Page 29 of Play For Me
“Jesus, you scared me,” I say, opening the driver’s door. Miles is chuckling as he goes to the back of the jeep to put his clothes in. We both brought an outfit to change into when we get there, so we could wear comfortable clothes for the drive.
“I wasn’t trying to,” he laughs. “I thought you would see me walk down the front porch.” He shuts the back of the jeep and opens the passenger door. “For my passenger princess,” he grins and waves his arm toward the seat.
Walking over to the side, I try to hide my smile as I climb in. He hands me a bag full of snacks, and I peer inside. He’s got all my favorites and even added some other things that I love. I can’t help the stomach flutters that appear. Shutting my door, I follow his movements as he walks over to the driver’s side and gets in.
“Did I do good?” He asks, nodding toward the snacks on my lap. “I even packed a small cooler with bottled water and some protein smoothies.” He opens the small black bag he’s carrying and pulls out two waters, setting them in the cup holders before reaching back and putting the cooler on the floorboard behind me.
“Youdid good,” I smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he grins, pulling out of the driveway as our road trip officially begins. We head out of town and make small talk about his opening coming up and what he has left to do.
I can’t help but sneak glances at him when his eyes are fixed on the road. He’s got a light scruff going today, and his dark hair is tucked away in a black ball cap with his bar name on the front. It’s still long enough to curl and stick out at the bottom. I remember how soft it was, and I find myself wanting to reach out and run my fingers through it again.
“Did you hear what I said?” He asks, glancing at me with an amused look on his face. “That’s the second time you’ve spaced out on me and gone into that beautiful head of yours. Want to tell me what you were thinking about when you first pulled up, or what’s on your mind so much now that you are tuning me out?”
I feel my face get warm and quickly turn my head. “It’s nothing. Just going over what I need to discuss today at the winery,” I say, lying through my teeth.
“Usually, work doesn’t make people blush.” His grey eyes sparkle with laughter, and I dismiss it with an eye roll.
“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s a furnace outside, and I’m wearing black leggings. I just got hot, is all.” I adjust the vents to prove my nonexistent point.
I hear him chuckle softly as his eyes return to the road.
Digging into the bag, I busy myself with something to do. Taking out the gummies, I hold up the bag.
“These are worms, not bears.”
“I like the worms better. They are bigger,” he grins. “Does it matter? It tastes the same.”
“But the bears are cute,” I mumble, opening the bag and pulling out a red and yellow worm.
“But the worms are stretchy,” he says, pulling the end and stretching it enough that I let go. “And more fun to eat.” He pops it into his mouth and smiles as he chews.
“Kids play with food. You are only making my case that you are a grown-ass child.” I take out another worm and pull a bite off. I have to admit that I do like how there is more, and it is satisfying to stretch it out.
“Admit it. You just enjoyed that better than popping a bear in your mouth.”
“Don’t know what you are talking about.” I take another bite and pull it to the max before biting off another piece.
Laughing, he turns back to the road. “One of these days, your stubbornness is going to get you in trouble.”
“Is that supposed to scare me?” I stretch another gummy worm and fling it at him like a slingshot, hitting him on the side of the cheek. “You’re right. They are more fun,” I laugh.
“You should definitely be scared now. You just declared war, and I always strike back when least expected,” he grins, picking up the fallen candy and eating it.
I don’t know why that excites me, but it does. His greys briefly meet mine, and I see all the teasiness replaced with something much more carnal. Something tells me that when Miles strikes, you feel it to the very depths of your soul and end up begging for more.
I drag my gaze away and reach for the water bottle to quench my suddenly dry throat. Sticking to a much safer conversation, I ask him how it was growing up in Florida. He starts talking about his childhood, and I feel some of the tension leave my body as he tells me all about the trouble he and his brothers used to get into. The time seems to fly by as we dig into the beef jerky next and enjoy each other’s company.
“Why are we stopping?” I sit up and watch him veer usoff to the side of the road. We are about thirty minutes outside of our destination, and I don’t hear the engine running anymore.
“I’m not sure,” he murmurs. He gets us to the side of the road and tries to turn the key, but all it does is click. “Sounds like the battery. Let me check the connections real quick.”
I watch him get out and pop the hood. Taking my seat belt off, I follow him. He’s studying the battery and checking a few other wires before he turns to me.
“It’s either the battery or it could be the alternator. Either way, we don’t have another car to give us a jump start to see if that’s the case.” Pulling out his phone, he scrolls through it before putting it up to his ear.
“Who are you calling?”
