by Jenny Siegel
“I, uh, nothing. I was just filling Max in on my dad.” Like that explains everything, I tuck my hair behind an ear, needing to do something with my hands to stop me from reaching for Max again. “I’ll, uh… be in the office.” Hastily, I turn and walk in the direction of the office, avoiding Aaron’s glare, but I don't miss the hard set to Max’s jaw.
That kiss should never have happened. It was a moment of weakness. Saturday night was different; I was drunk and totally caught up with wanting him. But I have no excuse today. I don't know where I am when he’s nice to me. As amazing as his kiss was and despite how much I enjoy him kissing me so thoroughly, I can't let it happen again. Max and I can't happen again.
For the next hour or so, I hide in the office, pretending I'm busy with paperwork. But in reality, I've been sitting in a daydream. My lips burn with the intensity of our kiss, and I can't get my mind off it. The paperwork is all up to date, surprisingly. There is a soft knock on the door and my head jerks up. Max leans against the doorframe; his dark eyes scrutinize me.
“Everything okay?” He nods toward the papers littering the desk, but I know he's referring to more than that.
“Yeah, great.” I pick up a pile of invoices. “Was this you?”
He gives me a genuine self-deprecating smile. “It was a total mess. Your dad’s a great mechanic, but he's hopeless with paperwork.”
With a small smile, I dip my head. It's the truth; I always used to do the paperwork in high school.
“So, uh… about earlier.” He sounds unsure of himself and looks down at his boots.
“Yeah, I'm sorry. You caught me at a weak moment. It won't happen again.”
“I was kinda hoping it would and that we could pick up from where we left off on Saturday night.” He flashes me a more confident smile. This is more like the Max I’m used to, and I pull a face in response.
“Oh yeah, and why would it happen again?”
“Because you enjoyed that kiss as much as I did.”
“Dream on, Max,” I say with what I hope is a convincing laugh. But he’s spot on. Of course, I enjoyed it every bit as much as he did.
“We should go out sometime.” He cocks an eyebrow, and it’s not so much a question as a what? A suggestion?
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
His expression sobers. “Why not?” He pushes off the doorframe to stand in front of the desk, arms crossed over his chest. I’ve riled him now and somehow I don’t think Max takes rejection very well. Probably because no female has ever said no to him.
“Well…” I wave my hand around. “You work for my dad and…”
“And what?”
“And after the last time… we aren’t good together.”
“Leigh, we are better than good together.” He takes a step forward, his lips twitching at the corners, a sign that he’s ready to sweet talk me into this.
“You’re a racer.” With those words, the smile that was forming on his face drops into a frown.
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“I don’t do racers.”
With a humorless laugh, he crosses over to stand in front of the desk. “Seriously? That didn’t stop you the last time,” he growls and rests his hands on the desk leaning forward. His stare burns into me, and I sit back in the chair trying to put more distance between us.
“I’m not good enough for you?” Anger flushes his face, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so pissed. And damn if it doesn’t make him even hotter.
“No…” I stammer, “It’s not like that. It’s just…”
“You’re a hypocrite.”
He is taunting me, and as always, when it comes to Max, I see red. Pushing myself up to standing, my chair shoots backward, scraping on the hard floor. My hands rest on the desk as I glare at him. When his gaze travels down the length of my body, it responds immediately, growing warm under his intense stare.
“It’s none of your business.” I’m not getting into the reasons why, despite my love of fast cars, I won’t get involved with racers. Undeterred, he pushes on.
“It was a different story on Saturday night.” And just like that, I’m reduced to a tit-for-tat argument.
“That shouldn’t have happened,” I mumble, and his eyes flash menacingly.
“Bullshit. You want this as much as I do.” He slams his fist down on the desk, and I look nervously out the glass window to see if Aaron is watching, but he’s nowhere to be seen. It’s not that I’m scared of Max, but I don’t need Aaron witnessing this conversation.
