Page 34 of Vex

Pooh and I are laughing too hard to respond, but Tessie shares her thoughts instantly.

“I don’t like Axel as my teacher. He hollers and screams a lot, and I’m sure I heard him giving himself the last rites. Who does that? That’s just rude when I was just practicing my turns and stuff,” she says with a small sniff.

Axel turns and starts walking slowly toward his house. I’m shocked that he’s not rearranging my facial features already. He turns and continues walking backward while saying, “This isn’t over. You’ll be getting the ass whooping you deserve, Vex.”

We watch him disappear into his house, and I turn to Tessie, holding out my hand. She frowns but hands over my keys. Pooh walks away still laughing.

“Where do you want to get food at? I told Taja I’d bring dinner when I take you home,” I ask her.

“You like her, don’t you?” Tessie questions.

“Well, yeah, I guess. We’re friends. We work together. We, uh…,” I fumble for words.

“Yeah. You like her,” she replies with a grin.

“Whatever, kid, let’s go.”

Chapter 15

Taja

I’m weeding the flower bed in front of the house while laughing myself silly. I knew I’d be getting a call or text from Vex after he rode with Tessie. I’d do anything for that girl, but there’s a reason she doesn’t have enough training hours yet. She took five years off my life the last time I let her practice. Her driving literally caused me to piddle a little, not that I’d ever tell her that. I haven’t worked up the courage yet to let her try again. For someone who knows and loves cars so much, she can’t drive one worth a damn.

I try to hide my smile when I see Vex’s truck turning into my drive, but don’t succeed much when I see a few scrapes of paint missing from his door. I can clearly see his glare as he comes to a stop and Tessie bounces out of the truck. She’s carrying take-out bags and I rise, brushing the dirt from my hands. Tessie heads into the house while Vex emerges from his truck, slamming the door behind him, and approaching me.

“You’re an evil wench,” he mutters as he stops in front of me.

“I’ve been called worse.”

“You could’ve warned me that she thinks she’s Dale Earnhardt, Jr. behind the wheel,” Vex continues.

“Could’ve but she needs the hours,” I answer with a grin.

“And you’re too scared to let her get them with you,” he states while putting his hands on his hips.

“Too scared and too smart. I might be blonde but I’m not dumb. Not suicidal either.”

“I’m buying her a tank for her birthday. She’ll be safe at least. The world—not so much,” Vex snorts while finally giving me a grin.

“I probably deserve a spanking for not warning you.”

Vex raises one eyebrow and the grin spreads.

“I like how you think. But you’re going to get way more than just a spanking, woman.”

Tomorrow’s Tessie’s birthday party and I have everything ready for it. Suki’s coming early to help me set up and to help with the grilling. Earlier in the week Chubs called and asked if he could bring the cake. I readily agreed since it seemed important to him. Vex invited himself by informing us we owed him a meal and got a smile from both Tessie and me. He also promised Tessie he’d take her driving again but before she could touch the keys, they had to have a talk about which pedal to use and when. She agreed, and they’re going again on Sunday. I’m so relieved not to have to be a part of that. Having a man around is not such a bad thing it seems.

I sent a text to Rooster explaining that we couldn’t attend his club party. I didn’t tell him why exactly, just that we had plans for that day. I’ve not received a reply as of yet. I’m dreading the one that I know will come, though. Until then, I’m going to make sure Tessie’s birthday’s a great one.

I’m putting groceries away when Tessie sits down in a kitchen chair. Looking her direction, I know something’s up. She’s always been easy to read and today’s no different.

“What do you want?” I ask while trying to stuff a few more things in the overflowing fridge.

“You know I’m not really a kid anymore, right?” she asks softly.

I stop what I’m doing and face her, curious where this is headed.

“Yeah, honey, I know that. Why?”

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