“Don’t ever test me. I’ll always win. Oh, yeah, that face of yours is perfection, I jacked-off imagining those legs last night, but you really could use a haircut.”
I tossed a wadded-up napkin at him. “Gee, thanks.”
“Just keeping it real.”
“Real from the guy who looks like a girl.”
Lucas meticulously yanked the band holding his bun in place and shook his hair onto his shoulder before pulling it back up and licking his tongue across his lips. “Would you like me to show you how much of a man I am?”
I shook my head forcibly and laughed.
“Thought so.”
He took another bite of his hamburger, and my stubbornness wouldn’t allow me to respond so I took a bite too.
He grabbed a fry off the large platter in front of us. “Ask me.”
I dabbed a napkin over the corner of my lips and swallowed back a large lump of food. “Ask you what?”
“What’s going through that beautiful head of yours. I’ll tell you the truth.”
I didn’t want to get into any more deep crap, I thought I would keep it light and fun. “When did you learn to drive a bike?”
He closed his eyes and his left hand formed a fist on the table. “My first love was horses, but even though we own them, my mom refuses to allow me to ride them. She said they are too unpredictable.” He rolled his eyes, before dipping a fry into a pile of cheese. “So, my dad got me a dirt bike when I was about five. I didn’t love it like I did being on the back of a horse, but I thought it was something I could finally share with my dad.” His eyes grew sad and he looked away for more than a few seconds. Suddenly, his eyes pierced mine and he said, “My dad’s a dick, I don’t know why I was surprised when he never found the time. He was too busy chasing some whore’s skirt tail. But I soon discovered I loved the solitude I experienced on the back of a bike. It gives me time to think.”
So much for keeping it light.
Lucas placed the fry he had been scooting around in the cheese the last few minutes in his mouth and followed it up with a drink of his tea.
We both sat quietly eating our burgers and fries. We sat like that for way too long but not long enough. I was sure he was going to say it was time to leave.
But Lucas stood up, tossed his napkin on the table, and held out his hand. “Someone promised me a dance.” He pulled me out of my seat and tugged me through the crowded dance floor until we were standing in the very middle of it.
I hadn’t danced a step since they ripped me out of my first foster parents’ home, and my dreams of becoming a prima ballerina vanished before my eyes.
“You promised you wouldn’t let me fall.”
Lucas smiled, and slowly placed a hand on each of my hips before jerking me to him. “And I always keep my promises.”
The way Lucas pressed his body against mine caused that deep fluttering in the pit of my stomach to start back and my heart to pitter-patter in my chest.
He cinched the back of my shirt in his hands, and I noticed a glimmer in his eye I’d never seen before. I moved my hand down his well-defined chest and over his rock-hard six-pack, feeling each muscle twitch under my touch.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop from smiling when he grabbed my hands and pulled them up and around his neck. I closed my eyes and laid my head over onto his chest.
One song turned into another, the food we left on the table was long forgotten, and Lucas showed no sign of stopping.
His body moved against mine in perfect rhythm with the beat of the music. The DJ started to play Pink’s “Try” and Lucas flipped me around and pulled my back firmly against his chest. The way his midsection felt against my ass, the motion of his hips as he ground into me, the way he worked my neck with his hand, manipulating my head to lean back onto his shoulder … He took me to a place that was more than friendly.
“Let you fall. You’re a damn dancing queen, Annie,” Lucas yelled in my ear over the music. “You might not be an experience drinker, but damn, you know how to move your body.”
Lucas was damn comfortable with his body too. He moved with a grace I didn’t expect from a guy with his muscular statue. If he made love like he danced, it would be an experience to have. I brought my hand back up and wrapped them around his neck. A bead of his sweat dripped down over my fingers, only making the lust pool deeper into my stomach. His hand ran down my arms, across my ribcage, and finally worked back over my hips. I shivered when I felt his lips and then his tongue against my neck.
I stepped away from him. I wasn’t the only girl on his date card, and if we ever hoped to form any kind of friendship, we had to stop before we went down a road that would only lead to destruction. Lucas Carter was the one guy who had the capability to crush me, and I would never allow that.
Annie looked like she wanted to take me out back to both kick my ass and to screw it. There was no mistaking the lust in her eyes but also the fear and anger. “Not enjoying yourself?”
“I don’t know who you think I am, but I’ll never be one of your whores.”
Those teeth of hers raked over her bottom lip before she turned to retreat to our booth.
One of my whores? Hell, she was the one who was rubbing her tight little body all over mine and smiled when I admitted to jacking-off to the image of her legs. I would play the friend card, but damn was it going to be hard.