“Stop fighting it, Leigh. Your head might tell you no, but your body is telling me a different story.” He jabs his finger at me for emphasis, and I open my mouth to protest, but he straightens.
“I’m going for lunch. If that’s okay with you.” He storms out without waiting for an answer and slams the door behind him. The top of Aaron’s head pops up from under the hood of a car like a little meerkat.
Max passes Beth on her way in, her bright smile and, “Hey,” falls away when she sees his dark expression. He throws one last look at me through the glass and disappears. Beth’s gaze cuts over in my direction, but I duck my head and concentrate on the non-existent paperwork.
Opening the door, she sticks her head in first before pushing it wider. “Hey.”
‘”Hi,” I mumble and continue to pretend I’m engrossed in invoices.
“Do I want to know why Max stormed out of here with a face like thunder?”
“No. Does he ever crack a smile?”
Beth perches on the corner of the desk, and her expression softens. “Actually, he’s not as bad as you think.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s all just a front. Once you get to know him and get past all the attitude, he’s a nice guy.”
“Okay, if you say so.” I hold up my hands for her to stop singing his praises.
“We stopped by last night, but there was no one home.”
On purpose, I avoid making eye contact because she can always tell when I'm lying.
“I went to bed early.”
She arches an eyebrow, and I pretend I'm looking for an invoice.
“Did anything happen with you and Max?”
“No.” I jerk my head up to look at her.
“But he stayed over.”
“Yeah, he wouldn't leave me on my own.”
“Ahh. I thought you'd finally given in to him.”
“Uh-uh, it ain't going to happen.”
“You say that now but…”
“But what? I'm not like the rest of them. I won't just drop my panties because he flashes me a sexy smile.”
“He likes you.”
“Max Morgan likes anything in a skirt. He's a player, and I don't need to get my heart broken by some good-looking bad boy who has slept with half the female population of this town. And he's a racer to boot!”
“You're still not over the ‘I won't date a racer bullshit.’” She actually uses air quotes, which infuriates me further.
“Excuse me, but it's not bullshit. You saw what it did to my family. My uncle and my mom.”
“Yeah, see, I think you use it as an excuse not to get close to Max. You won't date a racer, yet you love racing, fast cars, and speed. You're an adrenaline junkie, but you say you aren’t because then you'd have to admit why you really won't give Max the time of day,” she rushes out, barely stopping for breath.
“Whatever.”
“But you like him, really like him, and you always have, but you're scared. You're only interested in one racer, and if you say you won't date any, then it means you can use that feeble excuse on him.” She continues to glare at me, realizing that her theory is spot on.
In a swift subject change, I ask, “Have you come to meet Aaron for lunch?”
“Yeah. You coming?”
“No.” I sigh. “I’ll stay and keep an eye on things here.” I now wish that I’d never gotten out of bed this morning, but then, I wasn’t expecting
to come in and kiss Max and for him to ask me out on a date.
Beth finds Aaron and he sweeps her up in his arms to kiss her. I am thinking how sweet they look when he reaches down and grabs her ass, giving it a good squeeze, to which she squeals loudly and his mouth dips to her ear. No doubt telling her what he’d like to do to her. Shaking my head, I avert my eyes from their lovey-dovey display of affection. Truth be told, I’m a little jealous. Apart from my few encounters with Max every now and then, there has never been anyone who has looked at me the way Aaron looks at Beth. Like the sun rises and sets. As old-fashioned as it is, I want that someone special who puts me first—not a car or a race—but I would never admit that out loud to anyone. I’m perfectly happy with them thinking I’m not interested in all that stuff. Aaron and Beth are perfect for each other, and it’s about time they were engaged, even though I can’t get over how grown up it is.
Once the coast is clear, I leave the office and wander slowly around the garage. Everything is so familiar. When I was a child, I used to love coming here to watch my dad work on cars. When he didn’t have anyone to look after me, he would bring me in and let me play in the office and watch him through the windows. As I got older, he let me help him and pass him tools, explaining to me everything he was doing. It was never boring, and I would ask him questions and listen to every little thing he told me.
