Page 42 of Dahlia Made A List

He held his hand out to help me back to my feet. My skin burned where he touched and when he got us moving again, his hand still wrapped around mine, it was all I could do not to skip along at his side like the female lead in a K-drama romance.

The specter of my list still stood between us, but I shoved it to the back of my mind. Wyatt was holding my hand. I hadn’t scared him off last night. I hadn’t ruined our friendship and maybe things could even be different between us. Be more.

Be real.

Chapter Fourteen

Wyatt

IguidedDahliaaroundalong the asphalt, dodging familiar faces, rounding the side of the last hangar where more cars lined up. A crowd of people blocked the way as bodies gathered around a dark cherry red car. Creed with his Cherry, a beast of a street racer I’d tangled with more than once. I stepped ahead of Dahlia, cutting through the crowd and tugging her along behind me.

These cruise-ins pulled in a family crowd, but more than once I’d caught guys’ gazes sliding from acknowledging me to land on Dahlia with more than a little appreciation. With her bright hair, she drew attention; add in her big tits and full hips and wide-eyed excitement, she turned heads and sparked masculine interest. I tugged her hand and we navigated the crowd surrounding Creed. We passed several more parked cars, many of them cranked, as well, fine-tuned engines loud and ferocious in the night, some vehicles even spitting fire out the back exhaust for added drama.

But I wasn’t in the mood to linger and I liked the feel of her hand in mine too much to do anything to end the contact. Dodging familiar faces, we by-passed several cars until a moment later, I pulled us to stop in front of a dark violet blue vehicle. Right beside it was an old white Nova with the hood removed and a couple of guys leaned over the engine.

I planted us at the side of the violet blue vehicle and while we waited for Kiko to join us, Dahlia glanced toward the end of the car.

She stared down toward the bed of the El Camino. “Oh my god,” she said, “It’s a truck-car!”

For the first time since I’d taken her hand in mine, she wiggled free and skipped to the rear of the El Camino, her cheeks creasing with the wattage of her grin.

She loved the vehicle. I’d called as much. Only something as unique as an El Camino would suit her.

“You like her, then,chica?”

At the sound of Kiko’s voice, I dragged my gaze from Dahlia’s delighted face to my friend. He gazed after Dahlia with fascinated intensity. Kiko’s masculine appreciation rubbed me raw. I straightened, my spine gone rigid.

Dahlia pulled her gaze away from the ElCo to acknowledge Kiko. She smiled big at the other man, delight filling her face. “I love it!”

I shifted into her line of sight, between her and Kiko and her smile softened on me.

“Can you believe this thing, Wy? It’s a Car-Truck! A caranda truck. Whatever it is, I love it!”

Kiko laughed, easing forward like stealthy fuck and I knew the man meant to make a play for Dahlia. Why the fuck had I thought coming to the cruise-in would be a good idea? I shouldered past Kiko to join her at the rear of the vehicle. “It’s an El Camino.”

She gasped. “This is my car? Are you kidding me? Oh my god, please, Wyatt, don’t be kidding me. I want a violet blue truck-car more than anything!”

Kiko snorted out another laugh. “Some people call them a cruck. Or an ElCo.”

She gasped again, twisted her fingers in my long sleeve. “A cruck!”

My hand landed over hers and I pulled her palm to press against my pec. She fell quiet and I slanted her a look, but she just blinked up at me. My mind blanked as she curled her fingers into my chest.

I shifted, but nothing was gonna ease the pressure in my jeans. My dick thickened, blood pulsing through me in a heavy throb. I swallowed up her small hand with my own and turned to Kiko, shooting a few questions to clarify what I already knew about the El. He’d rebuilt it from the frame out, just as I’d done with the Firebird.

“Installed an AC, new bench seat with belts, modern sound system with all the links, back-up cam. All the fluffy things on the inside. Everything under the hood is upgraded. Radial tires. Creed installed disc brakes and all that. Wanted the thing to be reliable for my little sister, you know? The steering still needs an upgrade.”

Dahlia nodded when Cordova dropped his gaze down to her, but then I asked about the transmission and he returned laughing eyes up to meet mine. Fucker.

I stiffened, torn between drawing her away from Kiko and her joy at the car.

She leaned forward, drawing Kiko’s attention again. “It looks wonderful,” she told him, “I think you did an amazing job.”

“How about you jump in and we take her for a spin?”

My hand tightened around Dahlia’s. Holding the other man’s dark gaze, I exhaled a slow breath. “Back off, Cordova.”

The sizzle of real irritation along my shoulders and down my spine took me by surprise.

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