Page 53 of Tandem

“Just, if you’re going to be stupid and go back, at least don’t move out of his sight. I don’t like you being with AJ, but at least he’s known for how he fights, and no one will most likely fuck with him or anyone he’s with while he’s there.” As I was about to reply again, probably sounding way more pissed than I meant to, Hank stepped in.

“So you’re really dating that guy you were with at the Flywheels night?” he asked as he shoved some of his bronze hair out of his face. I looked at him and my other friends, then nodded.

“Yep. I’ve been dating him for a few months now. It’s a pretty serious thing, that’s why I brought him to the drift night.” They all exchanged looks.

“Well, shit, didn’t think Rosalie would beat all of us to get a boyfriend or girlfriend,” Tyler said abruptly, and Jayden glanced at him. “Well, except you, but, dude, you’re dating, like, a way older chick.”

Jayden was quick to reply, annoyed at Tyler’s accusation. “Oh yeah? If you think my girl is old, ask Rosalie how old AJ is.” I stood there as all eyes turned on me again. “Well?” I blushed because I actually didn’t know how old AJ was.

“Umm… I actually don’t know,” I muttered and returned to getting the paint supplies ready for Jayden’s car.

“Well, I can tell you. I knew a guy whose girl slept with him in the past. She saw his ID. He’s twenty-four, Rosalie. Which I doubt Dad or Mom would be happy about since you’re barely nineteen.” Cue an even bigger blush. No wonder AJ was more attractive than any other guy my age. Those muscles came with years of dedicated training, not months. But boy, did I hope these guys kept their mouths shut about the age thing, no doubt my parents wouldn’t like it.

“Just shut it, will you? It doesn’t matter. AJ is really nice to me.” And he was. AJ never treated me like a child. He always treated me like a woman.

Jayden smirked and replied before anyone else. “Doesn’t hurt you fuck him either, I bet. A lot of girls would probably say the same thing. Shit, bet he’s still fucking other girls around you, Rosalie. He’s literally the fight club playboy. A different bitch in his bed after every fight, don't you know that?” I shook my head as anger bubbled up inside me. I was tired of hearing this crap.

“JUST SHUT UP, JAYDEN. I didn’t ask for your opinion on the guy I’m dating, and not that it’s any of your business, but AJ told me he hasn’t seen another girl and has been turning down girls all the time since we started dating. So just shut up and let me paint your car!” I huffed and aggressively mixed the paint colors.

It wasn’t until about an hour later that I heard a car pull into the shop. Did Dad mention another client showing up today? Maybe it was a drop-off.

I was greeted by a green lowrider, already with a pretty decent livery on it. I walked over to the man getting out of it. He was tall, probably as tall as AJ, but not as muscular. He leaned against the side of his car. “Sup, baby. Is the man in charge here?”

Oh, great, a smooth talker who thought only a guy could work on cars.

“Unfortunately, my dad’s taking a client’s car to them. What can I do for you?” I asked, standing a little straighter so I didn’t have to look up as much. He was also wearing a green shirt with a green bandana on his head. Something about him had me standing on edge. He took a few steps toward me, stopping inches from my body.

Personal space invader much?

“Well, baby, can you help me with how much a new paint job would cost? See, I want a darker shade of green and a whole new hand-painted livery with a girl on the hood. Think you can gimme a price for that?” Okay, a paint quote. That would only take a few minutes. I got this.

“Sure, if you want to walk to the paint room here, we can select colors, go over livery pricing and everything.” I walked past him and into the paint room. He followed right behind me, his steps taking up two of mine. He stood beside me when we got to the room as I pulled out samples. “Okay, so what color green would you like for your base? We have six main greens that would look good on your car.” I began to spread out the color samples when he started talking.

“So, you go downtown much?” he asked, his breath hitting the back of my neck as he spoke. It made my hair stand on end.

“Umm, sometimes,” I replied. “But I’m really thinking this darker green would look the best if you want my opinion on greens. Because dark greens and blacks would pop as the low tones, and we can do a lot of brighter greens, maybe even a green-yellow flip, to go as the highlight colors.”

He placed a hand on my back. “Ever go to fight club, baby?” I stiffened as his voice echoed in my head, his lips next to my ear.

“U-umm… could you… r-remove your hand p-please,” I stuttered out, but his hand slowly lowered to my ass, where he gripped it hard, making me gasp.

“Don’t lie now, girl, a sexy thing like you I couldn’t forget. You were there watching the big fight. Tried to find you after, and would have had a lot of fun with you at my crib. But I lost you in the crowd after it was over.” I tried to move away, but he moved with me, pinning my stomach against the counter as he placed a hand on it while pulling my ass into his front, thrusting into me, making me feel his hard-on through his pants.

“Ummm… Look, I’m sorry. I’m not interested. That’s really nice of you to say I’m pretty but I have a boyfriend.” He pressed against me harder, the hand on my ass slowly moving around the band to the front. I shoved at him hard, but he grabbed my wrists and turned me, pushing my back against the counter. I kicked at him, and he shoved my legs against the counter harder. I winced as he slipped his fingers inside the band of my pants, and I panicked. Just then, I heard Jayden’s voice behind me.

“Everything good, sis?”

And the guy stopped before shoving his hand all the way down the front of my pants. He shifted away with a menacing smirk on his face.

“I don’t think my sister wants a guy like you touching her. She said back off, so you should fucking listen.” Jayden’s voice was low, his hand tucked into his jacket pocket, looking as relaxed as ever, but wait… was he gripping something?

The guy looked him over, slowly chuckled, and then glanced back at me. “Nah, we’re good, man. Just wanted your sis to know she’s the kinda girl I’m into. But since she’s not really into it today, it’s all cool. I’ll be back for that price another day, baby.” He snickered and strolled to his car, doing something on his phone before driving out as I stood there trying to calm my heart rate down.

That was scary, I didn’t know what would have happened if Jayden hadn’t been there. Would he have stopped? I shook my head. There were cameras on the front doors, and everyoneknew my dad was a respected business guy and shop. No one, no matter what side of the tracks they were from, would ever start anything here around or in the customs. And if anything had happened to me, well, let’s just say Dad would hunt down the person who did it and get him arrested. And probably have the help of a ton of people to do it. I pulled myself together and turned back to Jayden.

“Thanks, Jay. I think I’m all ready to lock up and leave work for the day, though.” And after a minute, everyone else came down the stairs, still laughing about something.

“We’re going to go out and drift after we bring back some lunch. Wanna come, Rosalie?” Hank asked me, and I lit up. That would be just the thing to take my mind off of what just happened.

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