I outright laughed.
Like seriously, uncontrolled guffaws.
“I race every single weekend that I’m not working at the dirt track in Lonestar,” I told them both. “My brother and I do it for fun. Usually we don’t race each other, but sometimes, when we’re feeling frisky, we’re down to compete. Though, he’s the one who pays when my car breaks. I couldn’t do it if he didn’t. I don’t race that baby, though. She’s a pavement princess.”
A hand closed around my hip, and Callum helped guide me to where my car was.
“I have to hear it now,” Callum said.
“Shine,” Price said. “You have to drive her home, because I’m not getting on your death trap.”
I looked over at ‘Shine.’
“Shine,” I teased. “Why do you have what your brother calls a deathtrap?”
“My brother does a little racing, too,” Price said as he hit the unlock button on the car and fell inside. “Damn, this car looks like it’ll go fast just by the leather interior.”
CHAPTER 7
I used to be a people person before people ruined it for me.
-Shine to Iris
SHINE
Vaguely, I remembered seeing her car the other day when I’d dropped her off.
But I’d been so focused on the way her ass looked in her clothes that I hadn’t paid attention to the beast in the driveway.
I was definitely paying attention now.
“Come on, start it up,” I urged Price.
Price put his foot on the brake and then pressed the start button.
The car roared to life, and I swear to all that was holy, I got an instant boner.
Though, that really wasn’t saying anything.
I’d had a boner all night.
I’d had one every time I thought about a certain someone for the last few days, too.
My hand on Iris’s hip tightened, and I marveled at how tiny she was all over again.
The girl had some muscle, but even then, she was still small enough to fit perfectly into the curve of my arm.
Price hit the throttle, and the roaring got louder.
A car at the end of the parking lot started to screech as the car’s alarm began blaring.
Iris giggled, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.
“Gosh, I love when it does that,” she mused.
I did, too.
The smiling thing was the fuckin’ highlight of my night.
When I’d walked in and seen her frowning, I’d instantly thought something bad had happened with her ex again. Luckily, like he said he would, he’d controlled himself and stayed away. At least, he had when she’d been out of town. The real test would be when she went home, and if he left her alone there.
The woman in my arms started to lean a little more heavily into me, and I realized that she was getting tired on top of buzzed.
I really should open the passenger side door and help her into the seat, but selfishly, I wanted her to ride with me.
Wanted to feel her arms wrapped around me for hours all over again.
“Wait, how are you getting home?” Iris asked, leaning a little so that she could see Price’s face.
“I live near you,” he said. “Like you, I was planning to walk home.”
“Oh,” she hummed. “Good.”
I liked that she didn’t ask him to clarify where he lived.
I liked that ultimately, it was me she cared about knowing everything about, and not my brother who was just as interesting as I was.
“Ready to go?” I asked her, squeezing her hip lightly.
“Yes,” she answered and turned away from her car as if she didn’t quite care who was driving it. “Do you want to go to my race this weekend?”
I didn’t hesitate in my answer. “Of course. You definitely have me curious now.”
The drive back to her place was short and uneventful, just the way I liked it.
When we arrived, my eyes took in the perfectly manicured lawns as well as the most excellent edging around the sidewalks.
“I mow these lawns,” I mused as I took a look around the area. “That one right there,” I pointed to the neighbors that lived across the street. “And this place.” He gestured at Teller’s place. “Got the contract last month, actually.”
“When do you do it, so I can be sure to check you out while you do?” she teased.
I looked down into her face and realized that she was teasing me, but ultimately being very serious.
“Every Thursday during the summer, and every other Thursday during the winter months,” I told her. “Sometimes I’m with my crew, sometimes I’m not. I can make sure I’m with them from now on, though.”
She did a fist pump, which caused me to laugh.
“Speaking of working,” I grumbled. “I have to be up at the ass crack of dawn.”
The excitement I’d seen on her face as I told her about when I mowed the lawn dissipated.
“I’ll let you go, then,” she whispered.
And, just like that, she was out of my arms and walking up the length of her walkway.
I waited until she disappeared behind a gate, then waited some more before I saw the light go on in the apartment.
Only once I was sure she was safe did I leave.
And kick myself for not walking her to her door.
CHAPTER 8
Age has its advantages. Too bad I can’t remember what they are.
-Text from Iris to Shine
IRIS
I didn’t see him the rest of the week, but I definitely thought about him.
When I arrived at the dirt track in Lonestar that Saturday night around eight, the first thing I did was run and jump up onto my brother’s back from where he was bent over his car.
The sound of the wrench he’d been holding falling to the ground underneath the car, then a sharp exhale as Anderson’s head hit the hood, had me giggling.
He laughed and wrapped his muscled arm around me, giving me a backward hug.
“Hey, sis,” he teased, squeezing me so hard that I squeaked out a breath. “You made it.”
“Someone had to kick your ass tonight,” I teased, wiggling to be let loose. “Got to make sure you don’t get too big of a head.”
He flipped me, and I would’ve landed on my back in the dirt had he not lightly lowered me down.
I clung to his arm, though, holding on for dear life.
My hair was dragging in the dirt, and he was laughing.
“Pull me up, butthead,” I ordered.
He pulled me up, and I landed on my feet beside him.
I shook the dirt out of my hair and then scowled at him. “You missed lunch.”
“I missed lunch,” he confirmed. “But it wasn’t my fault. I had a shareholder meeting that went over. And then when I realized the time, I called. But you didn’t answer.”
“I ran to the restaurant and left my phone because I had nowhere to put it,” I admitted. “Guess you’ll have to pay for my lunch two times in a row next time.”
His eyes sparkled as he glanced at something over my shoulder.
He froze minutely, his voice dipping down low.
“Those belong to you?”
I looked over my shoulder to see a group of bikers standing there, but only one of them held my attention.