Max had certainly done a good job of keeping things running, even before my dad went into the hospital. And we’re back to Max again. Even though Beth’s theory is a little too close to the truth, it isn’t a good idea for us to date. We can barely stand each other most of the time. How the hell would I get through a whole evening with him without wanting to knee him in the balls?
Chapter Eleven
A black ‘09 Camaro idles in the lot, and the growl of the engine attracts my attention. I wander into the bright sunshine to see if I can help, and as much as I like the first and second-generation models, I wouldn’t say no to one of these. My eyes run over the bodywork in much the same way I would look a hot guy up and down, appreciating the curves and tight lines.
“Hi. It’s Leigh, right?” A guy steps out of the driver’s side while I continue to drool open-mouthed over his car.
“Yeah.” I walk over, still distracted, and offer him my hand. When his warm palm meets mine, I finally look up. He looks vaguely familiar. I’m sure he was at the quarter mile a few nights ago.
“I’m Kyle. I was racing the other night.”
“Oh right¸ I thought I’d seen you before. What can I help you with?” I take a step back and focus my attention on him instead of his car. Possibly a year younger than me with light brown hair that’s a little too long on top so it flops into his very blue eyes. He’s cute. Not dampen-your-panties gorgeous, like certain other people that I should not even be holding up as a comparison, but in a fun, easy-going way.
“She’s pulling to the left on take off. Wondered if Aaron or Max could have a look?”
“I can have a look for you,” I offer and watch how his eyebrows climb higher in surprise. This is a reaction I’m used to. “I do know what I’m talking about, you know.” And I wink at him and his smile widens. There is something seriously wrong with me. I am so not that girl, the one who flirts and winks at random guys who I cross paths with.
“Sure. That would be great.”
I locate a creeper so I can roll under to have a look. I pull the elastic band off my wrist and tie my hair back in a quick ponytail. Pushing under the car, I take a look around.
“I can see what the problem is,” I shout from under the car. There is a scuffling sound, and I peer down my body to see him kneeling on the ground and looking under the car. “The steering’s out of alignment, but I’d like to check the brakes, too.”
“Can you fix it?” he asks in all seriousness, and I can’t help my small burst of laughter.
“Can I fix it? You’re kidding, right?” I slide out from under the car and look up at him, shielding my eyes from the bright sun. “Of course, I can fix it, but so can Aaron or Max.” I hold out my hand, and he takes it in his firm grasp to help me stand. I dust off my jeans.
“Pop the hood,” I order gently. “There’s something else I want to check.” He jogs around to the driver’s side and ducks inside. The hood pops, and I prop it up and lean over the engine. Kyle rounds the hood and perches on the edge. He seems a little nervous at having a female look over his car, and he watches me closely.
An engine sounds behind me, and I don’t need to turn around to know that Max is back from lunch. The growl of his GTO is a dead giveaway. Taking a peek over my shoulder, I see that he’s not alone either. My stomach gives an unpleasant twist when I see a blonde climb out of the passenger side and round the hood to stand in front of Max. Her head tilts upward, looking adoringly into his face. Does that kind of walk-on-water adoration not get boring after a while? Her arms wrap around his waist and although his hands rest on her shoulders, it looks like he’s trying to get some distance. I don’t know what she’s saying, but whatever it is, she doesn’t have his full attention; he’s too busy glaring at me with a possessive glint in his eye. Distracted, he nods at the girl and sends her on her way, and I turn back to the Camaro.
“What’s kickin’ chicken?” Max shouts over, and I twist to see him stalking over to us, his gaze darting back and forth between Kyle and me.
“Just checking over this tidy Camaro.” I try to keep the quiver out of my voice.
“Uh-huh and …”
“I think it’s the steering.”
“I can get that booked in.” Max cuts in and stands on the other side of me, hovering at my shoulder.
