Hadley
“How are you getting to work tonight?”
I looked up from pushing my dinner around my plate at Ryker. “Um, Vanessa said she would pick me up.”
Ryker nodded and shoveled a mouthful of pot roast into his mouth. “When are you going to be able to fix the car?”
Ten years from now? That seemed like the only feasible answer. I didn’t have the cash to fix the car, let alone buy a new one. I was stretched to the max and didn’t know what the hell I was going to do. Rick had the car towed here yesterday, and it was now sitting in the driveway, reminding me of how fucked I was.
“Hopefully not too long.” Yes, I was lying to Ryker, because I didn’t want him to have to worry. He knew we didn’t have a lot of money, but I didn’t want him to know how dire our situation was.
“Sweet. Then I can start driving again, right? I could always drive you to and from work to get more practice.”
I set down my fork and wiped my hands. “You really think that I’m going to let you drive all alone at two o’clock in the morning to pick me up? Think again, bud.”
I glanced at the clock and saw that it was already six-thirty. Shit, I needed to get dressed and head down the block to wait for Tate.
“Well, either way, I’m going to drive more when the car is up and running.”
I nodded and set my plate in the sink. “That I can agree with, but not with taking me to and from work.”
“Maybe you could get a day job?”
Oh Lord, how I wished that was possible. People with GED’s weren’t exactly handed awesome jobs with kick ass hours and a shit ton of money. “Someday,” I mumbled. Someday was about ten years out when Ryker would have a family of his own. “I need to get ready. I told Vanessa I would meet her on the corner so she didn’t have to go completely out of her way.”
“I don’t get to see her?” Ryker asked, disappointment in his voice.
I knew Ryker had a thing for Vanessa. The few times she had come to the house, he’d been glued to her side waiting on her and talking a mile a minute. “Not today. Finish cleaning up, and you can have ice cream while you do your homework tonight.”
“What kind?”
“Rocky road and mint chip.”
“Hell yes, mint chip.”
I cringed and wrinkled my nose. “Ew.”
“Why did you buy it if you don’t like it?” He dumped his plate in the sink and put the plug in the drain.
“Because I know that you do. Just don’t touch the rocky road because it’s mine,” I warned.
He turned on the water and stacked all of the dishes in the sink. “You can have it.”
I ruffled his hair and headed down to my room.
I donned my mask of makeup, short skirt, and tight Sultry Knights shirt. I, again, looked the same, but something felt different. I had texted Tate earlier making sure he was picking me up, and my heart had skipped a beat when he had texted back saying nothing would stop him.
It had been two days without seeing him, but that didn’t mean I didn’t think of him the whole time. Both nights, I dreamed of him slipping into bed with me and having his way with me, just like he had on Saturday.
Sunday, when Ryker had come home, I debated just telling him about Tate. But I was terrified Ryker would feel like he was losing me, just like he had lost his mom. I knew that wasn’t true, but I wasn’t sure how he would feel.
I dabbed a little perfume behind my ear and on each wrist, then slid my feet into a pair of worn-out Chucks. I had to walk a couple of blocks to meet Tate and figured tennis shoes were better than flip flops or my heels.
By the time I made it back out into the kitchen, Ryker was camped out in front of the TV with a huge bowl of ice cream in front of him and an episode of Fast and Loud playing.
“Your boyfriend is on,” he called over his shoulder.
I sighed and watched Aaron from Gas Monkey working on an old hot rod. I knew absolutely nothing about cars, but I loved watching men work on them. I was a strange bird.
Aaron Kaufman had become the latest man I enjoyed watching. “I have no idea what he just said, but it sure sounded good.”
Ryker laughed and shook his head. “I have no idea what you see in that man.”
“Neither do I, other than he has an epic beard,” I giggled.
“Thank god you don’t have a boyfriend,” he mumbled. “Who knows what you would bring home.”
I grabbed my purse off of the couch and my heels that I had dropped by the coffee table. “Who knows? You might be surprised by who I would date.” He constantly talked about Tate and the other guys from Powerhouse. I knew he didn’t have a problem with Tate, it was just he had already been through too much this past year, did he really need another bump in the road?
