Shutdown (Nitro Crew, #4)

by Winter Travers

  I shrugged and tossed the remote to the TV. “Learning each day that goes by.”

  Roc’s arm came around me again, and he rested his hand on my collar bone. So it wasn’t a fluke the first time when he had done it. He wanted me close, and I wasn’t going to be an idiot and pull away.

  Roc grunted and focused on the TV. “Designated Survivor?” he asked as the title flashed across the screen.

  I nodded.

  “Is this the show where they get stranded on an island and they have fight to be the winner?”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Uh, no. Wrong show.”

  “Good. I’m not into that shit.”

  “Trust me.” I had a feeling Roc was going to love this. At least, I hoped he would.

  “Right, right,” he grumbled.

  I settled into the couch and being next to him because I had already seen every episode, but I didn’t mind watching the show again.

  Roc gave a grunt or grumble every now and then, and surprisingly, didn’t fall asleep.

  “Next,” he mumbled.

  I chuckled and didn’t move. “Netflix has this cool thing where it automatically plays the next episode.”

  “Nifty.”

  I shook my head and couldn’t help but laugh at the word nifty coming out of Roc’s mouth. “I think I’m going to pop some popcorn. Anything you want?”

  “Popcorn sounds good.” He was focused on the TV as it flipped to the next episode.

  “Be right back.”

  I popped up a bag of popcorn and dumped it into a bowl. I grabbed a ranch seasoning packet and sprinkled it over the popcorn. Buttered popcorn was good. Buttered ranch popcorn was even better.

  “You coming, Doc? This shit is getting good,” Roc called.

  I rolled my eyes. And the man doubted I knew what he liked. “I’m coming. I’ve seen this before so I know what I’m missing.”

  I grabbed two bottles of water and the bowl of popcorn.

  Roc turned and looked at me. “You’ve seen this before?”

  He seemed slightly upset that I had one up on him.

  I rounded the couch and sat back down next to him. “Yeah. That’s how I knew you would like it.”

  He took the popcorn from me, and I set the bottles of water on the coffee table.

  “We can watch something you haven’t seen before.”

  He settled his arm back around my shoulders. Three times. Definitely not a fluke at all.

  Whoa.

  I waved my hand at him and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “If I didn’t want to watch it then I wouldn’t have put it on in the first place.”

  He moved the bowl of popcorn in my lap. “If you say so.” Roc grabbed a handful of popcorn and popped it into his mouth. “Fuck, that’s good,” he grunted.

  I smirked but kept my eyes on the TV. I pulled the blanket over my lap and realized how close to Roc I was sitting. My thigh was pressed up against his, and I could feel his warmth radiating against me..

  “I can hear your brain running a mile a minute, Doc. Turn it off and watch TV.”

  I gulped and unballed my hands in my lap. “I’m not sure what’s going on, Roc.”

  “We gotta give it a name?” he asked quietly.

  “Well, I...no. But I just don’t kn—”

  “Shh,” he interrupted. His hand on the other side of me tapped my shoulder, and I turned to look at his hand. He pointed at the TV. “Watch.”

  I rolled my eyes. If this was what he wanted, then I guess that is what was going to happen. Being pressed up against Roc wasn’t anything to complain about.

  “I don’t play games, and I don’t give mixed signals. Want you next to me, Doc. That’s what this is,” he stated simply.

  Well, there it was.

  I kept my eyes trained on the TV and just enjoyed being this close to him.

  We finished the popcorn by the time the second episode ended, and I was surprised when Roc said he wanted to watch more.

  “Whatever you want, Chief.” I laid my head on his shoulder and sighed.

  I was getting tired, but I needed to stay down here until Roc was ready to do to bed so I could help him get in the chair and then into bed. I also wanted to stay down here because I was with Roc.

  My eyes fluttered shut, and I sighed. Roc could wake me up when he wanted to go to bed because I was beyond tired.

  Being tucked up against Roc was mighty nice, and I was going to take his advice. I was going to accept it and not question it.

  At least, not until I woke up in the morning.

  *

  Chapter Eleven

  Roc

  This was nice.

  Beyond nice.

  I couldn't even remember the last time I had woken up to a woman in my arms. Harlyn’s mom might have been the last one.

  Don’t get me wrong, I had been with plenty of women since then, but I never let them stick around for very long once I was done with them. They never slept in my bed or stayed the night.

  Mave was different. I was getting to know her before falling into bed with her. I was actually liking what I was learning and wanted her to stick around.

  Mave was sleeping on my shoulder with her mouth hanging open as she snored lightly. Absolutely beautiful.

  The sun was streaming through the windows, and the TV was a blue screen. Mave had fallen asleep before the end of the third episode, and I had only made it through the fourth episode before I fell asleep. She had been right that I would like the show, but after a day of working at the garage, I had been exhausted.

  Mave’s hair was in her face, and I brushed it off her cheek. She really was beautiful. When she had started talking about her douchebag ex, it had taken everything in me to not ask her where he lived so I could go beat the shit out of him.

