Rev Me Up

by Kylie Gilmore

  He lifted her suitcase and attached it in the flatbed next to his, securing them both with crisscrossing bungee cords. She climbed in the passenger side and let out a breath. This was it. The beginning of two weeks of adventurous, fun days and sweaty, lust-filled nights. She squirmed with excitement topped with pure anxiety.

  Be bold! Where are you, slutty vixen?

  He got in and started the truck. “Ready?”

  She swallowed. “Yup.”

  “I figured we’d go straight through to Cleveland today,” he said as he pulled out of the lot. “Try to get some miles down fast. Eight hours and then—” another killer charming smile “—the night is ours.”

  She got a hot flash, followed quickly by nerves, which, of course, made her even weirder. “What about the Pez Museum? We don’t want to miss that.”

  He glanced over. “Where’s that?”

  “Pennsylvania.”

  “I don’t have a ton of time for sightseeing. I have to get back in a little less than two weeks to make it to my brother’s wedding.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m best man. Well, one of five best men. Vince wanted all of his brothers as best men.”

  “You have five brothers?”

  "Yup. Two biological, three step. My dad married their mom. It all worked out."

  "You're so lucky. I'm an only child." Least she'd grown up like one.

  "I am lucky."

  She hadn’t realized they wouldn’t have the full two weeks. That meant she had even less time to make this casual, sweaty, lust-filled affair happen. There was no time for nerves. “So how many days do we have?”

  “Almost two weeks. Thirteen days.”

  “Did you know Santa is the bestselling Pez?”

  “You can see anything you want in Cleveland.”

  Drop the Pez. You don’t even eat Pez.

  “Cleveland has the world’s largest rubber stamp,” she informed him.

  “Yeah? What about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Too touristy. The rubber stamp is really cool.”

  “All right. If you say so, but we only have time for one stop.”

  She nodded and settled in for a lot of hours on the road ahead. Might as well get a jump start on her required listening. “You have a lighter?”

  He glanced at her. “No smoking in my truck.”

  She held up her charger. “It’s for my iPhone. I have some lectures I need to listen to. It should work on the radio speakers if I tune it right.” He gestured toward it, and she hooked everything up. A few moments later, a voice droned, “Welcome to the New York State Bar Plus Review Course. The lectures are broken down as follows—”

  “Lily?”

  “Yes?”

  The professor’s voice droned on. “Crimes, contracts, constitutional law…”

  “Do we both have to study for the bar exam?” Nico asked.

  “Of course not, silly.”

  The professor continued. “…real property, torts, and civil procedure.”

  “Don’t you have headphones or earbuds or something?” Nico asked.

  “No.” She smiled. “I thought this way you’d be able to quiz me at the end.”

  “So we are both studying for the bar.”

  “No, just me. You’re going to ask me questions at the end.”

  More from the professor. “State-specific questions covered at the end of lecture fifty.”

  Nico groaned.

  “I have eight hundred flashcards you can quiz me with too,” Lily said, waving toward the flatbed behind them. “In my suitcase.”

  Nico turned the volume down. “We’re getting you headphones.”

  “Headphones give me a headache. You don’t have to listen. Just, you know, think about something else.” She turned the volume back up.

  The professor went on. “Lecture one…”

  Nico groaned even louder.

  “Shh!” Lily admonished.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eight long lecture-filled hours later, Nico parked the truck in a municipal lot in Cleveland and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. How in the world did his stepbrother Gabe get through all this boring law stuff? He knew way too much about things that barely made any sense to him. Torts? What the hell was a tort? Eight hours, and they’d only gotten through seven lectures. He couldn’t take it. He’d do all the driving, he’d indulge her need to see weird stuff like a giant rubber stamp, but he would not study for the bar exam. There was a reason he went straight to work at the garage. He was a hands-on kind of guy. He sucked at academics. He felt like driving a fork into his brain to get rid of all the boring stuff crammed in there.

  Lily tapped his shoulder. He raised his head and cocked a brow.

  “I booked us at the Hilton,” she said.

  “Seriously?”

  “My dad has free rewards club rooms at a ton of places from all his traveling.”

  “So all the hotels are high-end and free?” Nico asked. Strange that the wealthy, who could easily afford a room, got them for free, but what the hell. He could deal with living the high life for a bit.

  She nodded. “Okay?”

  “More than okay. That almost makes up for the massive bar exam headache I have.”

  She gave his arm a playful smack. “Oh, you do not. That was a very soothing voice.”

  He did an impersonation of the drone from the recording. “Civil procedure in the state of New York requires…zzz.”

  She laughed. “Let’s check in and grab some dinner.”

  “Can we get room service?” he asked for the sole purpose of keeping her in the room and getting her naked ASAP.

  “Sure. Why not?”

  They checked in, and Lily flashed some gold card that immediately got them the VIP treatment.

  “Will your dad know I’m with you?” he asked. “From the hotel.”

  She lowered her voice. “No. He won’t even notice I’ve used the rooms. He never keeps track of his rewards program cards.”

  That was great with him. The last thing he needed was to piss off his best client. Nico asked the guy behind the counter where they could get earbuds.

