Page 13 of Slash & Burn

“Are you kidding me? We’re not in high school, Grady. Dog ate my homework isn’t really a valid excuse in the real world.” I went to move past him again and he stopped me with his hand on my arm. Warm tingles made my breath catch.

“I don’t sleep great.” He blew out a gust of air, his eyes searching mine. “Last night was bad. I must have turned it off without even knowing. I only woke up at all because I forgot to close the blinds.”

The more words came out of his mouth, the more I lost the fight to look away. Snarky quips about me owing the sun god for saving me, dispersed like smoke on a strong wind, even as I tried to hold onto my annoyance. The look of apology on Grady’s face finally started to look real.

“Almost all of these readings are in the morning, Grady.” I shook my head, hating that he looked sorry and tired and… I don’t know, something else a lot harder to be mad at. “If you can’t make them on time?—”

“I will,” he said, pushing off my car and dropping his chin to look me in the eye. “I will.”

I wasn’t convinced and I didn’t hide it. But it was futile trying to stay mad at someone who seemed to be genuinely remorseful. So, I shrugged and let it go. “Okay.”

As I rounded my trunk, Grady set his arms on the roof, his height one of the things I always forgot about him until I was overwhelmed by his presence.

“How about we ride together?”

I tugged open my door, looking at him over the roof like he was nuts. “What?”

“Pick me up. I can’t be late if we arrive at the same time.”

“So, I’m your chauffeur now?”

A sparkle in his eye told me his humor was returning. “I don’t want to fuck up again, and you don’t trust that I won’t. You won’t even have to drive to the locations every time, I can drive once you get to my house and make sure I get up.”

“And if I get there and you’re knocked out and then we’re both late? I can’t afford to mess up this program. It might not be a big deal to you, but this is seriously important for my job.”

He was nodding as he came around the car to my side. “I know. So, I’ll give you a key. You can show up as early as you want, and wake my ass up in any manner you see fit if I’m not up by the pre-established time. Deal?”

This was insane. We were two grown adults, there was no need to go to such lengths. But I could see it on his face: Grady didn’t trust himself, but he trusted me.

“You seriously want me coming into your parents’ house and blowing an air horn by your head if you’re late?”

His low rumbling chuckle was as familiar as a warm breeze, tickling my skin and twisting my insides, just like it used to.

“I knew you’d make it painful.” His lips were pressed into a smirk, as he nodded his head. “You do whatever you need to. But make sure we’re always on time from now on.”

“Fine,” I said, turning to get behind the wheel. “You might regret this.”

He tapped the roof of my car. “Something tells me you’ll see to it.”

Considering how awful the morning had been because of him, a little payback seemed only fair. But judging by the grin on his face in my rearview mirror as I pulled away, he wasn’t too worried.

CHAPTER 6

GRADY

Itucked the newly cut key into my pocket and slipped out of Manny’s Hardware, giving the sidewalk a quick glance before heading for my car. I was still waking up in cold sweats every night and my nerves were fried. All I wanted was the peace and quiet of the gym, usually empty but for a few retired folks at this time of morning. I’d run myself into the ground and hopefully be exhausted enough to earn myself a dreamless night.

As I shut my door, I let out a relieved sigh and my head fell back as I closed my eyes. The prospect of handing this key off to Jill brought a smirk to my face, even though I knew it shouldn’t. This extra step was the right one, ensuring I wouldn’t fuck up again, but it still felt like I was treading a dangerous line. Welcoming a woman as beautiful and fiery into my space—even just to wake my ass up—had my pulse ticking. My dick, too, if I was being honest. But I didn’t have enough energy to run with that idea. Nor did I have a death wish.

My phone buzzing in my pocket jolted me from that enticing train of thought. But when I pulled it out and saw an incoming FaceTime from my trainer the spark of humor was snuffed out entirely.

“Hey, Marco,” I said, resting the phone on my steering wheel.

“Holloway, how goes it?” He was at his desk, his eyes flicking from the camera to his computer screen.

I stifled a sigh, trying hard to sound upbeat when I said, “It’s good. Things are coming along.”

His eyebrows raised like he was surprised to hear that. “That’s good. You haven’t updated your logs in a couple of days, so I was starting to think you’d decided to quit the team and become a lifeguard or something at the town beach.” He chuckled, his eyes landing back on his phone with a wide grin.

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