by Jen Andrews
He smiled and shook her hand. “It’s great to meet you, Josie. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for Zoey.”
She looked up at him with a genuine smile on her face. “I was lucky to have her here to help me out.”
We talked to Josie until it was time to start the next tour. I was happy these two very important people in my life had the chance to meet each other. Over the time I’d been away, I told Andy about all the conversations between Josie and me, so he knew how much she’d helped me on my path to healing myself.
After we said goodbye to Josie, I took my man’s hand, interlacing our fingers together. “Let’s go see Smoke now.”
We found him in a corral, eating. He was more worried about having his snack than visiting with us seeing as he just came back from the last tour.
I showed Andy around the stables where the horses were kept, explaining to him the jobs I did while I worked there. We wandered around and I showed Andy the small arena where I led the smaller children around on ponies because they were too young to go out on the beach rides.
After we toured the entire property, we went down the trail to the beach.
“This is where I rode Smoke for the first time. We were right over there when Jess took all the pictures of us,” I said and pointed down the beach.
“I loved the picture you sent me, Zoey. I had a copy made and framed it.”
His admission made my heart swell in my chest. He had a picture of me in his apartment amongst the photos of his family. “I still can’t believe we’re here…together.” I wrapped my arms around him.
Andy took his cell phone out of his pocket. “Let’s get a picture of us here.”
We posed as he used his phone to snap pictures of us together. Then he decided he wanted a few of me by myself, so I sat on the beach and posed for him. He made me feel beautiful, and when I looked through the photos, they reflected the undeniable love that I held for him in the deep, blue depths of my eyes.
After our impromptu photo shoot, we left the stables and went back to the resort. It was our last night in Cabo and we were trying to decide what to do after dinner.
“There’s a nightclub close by if you want to go dancing,” Andy suggested.
“You want to take me dancing?” I asked curiously.
“Actually, yes, I do.”
“Well, then let’s go dancing.”
We dressed up in the nicest clothes we brought with us and headed to the nightclub. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the resort, so I packed the dress and sandals I had worn when Jess, Sasha, and I went dancing. Of course, Andy brought his black Affliction shirt that I was so fond of him wearing.
The club was within walking distance, so both of us could drink and not worry about driving. Once there, we went straight to the bar, each of us ordering Johnnie Walker. We clinked our glasses together and enjoyed our drinks, then we had a few more.
“Let’s dance!” I shouted over the noise and pulled him out into the crowd of people.
The bass was thumping as we found a spot on the dance floor. We danced to a few songs, bumping and grinding on each other, like everyone else. We were having fun and my man could move. Of course, it made me want to take him back to the room, strip him down, and have crazy, hot sex with him.
I thought back to all the activities I could never do when I was married to Rob. We never danced, and never sang to him. Hell, he didn’t even care enough to hear me sing anything for that matter. Even in high school, he never went to any of my choir performances.
That night, I felt like a very lucky woman. That’s because I am a lucky woman.
The nightclub was playing a variety of music, so I thought I would see if the DJ would play a song for me. I stood up on my toes to tell Andy where I was going and that I’d be right back. I left him on the dance floor, went to the DJ, and put in my request.
Back on the dance floor, I found Andy sandwiched between two women who were bumping and grinding on him. He caught my eye and a look of panic washed over his face. He was dancing with them just to be polite because it’s just how he was, but I could tell he was not happy about it.
I wasn’t a jealous person when it came to him. He’d proven many times he was only interested in me. The look on his face conveyed to me he was not enjoying himself at all and he was more worried he was going to be in trouble with me. Silly man, he should know me better than that.
I stood there for another minute, watching the women do their best to get his attention.
His eyes were begging me for help by the time I weaved my way through the people on the floor. I wedged myself between him and the girl who was dancing in front of him, giving her a little bump with my hip so she had to move.
He grinned and shook his head at my antic. He slipped his arms around me to squeeze my butt then planted one hell of a kiss on me.
The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder and stomped off. The other girl behind him mouthed “Sorry” and left. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at her.
“Did you have a nice dance, Andy?” I teased.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“Called Out in the Dark” by Snow Patrol came blaring out of the speakers a minute later. I pulled him close, he wrapped his arms back around me, and we danced.
After the song ended, I was hot, sweaty, and very thirsty. “I need another drink!” I hollered when the next song started. He took my hand, spun me around once, and led me back toward the bar.
The club was very busy, so there was a long line at the bar for drinks. Waiting at the end of the line, I stood up on my toes to talk because it was so loud in the room, but it didn’t help.
Both of us had a nice buzz going and I wanted to keep drinking with my man, but we were not getting any closer to the bar for more drinks. “Let’s get out of here,” I said as the song ended and it became quiet for a moment.
We headed out the door. “Where to now, Zoey?”
“A liquor store for some Johnnie Walker. You game?”
He nodded and took my hand in his. We made it back to our room with our purchase and got shit-faced drunk together.
The next morning, I woke up to us both sprawled out, face down on the bed, stark naked. Okay, so his favorite sleeping position is pretty comfy. The sheets were a tangled mess and the rest of the blankets were lying in a heap on the floor. My inner thighs felt like they had been thoroughly pounded by the sex-god sleeping next to me.
