Mimi had let me take the morning off so I could take Janie to the auto shop. I used the time to place some book orders before moving on to the business at hand. I hadn’t tried to start her up again after the fit she had thrown the other day. I stood in front of the car, squaring up, key in hand.

“We disagreed earlier Janie… are you ready to cooperate now?” I said out loud, staring into the headlights to assert my dominance. I walked around and slid into the driver’s seat. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, turning the key in the ignition.

The engine roared into life.

“Yes!” I celebrated.

My joy came too soon. As powerfully as she started up, she flatlined. I cursed, turning the key once more.

“Not again, not again, not again, Janie, why?”

The engine sputtered pitifully every time I tried turning the key. I sighed. Obviously, Janie would have to get to the shop some other way.

But how?

I retreated inside the house and called Dad. He’d know the auto shop number.

“Hello, Dad?”

“Hey angel, what’s going on?” he asked down the line.

“Daddy, remember when I told you I had been having trouble with the Riviera?” I asked.

“Did something happen?”

“No, that’s just it. Nothing is happening. She won’t start.”

“Have you checked whether there’s a problem with the battery?”

“Dad, if I knew how to solve this I wouldn’t need your help. How do I get it to the shop?”

“Well, I suppose you could get it towed there.”

“I have to get a tow truck company to tow the car to the auto shop?”

“No, you can just call the shop. They can most likely tow it there for you.”

“I don’t have the shop number,” I said.

“I can call them for you. I’ll tell them the address to pick your car up from. Is it out front?”

“Yes.”

“Great. I’ll call them and tell them now. Sit tight.”

I thanked him and hung the phone up. I called Mimi next telling her sadly that my intention of taking the car to the shop had been blocked by none other than the car itself. She scolded me for not taking Janie in earlier. She didn’t need me because I could do the book orders from home but I did sort of feel like a ninny for waiting as long as I did to get the car checked out. I had to stop asking people for things.

If Janie was my baby, I was a terrible mother. CPS would have snatched her up ages ago. When was the truck getting here? Where was it coming from? I worried, thinking about all the questions I wouldn’t be able to answer when they got here. Did I have anything embarrassing in the glove compartment?

I still didn’t know where the shop was when the sound of an engine outside caught my attention. It was louder and angrier than a car engine. I walked to the front door and opened it.

Adam Holloway was dismounting from a motorcycle in my driveway. My breath hitched. I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready to face him again after our conversation at my dad’s. I had been trying to convince myself that he was just being flirtatious and that it wasn’t that serious, but I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. He was just having fun at my expense. He had to have been. He didn’t really think those lines would have worked, did he?

It was because he had called me hot. That was it. I liked feeling like this guy wanted me. If a man to desire me was all I wanted, then he didn’t necessarily have to be Adam. I desired Adam however and therein lay the wrinkle. Maybe I should have invited him upstairs that day. If he wanted to tease me, I could do it right back. It was all fun and games. It wasn’t that serious.

He was in his usual vest and faded jeans. Our eyes met, and I smiled at him. I wasn’t expecting him, but I wasn’t going to lie and say that the sight of him at my house was unwelcome. He returned a small, amused smile like something had made him laugh. He walked up to Janie running his hand over her roof appreciatively.

“So this is Janie?” he asked.

“That’s her,” I said, surprised that he had remembered her name.

“What’s the matter with her?”

“The engine won’t start. It starts a little bit but then it just sort of dies out.”

He opened the door which I had left unlocked after the failure to launch earlier and checked the dash, leaning into the interior. His large frame moved comfortably around the car like he knew what he was doing. I moved from the front door to stand near him, my arms crossing in a subconscious effort to protect myself... or make my cleavage look better. Maybe both.

I could see the back of him, and it rivaled the front for magnificence. His shoulders and upper back were completely covered in ink. Swirls and words that his clothes obscured so I couldn’t read them. His back was wide and thick which kicked up an almost primal response from me. That was my favorite part of a man’s body. His voice suddenly addressing me cut my appraisal off.

“Want me to spin around so you can get the full 360?”

“What?”

He looked at me over his shoulder.

“If you need a better look, you can just slide closer. It’s free to look and to touch.”

My face burned.

“I’m good. Thanks.” He let out a short laugh before continuing.

“Gas tank is full. Are you sure it isn’t the battery?” He turned and looked back at me.

Words. What were those again? I coughed a little, feeling hot under his gaze like I had been caught staring—because I had.