  She wasn’t dumb for not knowing what was going on. People don’t go into marriage suspecting the person they were supposed to spend the rest of their life with is cheating on them. She was obviously still dealing with it from the way she had slammed back a half of a bottle of wine. I wanted to ask her more about herself, but I knew that probably wasn’t the best idea.

  She had also brought up the fact she was getting paid, and that soured my mood for a second. I liked being around Mave, and the thought that she was only with me was because of money pissed me off. What she had said wasn’t wrong. I wanted to show her that she was there to help me around the house but she wasn’t getting paid to hang out with me.

  Mave could have stayed in her room whenever I didn’t need her and not planned to take trips with me. This should have been a job to her, but it wasn’t.

  She was starting to care about me, and that wasn’t because she was being paid.

  She stirred against me and raised her head off of my shoulder. “Ugh,” she groaned. She raised her hand and laid it against her neck. “Oh, hell, that hurts.”

  She slowly pulled her head and moaned.

  “You good, Doc?”

  She cracked open one eye. “Why am I here?”

  I chuckled. “You fell asleep.”

  “I know, but I figured you would wake me up when you wanted to go to bed.”

  I shrugged and laid my head back against the couch. Thankfully, I had a comfy as hell couch, but even my neck was a bit sore from sleeping on it last night.

  “Fell asleep before I could wake you up.”

  She closed her eyes and laid her head back on my shoulder. “What time is it?”

  “Uh, not sure, but I’m gonna say it’s somewhere around seven.”

  Mave grumbled and flopped out of my arms onto the other end of the couch. “Ugh, it’s entirely too early to be awake.”

  “Doc, you’re up around this time every day.”

  She scrubbed her hand down her face. “Yeah, but not after I drink half a bottle of wine and sleep on the couch.”

  I leaned forward and rested my arms on my knees. “A little hungover?”

  She held up her finger and thumb pinched together. “Just a smi
dge.”

  “Tell ya what. You help me get into this chair and I’ll get you some Tylenol and make you something to eat.”

  Her eyes popped open. “Uh, how are you going to do that?”

  “Same as I always used to.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I think you can handle the Tylenol, but I’m not too sure about you cooking.”

  “And why is that?” I demanded. I wasn’t a gourmet chef, but I could handle scrambling eggs and making toast.

  “Can you even reach the stove in your chair?”

  Well, hell. “You might be right about that.”

  Another reason why I hate this damn chair.

  “I can get breakfast, Roc. It’s really not a big deal.” She moved to stand but I laid a hand on her arm.

  “Wait. I can make something else. Something that is amazing.”

  I wanted to make her breakfast. She had been waiting on me hand and foot, and the least I could do was pull something together for her to eat.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Can I ask what the something is?”

  A huge smile spread across my lips. “Cereal.”

  *

  Mave

  “Gotta admit, that was the best bowl of cereal I have ever had.”

  “It was the bananas, wasn’t it?” Roc dropped his spoon in his bowl with a satisfied smile on his lips.

  “The bananas totally put it over the top.” I grabbed both of our bowls, dropped them in the sink, and snagged the pot of coffee to refill our cups. “So, what were you wanting to do today?”

  Rock rolled back from the kitchen table and over to the patio window. “Well, seeing how it’s raining right now and I don’t think it’s going to change much, I thought maybe we could watch a couple episodes.”

  I chuckled and nodded. “I think we can do that.” I set the coffeepot back under the coffee maker. “First, let’s get you changed and then I need to shower and change.”

  “Hop to it, Doc.” Roc headed in the direction of his room, and I followed behind. He was really getting good at getting around the house.

  “So now you really get what binge watching means, right?” I laughed.

  “I see the benefits of it when you don’t have anything to do. Not sure I’ll be binge watching when I’m back on the road with the team, but it serves its purpose now.”

  I grabbed a t-shirt and tossed it at Roc. I had woken up sleeping on his bare chest and then had to watch him make breakfast with no shirt on. I had taken all I could. The man needed to put a shirt on or I wasn’t going to be held responsible for what I did.

  “Put that on. I think your shorts are good since we put them on last night after you got out of the bath.”

  Roc pulled the shirt over his head and chuckled. His head popped out of the shirt, and he had a huge smile on his face. “Are my bulging muscles too much for you, Doc?”

  “Yes.” I figured there wasn’t any sense in lying. “You’re the only person I know who can lay around for a week and still be all toned and...well...”

  “I’m not putting my arms in the shirt until you finish that sentence.”

  I cleared my throat and pressed my hand to my mouth. “Hot,” I mumbled.

  Roc put his hand to his ear and leaned toward me. “I didn’t hear that, Doc.”

  I shook my head and darted out of his room. “I gotta shower, Roc. Holler if you need me for anything.”

  I jogged up the stairs with Roc hollering at me. Nope, I was not going to be that easy.

  “You’re gonna tell me what you said.”

  “Maybe someday,” I called back.

  I ducked into my room and slammed the door shut behind me. I was running scared from a man like I was fifteen years old.

  Lord help me, but the grumpy man was making me feel things I hadn’t felt in a while, and it was absolutely terrifying.

  *

  Chapter Twelve

  Roc

  “You got a little something.” Mave motioned to her chin.

  I swiped at my face with a napkin. “That’s when you know the ribs are good.”

