Janie had a girl’s name, but she was definitely a muscle car.

Her paint looked like it was original but had suffered from heat damage and wear. The interior was clean and tidy—no ripped seats or anything gross like old food wrappers underneath them. That was probably because Dana was from LA. Girls didn’t eat in that city. She probably rode great but wasn’t at the moment; neither Dana nor the car.

Girls tended not to know that much about cars, but they at least knew to get them serviced. A lot of the time I found a lack of car knowledge from owners insulting. Especially when they had rare models. Dana could get a pass though. Besides the maintenance and proper care of the Riviera, she seemed to respect it as a vehicle. I mean, it had a name. It was clean. She hadn’t had any tacky customizations added like car-lashes.

She was just a little clueless.

Good thing she had me to teach her.

There was still no word on whether she was single or not. The presence of another man was none of my business. It was her job to dodge flirtation if she was in a relationship, not mine. She flirted like she was single, but her keys made me think differently. The car keys were on this keychain which had this miniature of a California number plate with the name ‘AARON’ on it.

Cute. Really cute. It was the sort of cute little thing guys thought their girlfriends would like. Dana apparently did. Or maybe ‘Aaron’ needed to give her one, so she didn’t forget what he was called. I had the sudden urge to scratch the name out. Your woman shouldn’t have to have your name on her keychain to remember it. If you were laying it down well enough, she’d never forget. She’d be screaming it all night long.

I wanted to make her scream. Little Dana Forester. Fuck me.

Dana Weinstein actually, according to her car registration that I found in the glove box. Why didn’t she have her dad’s last name? Reggie was divorced, so did his ex-wife get the kid’s names changed to hers? The fleeting thought that she might be married crossed my mind but no… that wasn’t it.

Whatever her last name was, Reggie’s little girl was a live wire. I had played that visit over in my head tons of times and each time we ended up inside the house, or over my bike, or in the garage fucking. It would be like those cheesy pornos where the guy would show up to fix something and then something very different happened.

I felt someone press against my back, and a pair of arms wrap around me.

“Adam, did you miss me, baby?”

Natasha. Back at it again with the infidelity.

“Tash, I know I make it hard to say no, but your boy Tommy came out guns blazing last week.” She sniffed and walked around me, hopping onto the hood of Dana’s car.

“He came back early; I wasn’t expecting him.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t either. Can I do something for you?”

I didn’t see her face because I had walked around to the other side of the car to yank the hood release lever but she probably looked insulted. I walked to the front of the car.

“Move,” I said brusquely. She hopped off dutifully so I could raise it. She followed me and stood with her ass against the grille.

“I’m sorry about what happened,” she said, her hand reaching for my face to see whether the bruising was still there. It wasn’t. For such a big guy, he swung like a bitch. I moved my face away.

“I’m working Tash,” I said. If Dana had never serviced the car, the battery was probably toast. How long had she had it? I’d have to ask her.

“Tommy’s in LA for the next week,” she offered.

A week. Tommy just didn’t learn, did he? Fool him once, shame on you Tash, fool him twice, learn to keep tabs on your bird of a girlfriend, Tommy. What did she do to that guy? Her pussy was good. Her head too but was it that good? There was no way he didn’t think she was still fucking around on him. But shit. What did I know? Maybe he had a good girl he kept in LA and Tash was his side chick.

“Is he now? So if I come over, I won’t find him pointing his gun in my face?”

“No,” she put a hand on my chest. I looked down at it, then at her. “You’ll find me, upstairs waiting for you. No top on. No bra on. No shorts on. No panties on. You can point your gun in my face.” She was wearing a shirt with buttons down the front that day and had popped one open with every article of clothing she mentioned. I sighed, looking down at her cleavage, popping out of this animal print bra. She made a convincing argument.

A couple of the guys in the shop were watching us and whistled in approval.

She wanted me to come over. It wasn’t my problem she was unfaithful. That had nothing to do with me. I didn’t promise Tommy that I would be committed to him—she did. If it weren’t me, it’d be any other dude. Lawson had been up my ass about the trouble he had gotten himself into, and Martin and Hanley were trying to get me in a cage fight.

I could use the recharge. The action. I let her lean up and kiss me.

“Uh… Adam?”

I broke the kiss to see Dana and her roommate standing there. I couldn’t help myself; I smiled at her.

“Dana,” I said. I nodded at her roommate who gave me a tight-lipped smile. Tash buttoned her top up, probably expecting me to introduce her.

“I’ll see you later?” she said hopefully, hand on my chest again. I moved it, telling her I’d see if I would be able to make it.

“Don’t make her leave on account of us,” the other girl said cuttingly. I smiled my most honest smile at her.

“What can I do for you, ladies?”

“I wanted to know how Janie’s doing,” Dana said. Her hair was down. Long down her back like the other day when we took the ride together. God, I loved her hair. It looked like spun sugar, and it felt like fine, soft silk.

“Well, first of all, I’m gonna have to change the car battery. After that, there’s a number of things that could be wrong that I need to rule out. Do you want me to go into it?” I asked her. She shook her head.

“Just tell me how much it’s going to cost me.”

“It won’t be cheap,” I said honestly. She sighed.

“I suppose I deserve it. I waited too long to bring her to the shop.”

“Don’t blame yourself. Classic cars are temperamental. Delicate. They’re like kids.”

She giggled.

“Oh, did I leave anything weird in the glove box?” she asked carefully.

