CHAPTER TEN
SCOTT
Julie had to be the most stubborn woman I’d ever met.
“But why can’t I just stick to skirts and be myself?”
I stared at her until she stopped talking. She’d been talking since we left the club to drive to Jay’s car, protesting that this next step wasn’t needed
But I wasn’t having it. When she finally gave me the floor, I spoke the words that I knew would have the most impact.
“Because Doug is a man with sophisticated tastes, and I’ve never seen him date anyone who wore flannel skirts on dates before. Now, do you really want to date him or do you want to be his best bud?”
She glared at me. I smirked.
Finally, she sighed. “Fine. But I don’t want anything too elaborate or risqué.”
“Trust me. You’ll look like a more feminine version of yourself.”
We arrived at a boutique where we were welcomed by the hostess. It was the place where I usually ordered my party outfits and such, mostly because I didn’t like going around and wasting time fitting and refitting. But I did like looking at women as they tried on outfits, and I was genuinely curious to see how Julie would fare.
She was shorter than most women I dated, but she had a pretty good body with generous curves in all the right places. I did my best not to notice those curves in her tank top and jeans, although there was no denying that she filled her clothes nicely. The salesperson asked what we needed, and I explained in detail that we needed something flirty, something sparkly, something girly, and something classy and elegant. Julie and I sat down as the salesperson got busy looking for items for Julie.
A few minutes later, she was back with her arms full of clothes, and directed Julie to the dressing room and got her started with the casual ones. Her first outfit was a simple black dress, similar to the one she wore during our encounter at the club—but with more glimmer in it. When she came out of the dressing room, I gave a low whistle as I watched the way the dress hugged her curves.
“We’ll get that.” I tossed the next outfit at her. She stared at it. “Don’t say a word. Just get dressed.”
She went back inside. A few minutes later, she came out.
While I was prepared for the black dress because I already knew what she’d look like in one, I wasn’t quite prepared for how good she would look in a red one. It was fire-hot and fit her perfectly, stopping at her thighs and showing off surprisingly lovely legs. I gobbled up the sight, trailing my gaze up at the tight fit on her chest area. The dress squeezed her breasts together and made them rounder, and a surge of interest went through me.
Down, boy.
“We’ll get that,” I said.
“I don’t want it,” she said at the same time.
We had a staring battle for a few seconds before the salesperson came back and exclaimed how pretty she looked. Julie looked like she wanted to protest and roll her eyes, but the hostess charmed her until she reluctantly said she’d take it. I winked at the hostess, who giggled and winked back.
Julie watched the whole exchange. This time, she did roll her eyes.
Before she could say another word, I tossed the next outfit at her. She brightened at the black jeans.
“Keep it going,” I said cheerfully.
She shot me a happy look before walking back inside.
*****
My next racing contest was another minor one. I liked minor ones because it allowed me to prepare for the Daytona 500, which I planned to win again this year. I’d already won two years in a row and wanted to make it a third time, cementing my status as one of the best. There was also the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship, but I was reserving my energy for that one for next year.
My biggest competition had to be Gray Denton, who was younger than me by a few years and had been the one on a winning streak before I beat him. I knew he was planning to come back stronger this year, and I didn’t want him to gain the upper hand yet.
He had plenty of time for that in the future, when I retired.
Another one who had his eye on the prize—and was more than good—was James Kinnick, who was ten years older than me and had already won three times, though not consecutive. Despite being past forty, he still had a lot of wicked skill in him.
And of course, there was Doug, who was just starting to make a name for himself and was eager to prove his worth. He hadn’t joined the major contests yet, but I had a feeling he wasn’t going to skip the ones this year.
“Get it ready faster,” Henry was ordering the crew by the time I got to the garage. I eyed as everyone worked together efficiently, and then turned my attention to Henry as he asked the same question. “Think we’ll win today?”
“Hope so,” I said. “Where’s Jules?”
“Here,” a voice popped up behind me. She zoomed past me with tools in her hand and got in the grind, and I found myself studying her as she concentrated on the front wheel.
A few minutes later, Anthony drove the car to the starting line—something that the members took turns doing. It was fun for them. I studied Julie once more, noting down the light lip gloss on her mouth. It looked…well, kissable. Almost sensual. An answering heat shot in my stomach, and it was confirmation that whatever she was doing was working.
After deliberation, I shot out a hand and removed her ponytail.
“Hey!” she protested, her hand going up to her falling hair. Her eyes widened when I arranged her hair around her face until it was prettily framed, then began to undo her blue uniform’s top two buttons. She was wearing a black top underneath, one that pushed up a tasteful amount of cleavage and highlighted her eyes.
Shit. She really was pretty.
“Now you look entirely distracting,” I said approvingly.
“Is that a good thing?”
“Trust me, it is.”
She beamed at me. I blinked as the jolt in my stomach increased, sinking down below and making me harden a bit. Okay, a lot. With an inward curse, I quickly dismissed it and hid the erection, deducing that I probably just needed to find some woman to slake my lust. It had been a while since I’d had sex with someone—actual sex, not counting my fooling around with that woman when Julie had been hiding under the club office desk.
Wow, that seemed like a long time ago.
Definitely need a woman.
I watched as Julie raced after the others, her butt swaying. I reminded myself that she was young, naïve, and my friend’s daughter. But yes, pretty and feisty and too smart for her own good.
Doug had better damn well appreciate what was coming his way.
*****
James won the race, and I placed second. I didn’t mind, because to be honest, my attention wasn’t even on the winning much—not that that was the cause of me not winning, mind you.
I was paying more attention to Julie in action.
She didn’t do anything during the race itself, focusing on her tasks in her usual efficient manner. But after the race and the crew members got the car back in the garage, she didn’t come to congratulate me as she usually did.
Instead, she went for Doug.
I was still congratulating James on his win when Doug and Julie began talking. They were a few meters away, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. At first, it looked like Doug was concentrating on Julie’s face, with just a friendly expression on his. Then Julie shifted on her feet and smiled up at him so brightly, fluttering her lashes.
Doug blinked and looked at her lips as the smile disappeared and she kept talking.
Then Doug’s gaze trailed down to her cleavage. Even from this angle, I could see his eyes darken with interest before he quickly looked back up and answered whatever she was asking. He smiled again—but it was different now. It was flirty.
Smooth.
They kept talking, their heads coming closer together. Julie used all the techniques I’d taught her, and Doug?
He was a goner.
I smirked, feeling like the proudest mentor in the world. Doug kept looking at her cleavage, and when she glanced in another direction for a while, I watched as he practically salivated all over them.
For some reason, that bothered me.
Tone it down, man.
She wasn’t all about the tits—although they were spectacular.
But this was what I had been thinking prior to my voluntary help, anyway. Would Julie be able to handle Doug in the long run? Should I tell her about the guy’s tendency to love them and leave them?
None of your business.
I shook my head. Yeah, not my business.
My part was done, and Julie was a big girl.
She’d handle this fine all by herself.