Damn, I wish I could remember that. The last thing I did remember was us laughing and him pulling my dress over my head.
I sat up too quickly and immediately became nauseous. I stumbled naked to the bathroom and snatched a robe off the hook on the back of the door. I wrapped myself in it right as the saliva in my mouth began to sour. I flung myself onto my knees on the cold tile floor, and heaved into the toilet. Ugh, it’s been a long time since I’ve been drunk enough to puke.
When it finally felt like there was nothing left in me to throw up, I rose from the floor, rinsed my mouth, and brushed my teeth. My face was clammy, so I splashed it with cool water. After drying off, I made my way back to bed and crawled in carefully to avoid making myself sick again.
Andy woke up as soon as I made myself comfortable. “Were you just getting sick in the bathroom?” he asked without opening his eyes.
“Yes, unfortunately I was. How are you feeling?”
He propped himself up on his elbows and appeared to be in deep thought. His hair was standing on end in all different directions, his eyes were barely open, yet he still looked gorgeous.
“I feel fine. How are you?”
“I think I’m done puking for the moment, so that’s good. I should eat something though. Do you want me to order you something too?” Duh Zoey, of course he did. My brain was still fuzzy, so I wasn’t thinking straight.
Andy stood up from the bed and his hair wasn’t the only thing standing on end.
The sight of him made me laugh. “Dude, put that thing away. My th
ighs feel like punching bags.”
He looked down at himself. “Sorry, Beautiful, it happens every morning,” he joked, but made no attempt whatsoever to cover himself on his way to the bathroom.
As his fine ass walked away, I noticed several red scratch marks across his back and perfect ass cheeks. Oops. Guess I got a little carried away.
The room felt like it was spinning, so I threw my arm across my eyes to make it stop and banned all traces of light from seeping in to them. I don’t know how much later it was, but I remembered I was supposed to be ordering breakfast. I eased myself to the edge of the bed to pick up the phone to call room service.
As soon as I sat up, I became nauseous again, but wasn’t sure if I was going to be sick or not. Just in case, I went to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Can you hurry, please? I might get sick again.”
The door flew open and Andy was standing there with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He had already taken a shower. My mouth started watering and I dropped to my knees, hanging my head over the toilet again. I didn’t care if he was standing there.
Out of my peripheral vision, I could see he was still naked. Did the man just like being naked? I didn’t mind, of course. I could stare at his body all day long. He finished brushing his teeth as my nausea got the better of me and I was sick again. He kneeled, naked, and pulled my hair back for me as he rubbed circles over my back with his strong hand.
“Seriously, you’re holding my hair while I puke my guts out. Who are you?” I tried to joke.
“I’m the guy who loves you, even when you’re on the floor puking your guts out,” he replied as he continued rubbing my back.
Slowly and carefully, I stood up. “I think I’m okay now. Can you order breakfast while I take a quick shower, please? I think I can handle some toast and coffee.”
He kissed me on top of the head and left the room. I brushed my teeth again and swished some mouthwash, just in case, then took a nice, cool shower. When I came out in my robe, breakfast was on the table, and our clothes were packed with the exception of an outfit he set out for me. I dressed and sat at the table next to him.
Andy ordered himself a full breakfast again, and it made me want to gag, just looking at it. He set a plate of toast in front of me, poured me a cup of coffee, adding sugar and creamer to it just the way I liked it.
“Thank you,” I moaned as I laid my head on the cool table.
Then the smartass patted my back and cooed, “Poor baby,” at me. He joked about me being a lightweight and about how badly I sucked at holding my liquor, but he was nice enough to rub my back as he ate one-handed.
After breakfast, we checked out and returned to my aunt and uncle’s to find them eating lunch in the kitchen. “Zoey, Andy, you made it back. How was the resort?” Aunt Maria asked.
Huh? “How did you know about the resort?” I asked, confused.
I looked at my aunt and uncle, then at Andy. They were all smiling.
“What’s going on? You’re all looking very guilty for some reason.”
“Sorry, Zoey, they were in on it too. I asked your mum for help, so she called to let them know I was coming down here.” Andy grinned proudly at his sneakiness.
I looked back over to his partners in crime. “You two didn’t go on a trip to a job site, did you?”
They both shook their heads. “No, we went out to dinner and a movie so he could come to get you. We’ve been home all weekend. Did you have a good time?”
“You guys are sneaky,” I laughed. “Especially you.” I reached out and pulled Andy into a hug.
“Do you want to sit down for some lunch before you head to the airport?” my aunt asked.
Of course, Andy said yes. I decided I could handle some warm tortillas with butter and a Coke. I needed some bubbles to settle my stomach.
“Are you feeling sick, Zoey?” Uncle Victor asked with a knowing smile on his face. I think he knew I had a hangover.
Andy and I started laughing. “Yes, we drank a little too much Johnnie Walker last night. I admit I’m a little hung over.” And my inner thighs are killing me. Everyone laughed at my expense, but I didn’t care.