Ryker scoffed. “We’ll see if that will ever happen. I’m waiting for you to come home with a cat one day.”
“Hey,” I protested, “I am not that old, and besides, I’m more of a dog person anyway, so I will not be some old spinster cat lady.”
“No, just an old spinster dog lady.” Ryker cracked up at his own joke and slapped his knee.
I rolled my eyes and leaned over to ruffle his hair. “Finish your homework and don’t stay up too late.”
He mumbled under his breath about not being a baby, and I locked the door behind me.
It was a quarter to seven, and I had a five-minute walk to where I was supposed to meet Tate. Butterflies churned in my stomach just thinking about seeing him again. It was amazing he made me feel that way. I couldn’t even remember a time where I felt like this about anyone.
Even when I had dated when I was younger, it had always just been fun, and none of the guys stuck around for long. Did that make me slutty, or picky? Or was I just not finding the right one?
So now, I had to wonder: was I repeating my twenties, thinking this was only going to last a short time, or was my pickiness paying off, and I had finally found a man who was what I wanted?
I mentally groaned and shook my head. But I had only known him for a few days. What in the hell was wrong with me? “Who does this?” I mumbled. I kicked a rock that was in the middle of the sidewalk and watched it skip across the pavement.
Why couldn’t life be easy just once?
“Hey, beautiful.” I looked up, realizing I had completely zoned out, and saw Tate slowly driving down the road next to me.
“Hi,” I chirped.
“You looked like you were thinking about something pretty serious.”
I stopped walking and put my hands on my hips. “I was.”
Tate nodded. “You wanna hop in and think about it with my hand on your leg?”
“Is that the only place your hand is going to be?”
He smirked and shook his head. “I make no promises, sweetheart.”
My heart skipped a beat at him calling me sweetheart. I had come to love anytime he said it. I crossed the street and hopped into his SUV. His hand instantly went to my bare thigh below my skirt, and a shiver ran through my body. “I missed you.” His voice was low, and he leaned across the center console towards me.
My pulse kicked up, and I threaded my fingers through his hair. “I missed you, too,” I whispered.
He closed the distance between us and stole my breath when his lips touched mine. The fierceness of his kiss and his hand sliding up my skirt drove me insane with need. “Tate,” I moaned when his fingers brushed over my panties.
He growled and pulled me close with his other arm. “Fuck,” he groaned when he felt the heat of my pussy through my panties. “Tell me you can skip work, and I can take you back to my place.”
I sighed and shook my head. As much as I wanted to say fuck it to everything, I knew I needed all the hours I could get at work. “I can’t miss work.”
Tate pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes. “I was afraid you were going to be responsible like that.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’d much rather be with you than anywhere else.”
He hummed. “It helps, but it doesn’t make my dick any less hard.”
My hand slid down his chest, over his white button down shirt that made his eyes bright gray, and felt his dick through his jeans. “Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered. We were both turned on, and there was nothing we could do about it.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. You’ve only been in my truck for one minute, and I’m ready to cum just from you feeling my dick.”
I closed my eyes and tried to get a grip. Well, a grip on something that wasn’t Tate’s dick. “We’re in the middle of the road,” I croaked.
“We could be in the middle of downtown New York, and your hand on my dick would still be the best thing I’ve ever felt.”
I opened my eyes and looked at Tate. “You can’t say things like that.”
A smirk spread across his lips. “Pretty sure I can say whatever I want, sweetheart.” He brushed my hair behind my ear and pressed a light kiss to my lips. “But right now, I need to get you to work so I can watch you walk around all night in that short skirt.”
I rolled my eyes and pulled out of his arms. “It’s not even my short one I’m wearing tonight. You can thank Ryker for shrinking the hell out of that one.” I pulled my belt across my chest and snapped it into place. “His helpfulness wasn’t as helpful as he had hoped.”
Tate laughed and shifted the truck back into drive. “He’s probably a hell of a lot better than most kids his age.”
I sighed and stared out the window. “He is. He really is a good kid.”
“You don’t sound so happy about that.”
I rolled my head to the side and smiled. “I am happy about it. It’s just, he deserves more than what I can give him.”
