or four months ago?
After they'd gotten into Santa Barbara and checked into a motel close to the beach, he had thought he'd at least have a couple hours to hit the waves. Ayumi, though, had other plans, and he'd been dragged to the nearest clothing store.
“Why?”
“Because you dress like a frat boy.”
“And how is that a problem?”
“You're thirty-two.”
“And I'll be thirty-three in February. Again – why is that a problem?”
Apparently, t-shirts and jeans were “unacceptable” to wear to a wine tasting with someone like Ayumi Nakada. Liam refused to budge on the jeans, but he eventually caved and consented to wearing a button down shirt. He hadn't known about the tie till they'd gotten to the first winery. He'd tried to resist, but for being so much smaller than him, she was surprisingly strong, and also very good at tying a Windsor knot.
He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit. Being surrounded by a bunch of pretentious people who were all pretending to know more about wine than they actually did, and being forced to act like he was one of them. Ayumi had stuck close to his side at the first winery, talking over him so she could show off her own knowledge about tannins and bodies and aeration.
Who is this chick, and why did I think we had anything in common?
That was the worst part of it all. During the past couple days, Liam had felt like he'd been getting to know the real Ayumi. She could be playful, and silly. Sexy as all get out, and even kind of down to earth. He'd forgotten that her natural state of being was assistant-to-the-devil-Ayumi – all tension and suits and blank expressions.
They were now at their third winery and Liam watched her from across the room. At their second stop, he'd embarrassed her by putting ice in his pinot grigio. Of course Liam knew that wasn't how white wine was supposed to be served, but he was annoyed. He'd wanted to embarrass her. If she wanted him to be this type of guy, he would show her just how much he wasn't.
It made him mad. He'd never asked her to be something she wasn't, not really. He'd asked her to like herself. To have fun. That was it. If she hadn't wanted to go to the beach, if she hadn't wanted a driving lesson, he wouldn't have forced her, and he sure as shit wouldn't have made her feel bad about it. Made her feel stupid, or worthless.
Wouldn't have made her feel the one way he knew she couldn't stand.
She was avoiding him. They had barely spoken on the drive to the current spot, and after a small tour that ended in the wine tasting room, she'd attached herself to a group of people in suits. She fit right in, wearing her patterned tights and smart black booties, a flowy blouse tucked into a fancy looking skirt. Her gorgeous thick hair had been scraped up into a tight, high ponytail. She looked like she'd been carved out of ice.
She looks perfect.
Liam chugged the rest of his glass and narrowed his eyes as one of the suits touched her on the arm. He wasn't prone to jealousy, usually, but he was already in a bad mood. Plus, the dude had seen Ayumi come in with another man – it was disrespectful, regardless of where Liam was standing. And on top of that, it was rude of her. Sure, they had their stupid “deal” and they weren't supposed to be attached, but she wouldn't appreciate it if he went and flirted with the bachelorette party across the room.
Or maybe she wouldn't care. She was the ice queen, after all. She had created the deal, she had invented the rules. Maybe that's why she was trying to class him up – so she could be seen in public with him. Maybe that's why she was flirting with some stuffed shirt – because she didn't care about him.
Well, then, if that's how this works ...
“Okay, so whose twenty-first birthday is it?” Liam asked in a loud voice as he joined the bachelorette party. All the women tittered – the youngest among them was maybe his age, with most of them easily over forty.
“Did one of you order a stripper?” a woman with pixie cut asked, and there was more laughter.
“Stripper?” he gasped, pressing a hand to his chest. “Madam, I am offended. Clearly, I'm much better looking than some lowly stripper.”
“That is an excellent point,” the girl wearing the bride-to-be sash agreed.
“Damn straight it is. So – who ordered the gigolo?”
More laughter.
Flirting came naturally and easily to Liam. He fit right in with the rowdy group of women, especially after he talked to the winery owner and discovered they had an aged whiskey they made on site. A bottle was produced and shots were passed around, much to everyone's delight.
And throughout it all, he was very aware of Ayumi not paying attention to him. She was so studiously avoiding looking at him that it was almost comical. But he knew her. No matter what she wanted to think or how she wanted to behave, Liam knew her. They were cut from the same cloth. He watched as her smile got tighter and her posture grew straighter, and it all made him laugh harder and flirt more outlandishly.
