Page 76 of Dozer

“Ah, yeah.” I’d wanted to wait for Pippa so we could talk all together.

Romeo chuckled. “About fucking time.”

I answered. “Hi.”

“Want to tell me what you’re doing?” she asked.

I furrowed my brows at her tone. “Hanging out with Romeo.”

“Yeah, in my driveway. What are you doing to my car?”

I spun in a circle. “Romeo, she’s watching us.”

Romeo turned to the camera and smiled. “Tell her to come home and keep us company.”

“Levi told me you took on a curb and lost.” I stared at the camera as I spoke to her.

“You don’t need to do anything. I have insurance.”

“Nah, we’ll fix it. If Vance is around, can I talk to him?”

“He’s here. Hold on.”

A moment later, she’d handed the phone over.

“Hey, what’s up?” Vance asked.

“Pippa needs a new muffler. Levi dropped her off at your place. I was going to pick her up, but if you brought her home, I thought you might want to bring your welder over.”

“What time?”

“Give us a couple hours. Romeo’s going to grab parts while I go see my dad in county.”

“How’s Tank doing?”

“Good.” What could I say? I didn’t really know. Sitting in county for bullshit charges sucked. That’s why I needed to go.

Pippa came back on the phone. “Did you talk to Romeo about us?” she asked.

“I haven’t said anything, yet. What do you want me to do?” With each moment my heart beat harder and faster. “Pip?”

“I trust you to know what to say. Romeo knows. I haven’t hidden how I feel about you.”

I turned away from Romeo and the camera. “I’ll see you soon,” I said and hung up before I choked on the fucking emotions rising into my throat. Grabbing my crotch, I made sure I hadn’t grown a vagina, and that I still had a dick.

“Give me a minute.” I jogged into the garage and carefully popped out the broken vinyl window. I grabbed a bungee strap from a hook on the wall.

“Keep the keys,” I said to Romeo as I locked the door to the house and then hit the button for the garage door.

“I’ll meet you back here after you see Tank,” he said.

With the strap, I secured the window to the back of my bike. “I’ll drop this off for new glass.”

Romeo clipped on his helmet. “You want to tell me what’s up with Pip?”

I sat on my bike and held my helmet. My jaw ached with tension, and my gut churned with guilt. How did I tell one of my best friends I’d takenourgirl? I didn’t want to lose him to have Pippa, but I couldn’t stay away from her. “I care about her,” I finally said.

“I know. So do I. Do you want me to back off?”

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