“If... if I knew what it was I wouldn’t need your help,” I said. He smirked and held his hand out.

“Give me the key.” I handed it to him, my palm flat. He took it, closing his hand around it completely rather than plucking it with his fingers. Our skin met briefly. I swallowed and tried to concentrate on breathing through my nose. If I kept my face placid, maybe he wouldn’t think I was crazy or having a stroke. He wasn’t even doing anything. He was looking at my car. We were discussing gasoline and car batteries, the least sexual things in the world.

He slid into the driver’s seat and moved it back to make room for himself before starting the engine. Just like before, the engine rumbled hopefully before sputtering into silence. He tried one more time before climbing out of the car.

“Can you tell me how long she’s been like this?”

“What are you, a doctor? She’s not sick. She’s just broken or something.”

He tilted his head looking at me like he was going to tell me I was an idiot through his explanation without directly calling me one.

“I need to know whether this is an internal issue or whether it’s your fault.”

“My fault? Why would it be my fault?”

“When was the last time you had your car serviced?”

I blanked.

“I don’t understand the question.”

If I was annoying him, he was being very patient with me.

“Service. Fluid check. Oil. Have you been back to your dealer or a Buick service station lately?”

“No. Never.”

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“When was the last time someone took a look under your hood, checked your oil? Made sure everything was working the way it was supposed to?”

Say something. Say something. Say something.

“I’d like to say last night, but my car guy didn’t show up.”

Damn Dana. That one shocked even me. He smiled knowingly, remembering our exchange in Dad’s kitchen.

“Good thing he makes house calls. Classic models tend to need a gentler touch. More attention. Constant manipulation.”

This guy had a talent. How did he make the most innocuous words sear the pit of my stomach?

“Do you know whether the car has all its original parts?”

Seamless transition. I swear. Wasn’t he just asking me what was under my skirt two seconds ago?

“Wrong person to ask. My dad would have the answer to that.”

“What did he do, just hand you the keys to a beautiful vintage car and tell you to go wild?”

I frowned at him.

“Without people like me, people like you would be out of a job,” I told him. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong or not?”

“Not. I have to get her to the shop first and get under the hood. As far as your other problem, you keep running away before I can solve it for you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Janie isn’t the only girl whose hood I need to get under.”

He had taken a step closer to me. One arm was resting on Janie’s roof and the other at his side.

“Are you going to keep flirting with me, or are you going to do something about it?” I stuck the landing on that one, even if my voice was a little shaky.

“I can get your car to the shop within the hour. You... you’d take a little longer than that to thoroughly work over.”

Boom. Dead. Deceased. He had killed me.

“Shame. I need to head out,” I managed to squeak out.

“Somewhere to go?”

“Work. I have to get downtown.”

He looked at me for a few seconds before his next question.

“Need a ride?”

“I just told you I needed to go to work,” I said sweetly. That got a laugh out of him.

“Not that kind of ride,” he motioned to his bike. “Not just now anyway.”

“With you?” I frowned.

“Would you rather walk?”

No. I wouldn’t rather walk. Ideally, in that already unfortunate situation, I would have taken a taxi. The thought of riding to work on the back of Adam’s bike, however, enticed me more than I cared to share.

“Do you have a license to ride that thing?” I asked him. He smirked.

“I’ll get you there in one piece. Scared of a little speed?”

“Scared of the driver is more like it.” He smiled.

“What? You don’t trust that I can handle my machine?”

“I’ve never had a demonstration.” I was being playful now, but I saw his eyes darken and become predatory.

“You’ll need protection, but I’m thorough. I’ll take care of you.” I wanted to roll my eyes and spontaneously combust at the same time. “Ready to go?”

“I just need my purse,” I said. I walked back into the house feeling like I needed to change my clothes—like I’d been running in them or something. I felt like I needed to take my cardigan off, fan myself or have a cold drink, so I didn’t swoon. I’d never been a flirt, but I hadn’t been able to resist Adam coming onto me.

That was what he was doing, right? Coming onto me? Surely he didn’t just talk to people he’d just met like that. When I walked back outside, he was already on the bike, both his legs planted firmly on the ground.

“Have you ever ridden before?”

“Nope.” I awkwardly tried to mount the bike without flashing him as I did so. My decision to wear a dress that morning had been based on the fact that it was cool and comfortable. I hadn’t anticipated mounting Adam’s hog, though the dress would have been the perfect clothing choice depending on which of his hogs we were referring to. Adam was silent, watching me struggle.