“Okay, so when is the wedding?” he asked, pouring another round of shots.
“Two weeks,” bride-to-be answered.
“Perfect.”
“What do you mean?”
“Plenty of time to run away and have a hot, nasty affair,” he replied, winking at her.
“You are so bad, Eden,” she giggled.
There was a scraping sound near them and he glanced to the side without moving his head. Ayumi had been sitting at a nearby table and she'd abruptly stood up. The women at his table had gotten pretty loud, he couldn't hear what she was saying, but she seemed to be making some kind of excuses. The stuffed shirt who'd touched her earlier stood up, as well. She waved him away at first, but he came around the table and cupped her elbow. She started walking and he went with her, with no more waving of any kind.
Liam smiled at his group of new friends.
“Bad? How can I be bad? I'm named after the garden of earthly delights,” he said. “Will you ladies excuse me, for a moment? Don't drink all the whiskey while I'm gone. You know what, fuck it. Finish the bottle, just don't start the strip poker without me.”
Their laughter followed him as he headed towards the back of the room.
The bathrooms were near the back exit. Mr. Suit was hovering outside the door to the ladies room. Liam stood next to him for a moment, glancing between the man and the door.
“You waiting your turn, bro?” he asked, gesturing to the doorway. The guy looked confused.
“What? Uh, no, I'm waiting for a friend, she wasn't feel well,” he replied. Liam laughed.
“Oh, I'm sure she isn't.”
Then he walked through the door, earning a shout from the dude. Ayumi had been bent over a sink and she glanced at him, then stood up in surprise.
“What are you doing?” she hissed, glancing back at the stalls, making sure no one else was in there.
“Checking on you. Rapey McSuit is lurking out there,” he explained. “Said you were feeling sick. Too many tannins in your cab franc?”
“Shut up,” she grumbled, going back to the sink and putting her hands under the water.
“So what's the deal? Wanna invite him back to the room tonight?” he asked. She laughed and shook her head.
“Are you seriously jealous right now? You've got an entire harem out there, just waiting for you tell them what hotel you're staying at,” she pointed out, patting the cold water on her cheeks.
“Sounds like someone else is jealous.”
“I am not -”
“Hey!” their friend yelled through the door. “Are you al
right in there, Ayumi?”
“Ayumi?” Liam mouthed her name at her. She threw a wadded up paper towel at him.
“I'm fine!” she called back.
“A strange man went in there – is he bothering you?”
“He's definitely strange,” she yelled, glaring at Liam. “But he's not bothering me. Yet.”
“Got that right,” Liam snorted, leaning his hip against a sink. “What the fuck is going on?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what I'm talking about, Ice Queen.”
She bristled at her nickname.
“You obviously aren't having a good time – I don't want you to ruin my time, too,” she said.
“So that's why you're flirtying with Shirty McShirt?” he asked.
“I wasn't flirting,” she corrected him. “And his name is Craig.”
“I don't give two shits what his name is,” Liam informed her. “And you were flirting.”
“So were you.”
“Only because you were.”
“This is so stupid!” she snapped. “I wasn't flirting with him, but even if I was, it doesn't matter. I can flirt with whoever I want. So can you, obviously.”
“This is hilarious, Ice Queen. Even as you're proclaiming your single lady status, you're making digs at me for doing the same thing,” he guffawed.
“This conversation is done. I knew we shouldn't have slept together, I knew it was a mistake,” she hissed before pushing past him and stomping out of the bathroom.
Liam's blood hit boil in an instant and he hurried after her. She was just about to arrive back at her table full of new friends, but he didn't give her a chance to sit down, or to say goodbye. He simply put his hand on the small of her back and gently propelled her forward. She couldn't stop, not without making some sort of scene, so she kept moving. His table of bachelorettes hooted and hollered for him, but he ignored them and pushed Ayumi right out the front door.
“I'm sorry, could you repeat what you just said?” he asked in a low voice. She tried to plant her feet, but he just grabbed onto her arm and forced her the rest of the way to the car.
“You can't just ... just ... manhandle me!” she snapped at him, but when he opened her door, she dropped into her seat.
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