  Lily frowned. “I don’t like earbuds. They feel weird in my ears and give me a headache.”

  “Torts give me a headache,” he said. “Wear them or the Bar Plus Review Course gets it.”

  She giggled at his mock threatening voice. He loved making her laugh. And that smile just lit up her face. He went to the hotel gift shop and found some headphones that would be more comfortable than the earbuds for her. He met Lily back in the center foyer.

  He looked around for their suitcases. “Where’s our luggage?”

  She waved a hand. “Staff is bringing it up for us.”

  O-kay. He felt weird not bringing his own suitcase up, but whatever. They headed toward the elevators near the back of the lobby and passed by a sign that read Finkel-Stewart wedding.

  “Ooh, a wedding,” Lily said.

  He had zero interest in weddings. His own at twenty-one had been a big church wedding followed by a reception that his ex’s parents had paid for, taking out a loan to afford it. What a waste of money.

  They headed upstairs and both ordered room service of steak, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. Someone delivered their luggage a few minutes later. He could get used to this kind of life. While they waited for the food, he crashed on the bed, hoping Lily would join him. They had two queen-size beds, but one of them would not be used if he had anything to say about it. After all that driving to the tune of bar exam lectures, he more than deserved this. They could fool around a bit before dinner, he decided. An appetizer to the main course.

  “C’mere,” he said in the husky voice that always got results.

  Lily was fiddling with her giant suitcase. For some reason she was unpacking and putting things in drawers even though they would only be here for the night. “I’m okay.”

  “Why’re you unpacking? We’re leaving fi
rst thing in the morning.”

  “I don’t want to live out of a suitcase.”

  “C’mere. Rest with me before the food comes.”

  She waved a hand in his direction. “I’m okay.”

  “Lily.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you ever going to look at me?”

  She turned and looked at a point somewhere over his shoulder. “Hi.” She turned back to lining up a variety of items on the desk. He saw five stacks of flashcards all wrapped in plastic. Hell no.

  “I’m not doing those flashcards,” he said.

  She turned, one pack of cards clutched in her hand. “Just a few?”

  “No.”

  “I’d help you if you were trying to pass the most important exam of your life.”

  He crossed his arms and pretended to sleep.

  She huffed, and he stayed like that until their food arrived. They had a small sitting area in the room with a sofa and coffee table and went there to eat.

  “What do you want to do after this?” he asked casually as he sliced off a piece of medium-well sirloin. He hoped the answer was screw your brains out. He watched her for telltale signs of blushing.

  “I really want to see that rubber stamp!” she said with a smile and no blush at all.

  “Oh. Yeah? What’s so special about it?”

  “It’s the world’s largest.” She took a sip of Pellegrino sparkling water. “And it says ‘FREE’ on it. All capital letters.”

  He scooped up some potatoes. “Oh, well, if it says free in capital letters, of course we have to see it.”

  She nodded. “We should go right after this before it gets too dark. It’s at the harbor near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

  “Do we possibly have time to see the best thing in Cleveland?”

  She nodded. “If we hurry.”

  “I meant the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” He pulled out his cell and did a search to find their hours. “Nope. Missed it. Rubber stamp it is.”

  She beamed, and he warmed at the sight, pleased to make her happy. Ah, hell, it was worth it just for that.

  A short while later, they arrived at Willard Park, where Nico obligingly snapped a picture of Lily in front of the giant rubber stamp lying on its side.

  She ran to look at the picture and then told him the meaning behind the free, which was intended to point to the freedom of slaves, as it was originally located across from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which made a helluva lot more sense. It was getting dark, so rubber stamp duly noted, they headed back to the hotel.

  He snagged her hand as they walked and tucked it in his. He had to get her used to his touch if he was going to make any progress tonight. She didn’t look at him, just kept walking a little stiffly. Nerves, he figured.

  “I remembered what you said,” he told her. “About the slow stuff.”

  She jolted. “Oh. Uh-huh.” She walked faster. He kept up, keeping her hand tucked in his. She must be as eager as he was to get tonight started. It was all he could think about all week.

  They arrived at the hotel lobby to the sound of a DJ blasting music from the nearby ballroom where the wedding was being held.

  Lily stopped short and looked up at him. “I’m the plus one of the groom’s cousin. You’re the plus one of the bride’s cousin.”

  “What?”

  “I feel like dancing. Come on!” She opened the ballroom door and pulled him into the dimly lit room, where wedding guests were getting down to “Love Shack” by the B-52s. Old school. He dragged his feet. He wasn’t exactly dressed for a wedding. Lily was in a dress. He was in a T-shirt and shorts.

  She went to the edge of the dance floor and started dancing crazy. Her arms swung up and down as she alternated hip wiggles that brought her down low and popped up. He found himself smiling. She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her.

  “Lil, I’m not dressed for a wedding.”

  She held up a finger and left him standing there. He nodded to a curious grandma type dancing nearby. Lily returned with a suit jacket and tie.

  “Where’d you get this?” he asked as she wrapped the tie around his neck. She did a sloppy, loose knot.

  “Someone left it at a table.”

