Chapter 7
Brewer
A steady knocking at my door jerked me awake. I groaned, pressing my hands to my eyes to try and rid them of their sleep. I laid there until the knocking stopped and turned back over on the couch, the whispers of the television lulling me back to sleep.
But then, the knocking started back up.
Fuck, Rock always did this shit to me. I would invite him over, then he wouldn’t turn up until the early morning hours wanting to go get some fucking breakfast to soothe his damn hangover. I rolled off the couch and adjusted my boxers, then started for the front door.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Rock! Why the fuck are you here so early in the goddamn morning?”
I ripped the door open, expecting to see Rock standing there with beer in his hand and hickies all over his fucking neck.
But instead, Makenna was standing there.
Holding the hand of her daughter.
“Uh… sorry,” I said as I looked down.
Fuck, I was wearing nothing but my damn boxers.
“Could you give me a second?”
Makenna’s wide eyes were lost behind my door as I closed it in her face. Shit. What the hell was she doing here with Ana? I rummaged around and found a shirt to pull over my head, then made my way back to the front door. I opened it and drew in a deep breath, my eyes squinting from the harshness of the sun.
Why the hell was my yard so smoky?
“We’re in trouble,” Ana said.
My eyes drifted down to the little girl as my veins began to pulse.
“Trouble? Is everything okay?” I asked.
“My car is… well? It’s a piece of junk. And I have to get Ana to school before I get to an interview. And I can’t miss this interview. It’s the best one I’ve got.”
“So, you need a ride.”
“If you drive something other than that motorcycle, yes,” she said. “I’m really sorry. I know it’s last minute and I woke you up, but I don’t know if Redding has cabs and-”
“It’s okay. It’s fine. I’m… sorry about yelling through the door earlier. I thought you were someone else,” I said. “Stand at the garage. I’ll get you guys where you need to be.”
“Thank you so much,” she said breathlessly.
I shut the door and ran up the stairs to get some jeans. I knew this wasn’t good. Helping them out and continuing to interact with them wasn’t going to do me any favors. But she was a single mother trapped in an unforgiving situation and I watched my mother struggle in too many of those scenarios not to help. I zipped up my pants and pulled on some boots, then headed out to the garage.
Good thing I’d picked up my fucking car from the shop earlier.
I pressed the garage door button as I fumbled with the keys. My pride and joy was my bike, but my 1967 Chevy Impala was my guilty pleasure. I worked on this thing day and night when I got the chance, but there were some things I only trusted one guy in town with. I needed a part of the engine rebuilt, so it had been in the shop for about a week.
And I was glad to have her back.
I opened up the door and rolled down the windows. It was too pretty of a morning to ride with the them up. The garage door opening slowly to reveal Makenna and Ana standing there, and Ana’s jaw dropped when she saw the car. It was crimson red with chrome detailing and the engine had been supped up to withstand top speeds if I needed a quick getaway from anywhere.
I watched a grin pour over Makenna’s features as she stood there holding Ana’s car seat.
“A 1967 Chevy Impala. Nice choice. How’s the engine running?” she asked.
My eyebrows ticked up as she tossed Ana’s car seat into the back.
“I might have a thing or two for old muscle cars,” she said nonchalantly.
“The engine’s running fine now that it’s fixed,” I said.
“Good. We don’t need two cars breaking down on us today,” she said.
I smiled as I watched her buckle Ana into her seat.
“Mommy, can we keep the windows down?” she asked.
“Yes, we can, sweetheart. Though it might mess up your ponytail,” Makenna said.
“I don’t care. This is gonna be fun.”
“I’ll make sure it’s fun,” I said. “We’ll listen to music and everything.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to do that,” Makenna said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Can we listen to the Disney channel?” Ana asked.
“If we can find it, sure,” I said.
“We can?” Ana asked.
“Why not?” I said with a shrug.
I opened Makenna’s door for her and she slipped into the seat. Ana was flailing her legs behind her mother, clapping her hands and ready to get on the road. I fell into the driver’s side seat and cranked it up, then revved the engine and watched as Ana laughed. Makenna smiled back at her daughter before she put her sunglasses on, then she started giving me directions.
“Take a left and get to the main road, then take a right.”
Makenna’s hair was whipping around her as Ana giggled in the backseat. We weren’t able to find the Disney channel on my radio, but we were able to find some old eighties music Ana apparently enjoyed. I could tell Makenna was shocked as Ana started bouncing her head, and I bobbed along with her as I relaxed back into my seat.
It had been a while since I’d had a beautiful woman in this car, and having her adorable daughter in the backseat made it all the more enjoyable. I shook my head slightly. Did I really just think of this as enjoyable?
I looked back in the rear view mirror, and saw a concerned look on Ana’s face.
“So, Ana, you ready for school?” I asked.
“I’m nervous,” she said.
“Why is that?”
“What if they don’t like me?”
“Why wouldn’t they like you?”
“Because I’m weird.”
“Do weird people ride in cool cars?” I asked.
I looked into my rear view mirror as we turned into the driveway of the school. I could see how nervous she was. She was wringing her hands in her lap and on the verge of tears. And I felt bad for her. I really did. Adjusting to a new school like this in the middle of the school year had to be tough, and I wanted to find a way to make this better for her.
So, when I pulled up to the entrance of the school, I revved the engine of the car.
