Page 54 of Mr. Charming

By the time we get off the plane after the Washington game, another flight coming in well after midnight, I just want a bed and soft blankets.

I’m walking out with Tweetie, Conor, and Rowan, but I planned ahead this time and ordered a car that should be here when we walk out. This way I won’t have the temptation of inviting Tweetie into my apartment when he insists on getting me home.

“You coming with us?” Rowan asks as the sliding doors of the airport open for him.

“Fuck, it’s cold.” Conor zips up his jacket and rushes over to their SUV.

“No, I scheduled my own ride.” I lift my hand. “See you guys later.”

Rowan and Conor wave, but Tweetie stands outside their SUV as if it’s not below zero with the wind.

I walk over to the car with the license plate number pulled up on my phone. For a moment, I think Tweetie’s going to stop me and make me go with him, but the sound of a car speeding down the road draws my attention. It stops right in front of my driver’s car. What the hell?

I glance over my shoulder, and Tweetie nods at whoever the driver is and puts his bag in the back of the SUV.

Decker climbs out of an expensive-looking car and rounds the back. He goes to the driver’s side of the car I hired and digs out his wallet, passing the driver cash before rounding the back of the car. The car I reserved drives away, and Decker takes my suitcase from me.

“Why are you here?” I seethe through my teeth.

“Ask your overbearing ex,” he whispers, opening his trunk and putting my suitcase in.

My gaze lifts. Tweetie’s still standing outside the passenger door of the SUV. I try to figure out why he’s watching me, but he climbs into the SUV. I miss his gaze on me immediately.

“If you haven’t noticed, it’s fucking cold out. Get in the car,” Decker says.

I shift my attention to him holding open his passenger door. The black SUV pulls into the traffic lane and speeds off since they’re one of the only ones on the road.

Mindlessly, I walk to the car.

“By all means, take your time. I don’t need my hands to play baseball or anything.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Just get in the damn car, Tedi.” He waves as if I need directions.

“I like this bossy side of you. Don’t be afraid to show it in the bedroom,” I joke.

He gives me a saccharine grin. “No worries, honey, your seat warmer is on, and I’ve blasted the heat for you.”

“That’s so sweet. What did I do to deserve you?” I put my gloved hand over his cheek in a playful way.

“You blackmailed me, remember, sweetheart?” he says through gritted teeth.

I climb in, my ass falling into whatever low-slung sports car he’s driving. He slams the door before I can even reach for my seat belt.

Then he’s in the driver’s seat, swearing and complaining, putting his hands in front of the heating vent. “We need to talk.”

After he blows into his hands and rubs them together, he slides on his seat belt and puts the car in drive.

“This car is a little excessive, no?” I ask, looking around at the stitching and leather and the lit-up screen. Maybe I’m just used to Tweetie, who never really splurged on anything like this. I mean, he lives in a two-bedroom condo when he could easily be overlooking Lake Michigan. But that’s Tweetie, and one of the reasons I fell for him.

“Am I asking you to make the payment?”

I turn my body toward him. “Decker Davis, I’m seeing a whole new side of you.”

“This is me at one thirty in the morning, having to stay up to make sure I pick up my fake girlfriend because leaving her to be picked up by a rideshare driver is inconsiderate… let me think of what else he said.” He pulls onto the highway.

“Who?”

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