  He held the jacket out in front of him. Too small. He shook his head and put it back on the table. Lily pulled at him again and started her crazy dance. He could only watch in astonished amusement. She did like to dance.

  “Come on!” she hollered, dancing all around him. “Shake that thing, Marino!”

  He shifted back and forth on his feet. He could do two dances—a slow dance and a waltz thanks to the ballroom dance lessons he and his brothers were forced to take before their dad married their stepmom.

  “More!” she said, bumping her hip against him.

  He grabbed her by the hips, maneuvering her in front of him for a slow dance. He moved them slowly side to side. The song changed to a slow one, which would’ve been perfect, except the dance floor cleared, making them stick out even more. He was about to leave when Lily wrapped her arms around his neck.

  He leaned down toward her ear. “As much as I like slow dancing with you, maybe we should take this upstairs.”

  “There’s no music upstairs.”

  “I’ll sing for you.”

  She pulled back to look in his eyes. “You’re funny.”

  “Thank you.” Except he was serious. He really needed this upstairs thing to happen soon. Having Lily’s curves so close was like a tease, luring him in for more. A lot more than could happen on the dance floor of a wedding they were crashing.

  “No,” she said.

  “No?”

  “I want to dance here.” She pressed closer, her breasts against his chest, and he found it tough to refuse her. Also, he was rock hard and needed some cover for the tent in his basketball shorts.

  “Lily,” he said in a low voice, “people are starting to stare. I’m sure they noticed I’m in shorts and a tie.”

  “Just keep dancing,” she hissed.

  He did. Lily was very different from any woman he’d ever been with, and he was starting to get into that. The song ended and an older man in a tuxedo approached.

  “Time to go,” Lily said, grabbing his hand. They ran out the door, laughing.

  ~ ~ ~

  Lily loved crashing weddings and it had the added benefit of giving her more time to get over her nerves at what she knew Nico expected of her tonight. What she wanted, really, if she could just stop getting so worked up over all the ways she’d disappoint him. She set her shoes in the corner of the hotel room and took the ruby-wine-colored satin babydoll she’d bought just for this special event out of her suitcase. She tossed her purse over her shoulder because some of her favorite makeup was in there and turned to find Nico lying in bed, wearing nothing but black boxer briefs and a seductive smile. Her heart pounded. Omigod. He looked like a freaking underwear model, all olive skin and muscles. There was literally not an ounce of fat on him anywhere.

  So she did what any sane woman would do when faced with such manly perfection—

  She hid in the bathroom.

  For a really long time.

  Sure, she was all big talk (thank you, inner slutty vixen!), and he’d sworn to take things slow, but now that she was at the Big Moment, she was in a near panic. She couldn’t possibly compare to the type of women he must be used to. Like that Tiffany he’d mistaken her for because of her red hair.

  She changed into the babydoll nightie in the bathroom and reapplied makeup, and even though the nightie looked great, she couldn’t bear to have him touch her in it. The nightie looked good precisely because it was loose and flowing. The moment his hands touched her waist, he’d feel her plumpness, her much too soft belly. When they’d been dancing earlier, she’d been careful to stay close enough that his hands would rest on her back. If only she’d had more than a week to work out. Doing twenty stomach crunches a day had shown zero results.

  She sat on the t
oilet lid and started a game of solitaire on her cell phone. Maybe if she stalled long enough, he’d fall asleep. Four games in, Nico called through the door.

  “You okay in there?”

  “Almost ready,” she caroled back.

  Half an hour later…

  “Lil?” he called.

  It was kinda cute the way he called her Lil.

  “Yes, Nic?” she asked, trying out a nickname of her own.

  His voice rumbled close through the locked bathroom door. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Are you sick?”

  “No, I’m just getting ready.”

  “Still?”

  “You can go to sleep if you’d like. I’ll be out when I’m finished.”

  He grumbled something she didn’t quite catch, and she returned to her seventh winning game of solitaire.

  Another half an hour later…

  Her eyes were drooping now. It had been a very long day and her nerves had further worn her down. It was very quiet in the room. She hoped that meant he’d fallen asleep. She stashed her phone in her purse and quietly opened the door, coming face to face with Nico.

  “Hi,” he said.

  “Hi!” she squeaked.

  He reached for her waist, and she jumped back, slamming the door in his face.

  “Lil,” he said through the door, “I won’t bite.”

  She laughed heartily, all confidence. “I know that.”

  “Then why’re you hiding in the bathroom?”

  “I’m not.” She should probably take out her contacts. She did that, and the world went fuzzy. She put on her round wire-framed glasses so she wouldn’t trip on the way out. Well, now she didn’t have to worry at all. Nico would take one look at her professor glasses and be completely turned off.

  She yawned very loudly. “Could you step back from the door?”

  “I’m back.”

  She opened the door to find him three feet away. She dodged past him, hurried to the still-made bed on the far side of the room, banged her shin on the corner of the bedframe, and dove under the covers. Ouch. She set her glasses on the nightstand and settled on her side, giving him her back. She let out a very unladylike snore for good measure.

  The bed creaked and the covers lifted as he joined her. She tensed.