The kids in front of the school all gawked and pointed as I turned up the music on the radio. Makenna whipped her head over to me, watching me curiously as I bobbed my head. Ana bobbed hers too, as a sea of people began to look at us. The boys were gawking and tugging at their mother’s pants and the girls were waving and batting at the legs of their fathers. I buried a grin as Ana danced around in her car seat, soaking up the attention before Makenna got out of the vehicle.
“Hey Ana?”
“Yeah?”
“If they ask you what kind of car it is, you tell them it’s an Impala. A strong car. Built only for strong people. Can you remember that?” I asked.
“A strong Impala for a strong person. Got it,” she said with a grin.
Then, I sat and waited as Makenna walked her daughter into school.
I turned the radio down and pulled up so others could drop their kids off. I saw Makenna talking with someone in the doorway. A mother or a teacher or someone like that. I could see Ana through the window, already talking to a group of kids who were no doubt asking her about the car. I slid my sunglasses down my nose and caught her smile, and I noticed her eyes were no longer filled with apprehension.
She waved at me and I waved back, then I watched her walk hand-in-hand off with another little girl.
“Thank you.”
Makenna’s voice ripped me from my thoughts as she slid back into the car.
“One down, one to go,” I said.
“Not what I was thanking you for,” she said.
I turned and caught her beautiful gaze before I pulled us back out onto the main road.
“Now where’s this place you’re going?” I asked.
“Take a left at the stoplight. You’re going to travel that road for a while. Then the plant will be on your left,” she said.
We cruised for ten miles down that road, traveling a good speed of sixty. I looked over at her every once in a while, taking in the easy way she reclined back into the leather seats I’d had installed. Her hair was whipping around her face and her sunglasses accented the beauty of her skin. Her hands rested between her thighs as she chewed on her bottom lip, nervous for her pending interview.
“Want me to rev the engine when we get there?” I asked with a grin.
“I think that might piss people off there, but thanks for the offer,” she said, giggling.
“How did Ana get off to school?”
“Really well. All the kids wanted to know about her awesome friend with the car.”
“Good. Every kid should have something positive to start off their day.”
“That was very kind, what you did back there for her. I’m not sure how I’m going to thank you for it.”
“Nail this interview and that’s all you need to do,” I said.
We cruised in a comfortable silence until a plant appeared out of nowhere. I had no idea the fucking thing existed, honestly. I pulled up to the gate and pressed the button, then Makenna leaned over me to talk into the speaker.
Pressing her tits right against my damn body.
“Central Casing, this is Melody speaking.”
“Yes. Hi. I’m Makenna. I’m here for an interview for the project manager position?”
“Buzzing you in now.”
I let out the breath I was holding as her tits grazed by me again. I cleared my throat as we rode past the gate, winding up the cracked concrete pathway to the front of the building. Just that small dose of Makenna’s heat had my cock throbbing against my jeans. I gripped the steering wheel and tried to adjust my pants, making sure she didn’t see how badly my cock was trying to jump out at her.
Because this certainly wasn’t the right time.
“Need me to pick you up?” I asked. “Or stay put until you’re done?”
“No, no. You’ve done enough. I’ll find a ride home,” she said.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Because it’s not a problem.”
“Really, Brewer. You’ve done enough. Thank you so much.”
“Then take my number. Just in case. Redding does have cabs, but if you call for one it can sometimes take an hour for someone to get to you,” I said.
Makenna looked at me warily before she handed me her phone. I typed in my number and saved it, secretly hoping she would use it. I handed her phone back to her and she drew in a shaky breath, so I pressed down onto the gas pedal and revved the engine.
“Stop that,” she said.
But a smile crept across her face, so I did it again.
“Brewer, you’re going to get me in trouble.”
“But you’re smiling, right? Everyone smiles when they hear that sound.”
I pressed the gas all the way down and Makenna started to belly laugh.
“You’re a mess. Stop it.”
“And you’ll nail this interview. Now get out,” I said.
Makenna pushed the door open and grabbed her purse before she stepped out. My eyes lingered on her ass. How beautiful it looked in the black pants she was wearing. Fistfuls of soft skin I could use to drag her body closer to mine.
I closed my eyes, forcing my gaze up as she shut the door.
“Thank you. Again,” she said.
“Stop thanking me and get out of here.”
“I’ll let you know how it goes?”
She held up her phone and I nodded my head.
“I look forward to the call.”
I watched Makenna all the way into the building before I took off towards the exit. I rode back into town, and something in my gut told me to take one more pass by Ana’s school. I slowly rode by, slowing my car down and looking out towards the playground.
I saw her running around, being chased by some girls as her messy ponytail fluttered behind her.
I revved my engine again and caught everyone’s attention. The kids all ran to the fence and waved at me, but I was focused on one girl. One pretty little girl whose smile was so big it closed her eyes.
“Hi, Mr. Brewer!”
I waved at Ana before I took off, speeding down the road as the kids gawked at me. That would surely give them something to talk about, and I knew Ana was going to be the talk of the town all day. I took the long way back to my house, reflecting on the morning and seeing if my phone would ring. Seeing if Makenna would need me at all for something. Maybe to pick up Ana after school or something like that.
But after an hour of riding around, I made my way back to my house.
If Makenna needed me, she would come knocking.
Just like she had that morning.