“Cool, I’d appreciate that.” Kyle nods and focuses his attention back on me.
“Tomorrow suit you?” Max interrupts, gaining Kyle’s attention.
“Yeah, I’ll bring her in first thing.” Kyle nods but quickly turns back to me. I straighten, unhook the hood and slam it down before brushing my hands off on my jeans. He shifts uneasily as he looks at Max and then back at me.
“So, uh, I was, uh, wondering if you wanted to go out sometime?”
I was so not expecting that, and I’m thrown for a loop. “Ah.” For some reason, my eyes dart to Max. What I am expecting him to do is beyond me. Dark, blazing eyes stare back at me—he’s daring me, just daring me to say yes and to see what happens. Kyle seems like a nice guy, but he’s a racer, and I told Max just an hour ago that I didn’t date racers. But that obviously hasn’t bothered him, considering he’s just had lunch with Miss Blonde and Beautiful. I couldn’t have bruised his ego that much. It might be fun going out with Kyle; plus, it beats hanging out with Beth and Aaron all the time and getting nauseated by their PDA.
“Yeah, okay, that could be fun.” I shrug and although I’m not falling over myself to accept his offer, he seems happy enough that I’ve accepted. Max, on the other hand, does not. His jaw tightens and the muscle jumps furiously. Without a word, he turns on his heel and stalks back inside.
“So, would tonight be okay with you?”
“Yeah, great.”
“I’ll pick you up at, say, seven.”
“Sure, I’ll see you then, Kyle.” And I can’t fight the smile that spreads across my lips as I walk backward from the Camaro. Kyle starts the engine and pulls away, kicking up a small cloud of dust as he goes.
Beth and Aaron pull into the parking lot just as Kyle leaves and they wave to him.
“What did Kyle want?” Aaron asks getting out Beth’s Honda.
“Something wrong with the steering on his Camaro. He’s coming in tomorrow.”
Beth links her arm through mine as we walk into the garage. “Was that all he wanted?” She raises her eyebrow; she has this uncanny habit of knowing when I am hiding something. Or maybe it’s because I’m still a little flushed from him asking me out on a date.
“Well… he asked me out on a date,” I confide in a conspiratorial tone. Her loud gasp echoes around the vast space.
“And?”
“I said okay.” I shrug and jump when a wrench drops on the concrete floor with a loud clatter. My eyes swing in the direction of the noise and see Max scowling at me.
Ignoring the clanging of the wrench, Beth's eyes widen. “You're going on a date? You?”
“I take offense that you find that so unbelievable.”
“It’s the second offer she got today,” Aaron pipes up. “Max asked her out.” I swing around to face him, a murderous look on my face.
“How the fuck do you know that?”
His face reddens; with a sheepish look he averts his eyes. “I may have turned the radio down. It's hard to hear what’s going on in the office sometimes.”
“Aaron!” I groan in frustration, but Beth looks at him, impressed with his eavesdropping skills.
“That's why he was so angry when he left here. Why did you say no to Max?” I hear the incredulity in her tone.
I groan and slump against a car. “You know how we are. How could we possibly go on a date; we can't even be civil to each other.”
“But there's a chemistry there,” Aaron chips in. Why is he even still standing here; this conversation is just for us girls.
“What?” I shake my head at him. “You're worse than a woman.”
“He's right.” Beth nods her head in all seriousness.
“Oh, my god. Not you, too. Look, Max asked me out and I said no. Then he comes back after lunch with a girl looking like he just got laid-”
“And that's why you agreed to go out with Kyle,” Beth interrupts.
“What? No. But he can't have been that cut up about me turning him down.”
All three of us look over at the car Max is working on when he lets loose a string of expletives.
“Yeah, he looks real happy about it,” Aaron mutters and gives me a pointed look before walking back to carry on with his work.
“When you going out?” Beth asks in a low voice.
“Tonight.”
“Wow, he’s quick.”