“I was at home. I came to get Rusty to look at my truck.”
My head is still swimmy, but I notice when the light disappears. It’s much quieter now and I smell some kind of citrusy cleaner.
“Your truck?”
“Yeah. I got a truck. Go back to sleep, Cami.”
I open my eyes as Trick lowers me onto something soft. A couch or a cot of some sort. I can see his face in the low light, but just barely.
“Why did you carry me?”
“Because you can’t sleep in the car.”
That’s not the answer I was hoping for.
“Why are you here?”
“I told you. I was looking for Rusty.”
“Trick, I—”
He cuts me off. “Good night, Cami.”
And with that, he walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.
CHAPTER FIFTY - Trick
I stand outside the closed door for a few seconds. As bad as it sounds, part of me wants to go back in there and take advantage of Cami’s sweetly drunken state. Just to hold her one more time, to feel that warm body against mine.
“Dammit,” I curse under my breath, pushing myself away from the door.
“What’s the matter?” Rusty asks.
“Nothing. She’ll go back to sleep. Thanks for letting her crash back there, man.”
“It’s no problem. You know that.”
“I’m sure you had…other plans for the night,” I say, eyeing Jenna where she’s sitting on the hood of an old Ford, drinking a beer.
Rusty grins. “Hell yeah I did, but nothing I can’t relocate. Are you sure she’s gonna be all right?”
“Yeah, she’ll be fine. She’ll feel like shit in the morning, but she’ll make it.”
“Man, that girl is tore up!”
“What do you mean?”
“She was a wreck when she called. Still was when we got to her.”
“About what?”
“What do you think, dickhead? About you!”
“Whatever’s wrong with her has nothing to do with me. She’s back with that douche of a boyfriend she had.”
“No, she’s not. Not according to Jenna.”
My heart is thumping so hard, it feels like it might jump out of my chest.
“What’d she say?”
“She’s got it bad for you, Trick. I thought you knew.”
“If she ever did, she sure got over it fast enough.”
“Or you just think she did.”
“No offense, Rus, but you don’t know what you’re talking about here. Maybe it’s best for you to just stay out of it.”
“That’s exactly what I told Jenna, but damn if that girl didn’t convince me Cami’s in love with you. She looks at me with those sexy eyes and I quit thinking with this head,” he says with a grin, tapping his forehead.
“It’s okay. I appreciate you trying to help, but it’s over. It’s just…it’s over.”
“It’s a shame, dude. You two were good together.”
His words, they’re like a knife in the chest. I smile as best I can. “I know. But…whatever.”
I wish I could actually feel that blasé about the whole thing. But I can’t. It’s tearing me up inside. I’m just pretty good at hiding it.
I turn and walk to the fridge that sits in the back corner of the garage. I see the unopened bottle of Patron sitting on top and I consider it. But then I open the door and grab a cold beer instead.
Before I can take more than one drink, the door to the little room at the back comes flying open revealing a seriously mad Cami standing in the doorway.
She looks adorable. And hot. Her hair is messed up, coming undone from whatever has been holding it up all day. Her shirt is wrinkled and hanging off one shoulder. Her chest is heaving. Her feet are bare. But the most mesmerizing thing is her face. Her gorgeous face. Her cheeks are flushed, like a permanent blush, and her eyes are sparkling with fury. I don’t know what has her so fired up, but I’d like to shake its hand.
She looks around the interior of the garage, her gaze stopping on Rusty and Jenna first then moving on. They stop when she spots me and I swear I think she actually turns about three shades more beautiful.
Her lips part a little and for just a second, there’s something other than anger in her eyes. It’s almost like she’s glad to see me, but hates that she is.
Could Rusty and Jenna be right? Could I have so badly misjudged and misread the situation?
As we stare at each other, for the space of no more than a few seconds, I decide there’s only one way to find out. Just as she starts to stomp toward me, I start walking in her direction. I think it confuses her a little because she stops and looks to Rusty and Jenna again before turning her attention back to me.
I don’t stop until I’m practically right on top of her. I’m staring down at her, never wanting to kiss somebody so bad in all my life. She’s looking up at me, her eyes wide and confused. She’s sexy as hell and I really have no other choice.
So I kiss her.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE - Cami
Of all the things I expected when I stomped out of that little room, this was nowhere on the list.
Trick’s hands are cupping my face and his mouth is devouring mine. My head is reeling from the mixture of cold beer and sweet mint on his tongue.
I’m shocked. And confused. And thrilled. And hopeful. All at once. It takes a few seconds for me to recover, for me to figure out what to do. But when I do, there’s no question what my next move is.
I go with it.
I don’t care about the answers I don’t have or the doubts that I do. I care about Trick wanting me right now, in this moment. That’s all that matters. Even if it’s just this one last time, I’ll take it.
Turning my head to the side, I deepen the kiss and lean into Trick. His groan vibrates along my tongue and tingles on my lips. Heat pools low in my stomach.
His hands slide into my hair and the kiss turns hungry. Like he feels the same desperate need I feel. Wrapping my arms around him, I let my fingers crawl up under his shirt where I can feel the smooth, warm skin of his back.
Trick’s lips never leave mine when he sweeps me into his arms. My pulse races and I hold on tighter, not willing to ever let him go.
When he takes me back into the room I just left, he kicks the door shut and sets me on my feet. I kiss him harder, not wanting to give him a second to breathe or think or change his mind. I want him all emotion, all hunger, all raw need. I can’t take the chance that he’ll remember all the reasons “why not.”