  “When you’re wearing them?” Mave laughed and leaned back in her chair. She rested her hands on her stomach and sighed.

  “Full, Doc?”

  She nodded. “I am, but I also spotted pecan pie on the menu. Split a piece with me? I can never say no to pie. Especially pecan.”

  I was full to the brim, but I was learning I couldn’t say no to Mave. No matter what it was.

  We had spent a good four hours at the car museum where Mave asked fifty million questions and I had been more than happy to answer all of them. We had gotten a late start to the day and didn’t have enough time to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but Mave had spotted a barbeque joint on the way back home she insisted we needed to stop at.

  “Only if you get it with ice cream,” I countered.

  She moaned and nodded. “Is there any other way to order pie?”

  I flagged down the waitress and waited for her to come over.

  “How’s it going over here?” she asked.

  “Amazing. Probably some of the best barbeque we’ve ever had.”

  “For me, it was,” Mave piped in. “Roc travels the country so I’m sure he’s had some pretty good barbeque before, but it was the best I’ve had. Ever.”

  The waitress laughed and cleared away our plates. “Is there anything else I can get you two?”

  “Pecan pie,” Mave replied without hesitation.

  “With vanilla ice cream,” I added.

  “She probably thinks we’re bottomless pits,” Mave laughed.

  I shrugged and rested my arm on the table. “I’m sure we’re not the only ones who ate ‘til we were stuffed.”

  Mave toyed with her napkin and sighed. “So, are you excited for tomorrow?”

  “Grilling out?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Uh, yeah.”

  “I guess so? I mean, it’s not like we’re having a crap ton of people over. It’s just the crew.”

  “I’m still not sure we have enough food,” she hemmed.

  “Doc, I promise we have more than enough food.”

  We had spent two hours at the big warehouse store buying everything. A huge nine hundred dollar dent into my credit card later and we were headed home with enough food to feed an army, four brand new patio chairs, an outdoor speaker, and a portable fire pit.

  “I just think maybe we should stop on the way home for more hot dogs.”

  The waitress came over with two pieces of pecan pie and ice cream.

  Mave’s eyes bugged out of her head when the huge piece of pie was set in front of her. “Uh, maybe we should have told her we only wanted one piece,” she whispered when the waitress walked away.

  I dumped the ice cream from mine onto her plate and set my piece of pie to the side. I could eat a shit ton of food, but even I had my limits. “We’ll take that piece home.”

  “I like the way you think.” Mave dug into the pie and closed her eyes as she moaned. “Oh my. That is some good pie.”

  I watched the beauty that was Mave and tried to control myself from getting turned on from her little moans. She licked her spoon clean, and I knew it was a lost cause to not get turned on when Mave was around.

  “I’m going to assume it’s good?”

  She nodded. “Not as good as mine, but it’s pretty up there.”

  I stuck my fork in the pie and swiped it through the melting ice cream. “Just so you know, you’re going to have to make me your pie when we get home because you said yours is better than this.”

  “Is that so?” she chuckled.

  I nodded and stuck the fork in my mouth. The ooey gooey caramel-like custard with the toasted pecans was damn near perfect. “Now that is some good pie.”

  “I was hoping a barbecue place would have good pie, but sometimes, you never really know.”

  I pointed my fork at the extra piece of pie. “You and I can split that when we binge watch tonight.”

  “I
think you might have to roll me to bed if I eat anything more after this piece.” She moaned but took another bite of the pie.

  “That’ll be a change of pace. Normally, you’re the one rolling me around.”

  “You’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

  I couldn’t wait for the day where I could get myself up and move around without anyone's help. It seemed like I would never get back there.

  “Sure as hell doesn’t feel like it.” As usual, I was beyond exhausted and my body felt like it was ran over by a truck again. “I fully plan on sleeping the whole way home, just so you know.”

  She took another bite of the pie and pushed the plate toward me. “You can nap on a full stomach because you’re eating the rest of that. I’m going to bust out of my jeans if I eat any more.”

  “You sure?”

  She nodded and laid her head back. “I shouldn’t have eaten any of it.”

  I grabbed the plate and downed the rest of the pie in two bites. I raised my hand to the waitress and asked for the bill and a container for the other piece of pie.

  “Let’s hit the road, Doc.”

  I laid three twenties on top of the check and grabbed the small container.

  “You just want to get going because you can take a nap. I gotta stay away the next three hours when I want to do is lapse into a food coma.”

  Mave pushed me around the tables of the restaurant then I took over. I was able to get around the house by myself in the chair but when we were in a cramped area, it was sometimes easier for Mave to do the navigating.

  “Quicker every time,” Mave laughed once she was in her seat and I was strapped into the passenger seat. “I think we’re starting to make a good team.”

  She buckled herself in and turned on the SUV.

  “You’re pretty good at this personal nurse thing.”

  She rolled her eyes and backed out of the parking spot. “I don’t really think I’m doing enough to be called that. I think I’m more of a friend who’s helping you.”

  “Friend?”

  I could work with that. I was worried Mave would be stuck in her head about being my nurse but if she didn’t see herself that way then I didn’t need to worry about jumping that hurdle.