I followed her and slipped into the bench across from her. I watched as Annie signaled to Tammy that she wanted another beer. Tammy was the owner, and I’d hooked up with her a couple of times not long after I turned nineteen. I’d told Annie I’d slept with the owner, but I still didn’t want it rammed down her throat. Luckily, I knew Tammy wouldn’t say a word about us in front of Annie. She wanted me to form a relationship with a girl my age. I wanted that too.
I held up a finger that I needed another one as well. Tammy didn’t even get the bottle placed on the table before Annie had brought it up to her lips. As she was chugging it down and ignoring me, Tammy cocked her head in Annie’s direction and winked. She didn’t need to tell me she approved of Annie — I was already fully aware that Annie was special. The bottle clanged against the table when Annie slammed it back down.
“You never drunk before?” I asked as she slumped on the bench.
“Already told you I haven’t. I won’t kiss another lady’s man or lie.”
I laughed. She had spent close to an hour grinding her pretty little ass against the firm ridge of my pants, and suddenly she was worried about other girls. “Why?”
“Why what?” She turned back to look at me and shot me a looked that could be described as deadly.
“I’ve never known a twenty-year-old who has obviously lived not to drink occasionally.”
“I’ve always had to stay alert. I was too scared to drink.” She grabbed for my beer bottle which I swiftly removed from the bar.
“Why tonight? Where did the sudden change of mind come from?”
Annie looked down and scratched the top of her head with both hands before looking back up at me. “I finally felt safe. You made me feel safe. Happy now?”
Damn right, I was happy. The thought I made her feel safe had me want to go all caveman on her and pound my fist onto my chest. However, Annie looked less than thrilled with me.
“Are you ready to go?”
Her cheeks flushed to the roots of her hair and that gorgeous smile of hers grew bigger than it ever had, even in my fantasies of her. “Can we get another helping of those fries first?”
If she wanted fries, she would get fries. Anything to get her to stay a little bit longer with me.
After three shared orders of chili cheese fries and a long motorcycle ride through the countryside, I took her home and spent every second since trying to convince myself all we felt between each other was friendship.
Chapter 11
Lucas Carter
I lobbed the book I was reading down on the table and watched Annie laughing with some
of the local farmers. She hadn’t even noticed I had walked in, and I enjoyed the opportunity of watching her. I didn’t know if I would find her working; I half expected she would be home nursing a hangover after the night we shared.
“I think I would’ve remembered a girl my age who looked like you. I always remembered the pretty ones,” Frank, the man who farms my family’s land, told her.
“Too bad they never remember you,” one of his younger workers said.
Frank tossed a napkin in his direction. “Hush, Jim. I haven’t seen Annie look in your direction, either.”
Annie nervously laughed and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. When she glanced at Jim, she caught the sight of me out of the corner of her eyes. She smiled.
“I need to help the other customers,” she said, and turned to walk in my direction. “Good morning, I had fun last night,” she said when she reached my table.
Me too, precious.
“You feel, okay?”
"Other than the stabbing pain behind my eyes or the frequent wave of nausea, this hangover thing is a piece of cake." She wiggled her nose. "What’s a productive morning without a little hangover anyway?”
I soaked in her laughter. Annie was easy when it was just the two of us.
“Did you come to talk or eat?”
“Eat. Talk is overrated.” I glanced at the menu. “Coffee, three creamers, one sugar, and bring me your favorite on the menu to eat.”
“Three creamers? Don’t like it black and strong?”
“No, I like my coffee like I like my women: sweet, creamy brown, and hot.”
“I didn’t know you were picky about your women.”
“Touché, now serve me, woman.”
She was still smiling when she served the coffee and a biscuit smothered in gravy. “Mouth-watering,” I said, confused as to whether I was describing her or the biscuit.
“As if I hadn’t been told that multiple times today. So, stop flirting, I already told you no, I’m not the other woman material. I’m more of the ‘top of the list’ kind of girl.”
She sure as hell was. Just the sound of that laughter would’ve knocked her to the top of anyone’s list.
I threw up my hands in mock amusement. “A guy can dream.”
I was just finishing the last bite when she finally got around to filling my coffee cup. “Got any plans later?” I asked then wiped my mouth with the edge of a napkin.
She shook her head and appeared guilty of something. “I was planning on going to the courthouse and go through the files from the year my mom died.”
I sipped back the last drop of coffee, needing to break the spell she placed me in.
Annie’s smile disappeared and a voice from behind me made me cringe. “Lucas Carter.”
Candice pushed herself in the booth with Lucas then kissed him lightly on the cheek. Lucas’s attention shifted to Candice but his ever-present smile faded.