“Just a couple books.” I pulled my gloves off and reached into the passenger seat where I had put them. She took them with both hands and hugged them to her chest.

“Thanks. Do you know how long it will be until I can get her back?”

“Can’t tell you anything just yet. I hope you aren’t planning on driving anywhere in the next couple of weeks.”

She frowned.

“That long?” She looked pained.

“About that long. Why? Were you going somewhere?”

“No… I just wanted to be able to get around on my own.”

“If you need a ride, the back of my bike’s always free,” I said. She smiled. She was adorable when she smiled.

“I just might take you up on that.”

Mimi cleared her throat, signaling her annoyance. I looked at her, and if looks could kill, the glare she shot back would have taken me out cold.

“Uh… thanks. I’ll see you later?”

I smiled and said bye.

That was a sign. Actually, it wasn’t a sign; it was a damn invitation. She’d be at Reggie’s that night. That had to be what she meant. I hoped it was what she meant. I called him before I went over. He said that he was running late but would show up, and I could let myself in. Then he added that Dana was there and could open the garage up for me.

Jackpot.

* * *

The door was open like he had said it would be. The house was quiet. Really, I didn’t need Dana to open the garage for me since it was accessible from the main house, but I did want to find her. The reason why was unrelated.

There were a few doors to choose from upstairs. One was obviously the master bedroom where Reggie slept, making the other two the kids’ rooms. They all looked the same from the outside, so I just picked one.

The first door opened to an immaculate, yet empty bedroom. She must have had another sibling. A brother by the looks of it. Football posters adorned the walls, and there were trophies everywhere.

I walked out and opened the next door.

She jumped, looking up, startled. She was on the bed, legs crossed. Her laptop was in front of her, and she had glasses on. Recovering quickly from the shock she closed the computer.

“Dad’s on his way home,” she said simply.

“I wasn’t looking for him.” I walked towards her, climbing onto her bed. Her eyes widened, and she backed away from me.

“What do you want?”

Her hair was up, and she had no makeup on. I leaned into her, gauging her response. She didn’t retreat. I reached for her glasses, plucking them off her face. She let me.

“Adam,” she said quietly. I looked at her. She didn’t say it, but I saw the question in her eyes.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

I leaned into her and kissed her lips. Her hands immediately went to my hair, holding me to her. I moved closer, prompting her to uncross her legs. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in so our bodies connected. Reaching into her hair, I pulled the elastic free, so it fell around her shoulders and down her back.

She smelled sweet, like flowers, and fruit. She even tasted sweet. I held her by her nape, pressing into her, so she lay back on the bed. I settled comfortably between her legs. I pulled away, wanting to look at her underneath me. I ground my hips into her and saw the reaction on her face. She wanted me. My fingers found her hair. Fuck, it was so soft. She looked at me.

“You should go,” she said evenly.

Go? Her face, our bodies and my cock thought otherwise.

“Do you want me to?”

“What do you want from me?”

“I want to fuck you, right here in your childhood bed.”

Her eyes hardened.

“Is that it?”

Her hands pushed against my chest; she wanted me to move. I got off of her, kneeling between her thighs.

“That’s not enough?”

“No.”

Shit. I knew it. It was too good to be true. It was a boyfriend, husband, girlfriend; it was something. There was going to be some sort of vague, stupid reason why this visit was just about to go south.

“I can’t be with you if that’s all you want. You can get that anywhere. It doesn’t have to be me.”

“I want it to be you.”

“I want it to be me too, but—” She scooted away from me, backing up to the headboard. I leaned forward putting her between me and the wall. I held her nape and kissed her again.

“Stop,” she said avoiding my advance. What the hell?

“What’s the matter?”

“Don’t. I don’t want you to do that unless you mean to continue.”

“Oh, I mean to continue,” I growled. I kissed her neck. She retreated again.

“Not like that.” Fuck, it wasn’t a boyfriend. It wasn’t even a husband. It was worse; it was her fucking morals. I sat back on my heels. Was it worth it? Did I really want it that bad? Pussy was pussy. She was right, it didn’t have to be her, but something kept me there, waiting for her to state her terms.

“I can’t do this with you unless you’re serious about me.”

“You can do whatever you want, Dana.” I pressed against her again. “And I know what you want. We both do.”

“If you kiss me again, it’s going to be because you are serious about a relationship.”

“Relationship?” My hard-on died an instantaneous death. He was out. Done. Would I ever get hard enough to penetrate a vagina again? Not if the girl said something like the insanity Dana was now speaking.

“Yes, relationship,” she repeated. She was mocking me.

“You want a fucking proposal?”

“No. I want to know that you are committed to me. And I to you. I won’t have sex with you unless I know that it isn’t the only thing you want from me.”

The last time somebody had disappointed me like that, was probably my good-for-nothing dad. It felt like a punch in the gut. Was she... was she rejecting me? What do you say to that? I had nothing.

I put a hand on her thigh and ran it up until it nearly covered her pussy through her jeans. Her face said she wanted it. Her hitched breath and flushed cheeks did too.

“I can’t make you any promises Dana. I can just guarantee giving you what you want. What I also want.” I slipped a hand under her sweater and ran it up her soft, warm skin. She stopped me and then did the unbelievable. She got up and walked towards the door.

“There’s beers and fresh lemonade in the fridge. I know Dad won’t mind if you have some,” she said.

She opened the door, and the woman walked out without even a glance over her shoulder.