Page 55 of Space Junk: Houston, We Have a Hottie
“And Jules?” I ask, trying to keep up.
“Jules is my friend. She’s up in the station at the moment. She’s the one who got me to go out that night when I met Rose.” Jackie lowers her hands, giving up on her hair.
“She did, did she? I guess I’ll have to thank her for that.” I tuck a stray tendril behind her ear and straighten her glasses, loving how she seems to relax into my touch. “But why is she going to kill you?”
“Who? Oh, Jules. Long story involving her go-to blackmail move.” She leans against the wall, trying once again to get her boots on. One finally jams on. “But bottom line—if I don’t show up today she’s going to tell Ian I want to, and I quote, ‘bone him hard.’”
All thoughts of Jackie’s bare ass, her sweet eyes and her sexy brain are overridden with one thought—Oh, hell no.
“I’m coming with you.”
Fifteen
Pit Stop
Flynn
Jackie’s hairis a tornado in the wind.
I love it.
She asked to put the windows down and now she’s fighting to wrangle her hair with both hands.
“You sure you don’t want me to put the windows up?”
“No, no. I got it.” She finally seems to anchor it to the side of her head in one hand, her elbow propped on the car door. We speed by NASA on the way to her apartment, the breeze off of Clear Lake whipping through the car. “What kind of car does Ian drive, do you know?”
Her interest in her co-worker, even if it is about cars, dims my good mood. “A Tesla S P100D.” I might not like Ian, but even I have to admit, the man has a sweet ride. Zero to sixty in two point five seconds.
“That’s a mouthful,” she says.
I snort, thinking about the mouthful I’d like to give her.
“What? What’s so funny?”
Well, there’s no way I’m telling herthat. “Uh, I was thinking about orbital resonance.”
“Really?” She does a little bounce on the seat, looking pleased.
I laugh, my mood restored. “Don’t sound too excited—I don’t really remember what it is. To me, though, orbital resonance is a mouthful. A Tesla S P100D is just a sweet-ass ride.”
“I can see that.” Her head tilts back, exposing the long and slender neck I love. She’s so damn sexy, loose wisps of hair dancing around her face.
“How much does a car like that cost, you think?”
There goes my mood again. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m thinking it may be time to upgrade.”
My jaw clenches for a moment before responding. “Ian’s Tesla will run you about 135 grand.”
“Seriously?” She sits up in her seat, one fist still locked around her hair. “Ian must be loaded.”
I find myself wanting to snap, “Not as loaded as me,” but I don’t. One, because I’m not five years old. And two, I’d hate myself if I resorted to trying to win Jackie’s affection with money. And then there’s also the fact that if I did tell her I was a millionaire a few times over, she’d ask why I downplayed the ranch earlier. So I swallow it down, along with the unease I feel.
“You and Ian…?”
A gust of wind whips some of her hair into her face, and I can’t see her expression. “What about us?”