I turned my back on them, but kept my ears opened to their every word. “Still going to see The Lumineers in Nashville tonight?” Candice’s voice was way too whiney.
I looked down at the skin on my hand making sure it hadn’t turned green from all the jealousy coursing through my body. A great band with Lucas sounded like an ideal night. But it wasn’t the night I would get — it was reserved for Candice.
“Maybe, I haven’t decided. But I’m going solo, if I do go.” He didn’t sound the least bit apologetic.
“You’re incorrigible, Lucas Carter.”
I didn’t turn to look but I could hear the tapping of Candice’s shoes as she left. When the bell on the door chimed, I glanced over my shoulder to see Lucas smiling. He ran a hand through his long curls and looked me dead in the eyes. “The Lumineers are no dust-filled file cabinet at the courthouse, but would you want to take a trip to Nashville with me?”
The Lumineers were a popular folk band. I had at least three songs of theirs on my computer’s playlist.
I could use a music fix with Lucas.
“What time?”
“Leaving at four.”
“Can we take the bike? And tickets are on you, deal?”
He nodded.
“Pick me up at the house. Now let me get back to work so I can pay my electric bill this month.”
At 4:28, Lucas pulled into the drive. I was waiting outside on the swing. He straddled his bike. Damn, he was smoking hot. I hadn’t been this turned on … well, ever, and couldn’t quite figure out of he was blessed or cursed with those looks. He had on those boots, skintight jeans, and a black Lumineers t-shirt. I later learned it was his third concert of theirs. Music was his favorite pastime. He was just too tone-deaf to perform any music on his own.
I jumped on the bike before he had time to change his mind.
“Hold on tight, if you die tonight it’ll be a buzz kill,” he said and handed me a helmet.
We merged onto the interstate at a snail’s pace. Inconsistent with Lucas’s normal death-defying speed, we never got over the speed limit. I almost wondered if he was purposely taking his time. I wouldn’t complain, enjoying being on the bike with me.
Thanks to a crowded highway and following every rule in the driver’s manual, we pulled into the parking space with thirteen minutes to spare. I started to walk toward the ticket booth when Lucas pulled two tickets out of his wallet and held them up.
“I purchased them the day they went on sale. I wanted good seats.”
“Why did you tell Candice you were going alone when you had two tickets?”
“I don’t take girls I fuck to concerts. I prefer to enjoy myself.”
“I’m glad I’m not one of your fuck buddies then.”
The show was a feast for the ears. I loved more of their songs than I realized and even drooled over a few I had never heard before. The energy the band emitted was amazing and would stay with me for days. Nothing was as good as live music, and I understood why Lucas enjoyed it that much.
Lucas didn’t drink at all, neither did I. A good buzz would have been a bad idea driving home on the interstate, but the lack of one did nothing to keep us from acting like fools. I was pretty sure Lucas sung along to every single song, and he was right — he couldn’t hold a tune if his life depended on it. Twice I had to quiet him before the people around revolted.
By the final song, we had pushed ourselves right up against the stage. Lucas held me firmly next to him. I told myself it was to keep us from getting separated again, but it was more.
They ended the night with my favorite of theirs “Angela”. I stood there long after they finished, watching the roadies tear down the stage. Lucas never let me go and seemed to find solace in the chaos of the night.
When I finally peeked back up at Lucas, he was looking at me with a gleam in his eyes that would put any toddlers to shame. “This has been the best concert I’ve ever been to, and something tells me it’s because of you.”
“Of course it is,” I said and paused. Lucas stumbled and braced himself with my back. “I think we need to be headed home.”
Lucas’s legs seemed to have lost the ability to walk on the way back to the bike. Perhaps he slipped a beer in when I wasn’t looking.
Due to the late hour, the interstate almost felt deserted, and we settled into a quiet peacefulness. I placed my chin on his shoulder and smiled. It had been the first night in years where I felt like a normal teenager. Something about Lucas made me happy.
I smiled for the next seventy-seven miles until he pulled onto my front yard.
“I need to get home. Thanks, it really was a great night.”
I clumsily climbed off the bike without evoking a reaction or snide comment from Lucas. I took in his face one last time. Lucas’s face appeared pained. “Are you okay?”
“Great, just tired.”
Something told me he was anything but okay, but it wasn’t my place to push.
My cell buzzed on the kitchen counter. It was a text from Lucas. I hadn’t seen him in four days, but his tex
ts were regular and flirtatious.
Lucas: Stop
Annie: Stop what?
Lucas: Stop thinking about me. Don’t lie, you’re doing it right now!!
Annie: Leave me alone, I’m working. Are you coming by to see me tonight?
Lucas: Going to see someone who’s nicer. But I’ll be thinking of you.
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