Page 31 of Virgin Skin

I look over my shoulder to see him with a key dangling from his finger now.

“Yeah, she is. I had one just like it back in Colorado, but I left it behind.” Along with everything else, is the part I don’t say out loud. Not that I had a whole hell of a lot to abandon. Some secondhand furniture, an apartment that was already overpriced and set for another rent hike next month, and a few other odds and ends I stuck in storage and told my mom to sell if she felt like it.

“I’m doing a full engine rebuild and kind of taking my sweet-ass time with it, but if you want, I’ll let you know when I’m finished up and we can talk about a price.”

“Yeah?” I light up. “Fuck yeah, that would be great.”

Jag tosses the car key at me and I catch it before straightening back up to full height.

“Thanks for the car too. I don’t know what kind of deal you guys worked out, but I’m happy to pay for it if you’re cool taking payments.” I duck my head and drag my fingers through my hair. I thought by almost thirty I would have my shit figured out, a decent job, maybe some savings in the bank. Instead, I’m the same aimless fuckup I was ten years ago.

“Don’t worry about it, sweet cheeks,” Jag says. “Although, if you’re dying to pay mesomething, I’ll happily trade in gossip.” He flashes me a shit-eating grin.

I snort a laugh. “Any old gossip? I just got to town, so I doubt I have anything that will interest you, although some of my friends back in Colorado were messy as fuck, so I can probably come up with something.”

“I was thinking more like, did you and Piston smash before you met Hero? And how big of a moral crisis is it causing our poor Dudley Do-Right to keep whatever happened from his besties?”

I choke on a cough. “Uh… sorry, I think I’m going to have to just owe you for the car.”

Jag juts his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “Ah, fuck. You’re all moral and shit too, aren’t you?”

“Eh.” I tilt my hand back and forth in a so-so motion.

He waits for me to say anything else, maybe to inadvertently at least confess thatsomethingis going on there, but I keep my mouth shut, and after a minute Jag rolls his eyes and sighs.

“Fine, keep your secrets. We’re on for Saturday though, right?”

I clench my hand around the key, feeling the sharp edges of the metal dig into my palm. My mouth tingles and my skin heats with the memory of Piston’s jealous, claiming kiss behind the shop earlier. If just thethoughtof me going out got that response from him, then actually going has to be the cheat code to getting another kiss… or more.

Is it shitty to make him jealous on purpose? I don’t know. Do I care? Not really. If it gets Piston’s hands all over me again, I’ll do just about anything.

“Yeah, we’re on for Saturday.”

“Kick-ass.” Jag grins. “Come on, let’s get your car.”

PISTON

I pace back and forth, stopping to peek out the window with each pass. I shouldn’t have let Milo walk away like that. I figured we could both use a few minutes to clear our heads and that it was a short walk back to my place, but it’s been two hours now and if he got hit by a car or ends up with hypothermia from walking around in the cold too long then Hero’s going to kick my ass. Hell, I’llletHero kick my ass.

A pair of headlights come down the street and turn into my driveway. My heart jumps into my throat and I hurry over to the front door. By the time I pull it open, I can already hear the echo of the car door closing and see the silhouette of Milo’s lanky frame and messy hair backlit by the streetlight.

I stride out into the cold with only my socks on my feet.

“Where the hell were you?” I demand, looking him over for any signs of injury as soon as I’m close enough to actually see him.

I don’t stop coming until I’m close enough to touch him though. He looks perfectly fine, but I pat him down anyway, running my hands along the back of his neck, over his shoulders, and down his arms before pulling him in for a hug.

Can he feel the way my heart is thundering with the fear that’s been eating me up for the last hour? He grunts as I crush him to me.

For a minute, I put the kiss and all the guilt and shame that followed completely out of my head and just enjoy the feeling of him safe in my arms. I bury my face in his shoulder and he puts ahand on the back of my neck, brushing his fingers soothingly up and down my exposed skin.

“Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I should have texted. I just didn’t think about it. Jag spotted me walking home and gave me a ride over to his place to get the car,” he says.

I drag in a breath and pry myself off of him.

“Right, that makes sense. Sorry, I just thought…” I look down the dark street and shiver, not because of the cold but because of all the horrible thoughts that ran through my head when he didn’t show up when I expected him to. Not just worries that something horrible happened to him, but fears that the kiss pushed him over the edge, and he decided to head to the nearest bus station and take the first one back to Colorado.

“I’m fine,” he assures me.

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