Page 50 of Interpreter

“I’ll take you.”

“I thought someone pickedyouup every day?”

Ahh! Fucking Dr. Parker! I look to the ceiling.Is this what you wanted, Dr. Parker? Is this what you wanted me to do? To feel helpless? To force me to fight?

Something in my gut says yes. Dr. Parker wants me to see what I’m missing. I don’t have a car, and because I haven’t given a fuck about moving on, I can’t help a friend out.

“I’ll drive your car, and my brother can pick me up from your place.” It’s not ideal, but it’s the best I got in this situation.

“And if I say no?” She has the audacity to ask.

“Then it will be a long, hot walk. My back will probably hurt from all your kicking and screaming, but we should be there by sundown.”

Her stare never wavers. “You’re a pain in my ass.”

I give her a few blinks just so she knows her comment doesn’t distress me. “Ditto.” And then I turn and walk down the hall, a pair of sparkly shoes in my hand.

As promised, Tim took me home. Driving my piece-of-shit car across town and pulling up into Magic Michelle’s parking lot. He doesn’t ask why he’s dropping me off here. He probably thinks I’m working my next shift.

“Are you sure I can’t take you back home?” I ask him.

He shakes his head, glancing down at his phone. “No, Mason is on his way.”

I’m nosy, sue me. “Is Mason the one who always picks you up after school?”

Again he shakes his head, eyeing me warily. “No. Generally, it’s whoever is available.”

“Oh.” I sit there, in my own passenger side seat, and worry my lip. Gah, I want to ask him a million questions, but I feel like, after the day we’ve had, it will scare him off.

“Why don’t you drive yourself?” There goes the scaring him off concern… I couldn’t help myself.

I wait as he hums, biting his bottom lip as if he’s trying to prevent himself from telling me, but then he sighs, and I know he’s going to give me just a little something. “I don’t have a car.”

What? Is that it? I guess I look shocked because he laughs a rumbling sound that has way too much sexy floating around in this small space.

“What? You thought it was something secretive?”

Well, kind of. I thought it was juicer than he just didn’t own a car.

“Do your brothers all have cars?”

This nosy-ass question seems to give him more pause than my general,why don’t you drive one,but he answers me, even if it is curt.

“Yes.”

“And what? You don’t want to increase your carbon footprint so you don’t have one out of principle?”Let it go, Milah. Clearly, you are pissing him off. It will be your fault when he cracks a tooth with all the jaw clenching he’s doing.

“I’ve never needed a car.”

Oh, well, I can see that. I still think he needs a car though. It’s not like Madison is a big city with public transport and sidewalks. Miles separate the small city from the rural homes.

“What if you have an emergency?”

Clearly, I’m having a hard time letting all this go. Well, that’s not even it. I guess I just want to know more about him. Anything that I can pull out of him will be fine.

Tim rolls his eyes, checks his phone one more time, and opens the door. At first, I think he’s not going to answer me when he slams the door and walks around the front of the car. Holy Fanoli! He’s opening my car door. Have you ever? Well, I have never had that happen, so let me have my moment here.

The breeze zips through the opening and the man that could probably bench press this car (it’s possible, you haven’t seen his arms), squats. How I want to run my hands through his hair and kiss the stupid scowl off his lips.Whoa. Slow down, girl. Remember, Tim isn’t looking for a one-nighter. From what you can tell, he has trust issues, and probably a few self-esteem issues.But regardless of both of those things, I’d still like to see him naked—maybe with his head between my legs.

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