Page 15 of Tech

He grins, a small dimple popping on his left cheek, making my belly flip. The urge to gently touch it hits me.

He replies, "That may be so, but still, they aren't safe, angel."

Angel….

I swallow hard and refresh the app on my phone. The Uber is only a few minutes out.

Clearing my throat, I look into the parking lot and whisper, "You need to stop rescuing me."

He chuckles. "All I did was catch you after I knocked into you to stop you from falling on your ass, and what I'm saying about Ubers is true. You're a woman alone, that's all, not exactly rescuing."

I smile a little. I'm not surprised he doesn't remember. I'm not very memorable, besides that, I was fourteen.

Tilting my head toward him, I smile a little and rasp, "You also helped me up off the cafeteria floor in the high school after I refused to kiss Marco Jacobs and he pushed me over and broke my wrist." His eyes widen, his mouth hanging open. I shrug. "I used to call you my high school hero." He blinks then chuckles the feeling hitting me hard, and I clear my throat. "I never got the chance to thank you for that, by the way, or your friend, who I'm pretty sure broke Andrew Levin’s nose."

He nods, smirking a little. "It was our pleasure, trust me. I didn't recognize you; your hair was straight, and your clothes…." He trails off, looking at my outfit.

I smile. "I used to hate the curls. I've grown to love them. and the clothes…that would be my momma forcing me to wear something I'm definitely not into, and the heels were my little sister's idea." He nods with a smile as a car pulls up beside me, and I clear my throat. "This is me. It, uh, was nice to see you again…." I trail off, not knowing what his name is, I never did in high school, either.

He bites his lip and rasps, "James, my name is James."

I nod. "Brook."

He smiles, looking at the car, his finger tapping on his thigh.

After a few moments, he looks at me, bites his bottom lip, then rasps, "Fuck it," and steps around me. I furrow my brows. He talks to the driver, confusing me.

I gape as the car drives off.

"What uh, what just…" I stutter in confusion as my ride disappears down the street.

James turns to me and grins, "Looks like you need that ride after all."

My mouth hangs open in shock. "Did you just…. Seriously?"

He grins and shrugs. "Come on, Brook, it's just a ride, and if we end up somewhere other than wherever you live so we can talk, then so be it."

I snort, shaking my head; subtle, real subtle.

I can't let him give me a ride home; he makes my heart skip and my stomach flutter. He, oh God, he's giving me the same feeling my dad said he had with my birth momma and my momma, and that's a scary thought.

An idea comes to mind to scare him off, and I clear my throat and ask, "Do you know who my dad is?" He raises a brow, crosses his arms over his chest, smirks, and waits for me to continue. I sigh. "Peter Summers."

He grins wide…. Okay, that's not the reaction I was hoping for; most guys are scared of my dad and his many guns.

James gets his phone out, making me furrow my brows, before he puts it to his ear.

"Uh James, what uh…." He puts a finger up, making me snap my lips closed. He smiles at me, looking at me with such softness that my belly flips again.

How on earth did I go from a crappy date to bumping into my high school hero, feeling all these feelings I never felt before?

"Hey, Mr. Summers, it's Tech." Tech? I thought he said his name was James. Wait, did he just say? "I'm doing well, sir…. Yeah, no, the goods for our beer are perfect, and the customers are happy. That’s actually not the reason I'm calling…. Look, sir…." He makes eye contact with me. “The reason I called is because I was wondering if it'll be alright to bring Brook home."

Ah, crap, he's just won at my game. I drop my chin to my chest.

"Yes sir, I promise I'll drive safe…. Alright, you have a good night, sir."

I look at him in time to see him hang up and place his phone in his cut. He tilts his head, smiling at me, making me chuckle a little. He knows my father quite well, by the sound of things, which means….

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