After lunch, Andy helped me finish packing for the trip home. He let me stash all my souvenirs in his suitcase, since he had more space in his than I did in mine.
We gave my aunt and uncle one last hug goodbye then drove to the airport to go home.
It was a nice, warm, Northern California night as I sat down on the bleachers at the drag strip with Jess. Andy was going to be racing his ’69 Camaro that night. He’d made a few more changes to it over the last couple of months and it was going to be his first race since he finished. Noah was with Andy in the tech line, waiting for the safety inspection that had to be performed before they could race.
Several cars were through tech and already racing. Two diesel pickups were on the track doing burnouts in the burnout boxes to get their tires hot and sticky for better traction for their race. Thick plumes of black exhaust boiled out of their giant smoke stacks. We couldn’t even see down in to the pits anymore because there was so much black smoke in the air.
It was Andy’s first race of the year so I was excited and nervous for him. I sort of felt like I was the cause of him not racing because we were spending so much time together.
The week before, I had been horribly sick with a nasty flu bug that had been going around. All the employees at my store caught it as well. I pretty much banned everyone from my apartment so they didn’t get sick too, which gave Andy plenty of time to get his car ready.
Jess and I watched the light tree count down through the yellow lights. The second the light turned green the diesel trucks shot down the track, billowing thick, black smoke behind them. The crowd went crazy. There were several newer diesel drag racing clubs around the area and everyone loved them.
“First race tonight, huh, Z?” Jess asked anxiously. “Is Andy excited to see what his car can do?”
I nodded. “Yes, very excited. They put it on the dyno and it’s looking like it might be pretty fast. We’ll see what happens.”
We watched several more cars race until the track officials stopped the races and hopped in their truck to spray the track with VHT. The last couple of cars in the lane closest to us were having some traction issues and sliding sideways instead of moving forward. With the VHT liquid down, the tires would stick to the track better and not spin out.
Andy’s Camaro was three rows back in the staging lanes; it looked like he passed tech and was going to race soon.
I pulled my cell phone out and sent him a quick text.
Good luck! Be careful too. Love you!
He sent me a text right back.
Thank you. Love you more. Meet me at the truck when it’s over.
The cars started pulling forward once the VHT was down and the track was ready, so I didn’t text him back.
I watched as a ’62 or ’63 Nova and a ’71 Camaro pulled into the boxes and smoked us all out with their burnouts.
Jess and I both took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Ahh, nothing like a little tire smoke to make a girl happy,” I joked as Jess rolled her eyes at me, laughing. It was a James family joke.
The two cars staged and sped down the track. Two more cars to go, then Andy was up.
I glanced at the car Andy would be racing. Shit. It was a black 1967 Chevelle, which if I was not mistaken, used to belong to me.
“Ah shit, Jess, look at the car next to Andy’s. I think it’s Rob.”
She dug in her purse, pulled out a tiny pair of binoculars, and looked through them. “Yep, it’s Rob. Do you think Andy knows it’s him?”
I didn’t dare ask why she carried binoculars in her purse, but I did wonder what else was in there. I had visions of Hermione Granger pulling all kinds of crazy shit out of that tiny bag she carried in one of the Harry Potter movies, and let out a little chuckle.
“Oh, he knows” I finally responded. The next two cars staged and raced do
wn the track. “At least I know what the Chevelle will do and Andy’s car is definitely going to be faster, so that’s a plus.”
We hadn’t heard a word from Rob since the prank call when I was in Mexico back in February. I assumed the punches that Andy landed on him shut him up. I hoped it stayed that way. I heard the unmistakable sound of Andy’s car start up, and then watched as he pulled into the burnout box. Rob pulled up next to him in his own lane.
“Oh God, I can’t watch, Jess!” I covered my eyes with my hands and took in a deep breath. My heart pounded in my chest as I peeked between my fingers to watch the cars pull up to the start line. Unable to see inside either of the cars, I had no idea if Rob even knew it was Andy next to him.
The pre-stage light blinked on and I held my breath again. The Camaro’s engine revved up. The stage light flipped on next and I cringed. Andy’s car started to tilt slightly from the torque of the engine. As the next three yellow lights flipped on, one right after the other, I uncovered my eyes completely and stood up.
Green light!
Andy’s car lurched forward and the front tires slightly came up off the ground, while the Chevelle’s tires hooked up and the car started moving down the track. Rob was already at the hundred-foot mark, so Andy had a little distance to go to catch up to him.
Since it was his first race after he made several improvements to his car, he was taking it a little easy. By the time Rob hit the half-track mark, he had gained three car lengths on Andy. Andy shifted his car into third gear and caught up to the Chevelle quickly.
At three-quarters of the way down the track, Andy shifted his Camaro into fourth gear and flew past Rob, like he was standing still. Andy beat him by four car lengths. The reader boards showed Andy’s time at 10.90 at 128 miles per hour, not too bad for his first time.
He would do even better the next time. We jumped up and down, cheering along with half the people in the bleachers. I heard shouts of “Damn, that guy got smoked.” and “Did you see that?” There were even a few laughs heard.