“I don’t know about that, sweetheart. He seems happy enough.”
I shook my head. “But happy enough isn’t enough. My sister died, and she wanted me to take care of Ryker. He lived such a different life than the one that is before him. Me working nights and tired during the day leaves no time for us to spend time with each other, other than watching movies, and vegging out in front of the TV.”
“Isn’t that what teenagers like to do?”
“Yeah,” I sighed, “but it still feels like I should be doing more.”
Tate laced his fingers through mine and squeezed tight. “Stop stressing so much, sweetheart. If Ryker isn’t happy, you’ll know.”
I nodded and looked out the windshield. “You’re right.”
We drove in silence the rest of the way, my talking about Ryker had obviously killed the mood.
Tate pulled into the parking lot of the club and parked all the way in the back.
“Why did we park so far away from the door?” Maybe Tate was one of those guys who was crazy about anyone touching their car. It was Tuesday night, and I knew it wasn’t going to be that busy. Tate slid out and moved around the front of the truck. He opened my door and held out his hand to me. “Are you going to answer my question?”
He looked around and shrugged. “Just felt like parking here, sweetheart.”
I put my hand in his. “You are a strange man, Tate.” I blinked slowly and looked at him. “I have no idea what your last name is.”
“Holten.”
I tilted my head, and let his name roll off my lips. “Tate Holten,” I said quietly. It suited him. It was strong and manly, just like him.
“Your turn now.”
I smiled and slid out of the truck. “Mine isn’t as neat as Holten.”
“I’m sure it sounds just as pretty you are, sweetheart.”
My eyes did the same thing they always did when someone paid me a compliment, they rolled. I knew I wasn’t Loch Ness monster ugly, but I knew I wasn’t what Tate thought I was. “It’s James. Hadley James. Daughter of Frank and Gail James who both died tragically when their daughters were nineteen and eighteen.”
Tate tugged on my hand and pulled me against him. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that, sweetheart.”
I shrugged and brushed my hair off my shoulder. “It was a miracle they lived that long. They were both alcoholics who cared more about where their next drink was coming from than Jeri or me.”
“It was good you had each other. Hell, you two looked like twins from the picture I saw.”
I smiled, thinking of all of the times we had fooled people into thinking that we were the other. “She hated gym class, and I despised math. We always swapped places until…” I ducked my head and bit my lip. Shit. This was not what I wanted to talk about.
“Until what?” He hooked a finger under my chin and tilted my head back.
My eyes darted around. I didn’t want to look at Tate when he heard what I was about to say. Telling people I had never finished high school wasn’t something I enjoyed doing. I cleared my throat. “After my parents died, my sister and I needed to both get jobs. I was just starting my senior year when I had to drop out.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I buried my face in his shoulder and tried like hell not to cry. “I got my GED,” I mumbled. “Jeri made me promise that I would get it. That was the only way she let me quit school so I could help pay the bills.” What was I doing? Why was I blubbering all of this to Tate in the parking lot of Sultry Knights? “I should really get to work.”
Tate’s body shook, and I knew he was laughing at my sudden change of topic. “Hadley James, you’re one of a kind.” He buried his nose in my hair, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s probably good you figured that out early on,” I drawled.
“Hey, you plan on coming to work tonight, or are you going to start waiting tables in the parking lot.”
I groaned and looked over my shoulder. Rick was standing at the back door, with Vanessa peeking over his shoulder with a huge smile on her face. “Coming,” I called. I turned back to Tate. “Pick me up at two?”
He shook his head and grabbed my hand. “I don’t have plans tonight, sweetheart, other than to hang out with you when I can.”
“You’re crazy. I don’t know how you can sit at the same table with nothing to do for hours.”
He tugged me towards the door. “I have plenty to do, and I have patience.”
“Like what?”
“I get to watch you for eight hours. I would say that’s plenty to do. Plus, I know at some point, you’ll get a break, and I plan on showing you the real reason I parked so far away.”
I shook my head and pulled open the door to the club. “I think you’re the one who’s one of a kind, Tate Holten.”
He wrapped his arm around my waist and pressed his lips to my ear. “You have no idea, sweetheart. But I plan on showing you.”
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