“The goal is to get the bike between your thighs,” he teased. I looked at him scowling. I placed a hand on his shoulder to help me swing my leg over the bike, then purposefully ran my hand down his arm and around his bicep before releasing him and adjusting the skirt around my thighs. I mean... since I’d have to be hanging onto him anyway.

His hand briefly closed around my thigh, near my knee as I scooted into him, wrapping my arms around his body. My bare inner thighs rubbed against the worn denim of his jeans.

“Keep your knees tucked in,” he said. I swallowed at the intimacy of the embrace.

“Comfortable?” he asked. He passed the helmet back and waited for me to secure it over my head before revving the engine and roaring down the street.

He hadn’t waited for my answer, but yes, I was comfortable. Between the man between my legs and the powerful machine below me, my breasts pressed against his back, and arms wrapped around his solid midsection, this was likely the most erotic experience of my life to date. I’d had penetrative vaginal sexual intercourse that was less hot than this.

Once we got downtown, I had to direct him to the shop, talking above the roar of the engine and the wind whipping by us. He slowed down at a spot across the street, stopping the bike and balancing it skillfully with his feet on the ground.

I plucked the helmet off my head, running my hands through my hair.

“You okay back there?”

I clambered off as gracefully as I could manage and smoothed my dress over my hips and thighs. I worried at my hair again. All that heat damage and time creating effortless waves with my curling wand that morning were for nothing.

“I am never doing that with you again,” I said. He got off the bike and took the helmet from me.

“A little worse for wear but you can still get it.” His hand followed mine into my hair, combing his fingers through it near my ear, making light contact with the side of my neck. Effortlessly nonchalant. “Where do you work?”

He’d done it again. Knocked me over with a flirty comment, before casually asking me a normal question right after. I could hardly compose myself enough to answer cogently.

“There,” I said, pointing at our unfinished storefront. “We aren’t technically open yet. It’s a bookstore. Well, it will be.” He looked at me briefly, before turning and walking directly towards the shop’s entrance. I panicked, hurrying after him.

Thankfully, it was empty inside. As I breathed a sigh of relief, I heard Mimi’s voice floating in from the back. She was talking to somebody, telling them where the free-standing shelves had to go. It was a minute before she noticed us.

“Dana, you’re here... and?”

“Adam,” he offered.

“We’re not open yet,” Mimi stated the obvious.

“He just gave me a ride,” I said quickly. “He came to pick Janie up. Uh... this is my roommate, Mimi.”

The two eyed each other from across the distance. Adam smiled widely.

“Pleased to meet you, Mimi,” he said. “I’m gonna go get started on your car,” he said looking at me.

“Oh, of course, thanks for the ride,” I said carefully.

“No problem. Let me know the next time you want to hop on,” he said flirtatiously. He turned and walked away. For a moment, the only sound in the room was Mimi shooting daggers at me.

“Let me know the next time you want to hop on?” she said incredulously. “Dana?!”

“What? He was at the house—”

“You took that man to our home?”

“I didn’t take him anywhere. He came to look Janie over.”

“And to let you hop on his hog?”

“Don’t be gross Mimi,” I said defensively, my red cheeks a dead giveaway.

“Me? You’re the one who just let that man between your legs just now.”

“It was just a ride to work. There’s nothing going on.”

“There better not be.”

I looked at her.

“But what if there was?”

“Don’t do it.”

“Why?”

“You’re not like him. You’ve never had casual sex in your life. If he wants anything from you, Dana, that’s it.”

“Weren’t you the one telling me earlier that it’s been a minute since I had someone? You were telling me to go out and date, remember?”

“Yeah, date, not play with fire. You can’t play this game with that man Dana.”

“Why not?”

“He’s bad news. His friends are criminals. He’s a womanizer. Should I go on?”

“Who told you I don’t just want to have some fun too?”

She didn’t believe me, and I didn’t believe myself saying it. It was a lie.

“You aren’t like him. He and Anthony’s brother are friends. He’s told me things.”

“And you believe them?”

“Dana... don’t do it.”

I lowered my purse from my shoulder, holding it in my hand.

“All I want is my car back so I can stop bugging everyone around me. There is nothing, okay?”

I started walking away.

“Day...”

I turned.

“I don’t want to see you get hurt.”