Page 4 of Ugly Duckling
He walked into the gym, slipping his dirty uniform top back on as he went.
I turned and stared at his Jeep.
I’d always liked it.
It was brown with big mud tires.
Not the fanciest on the block because he’d bought it with his own money—he did about twenty lawns every weekend to pay for it—but it was the most badass in the entire parking lot.
I walked to the passenger side and unlocked it, staring at the baby paraphernalia that littered the front seat.
I smiled when I saw the tiny little baseball mitt for his son, Jett.
Jumping into the seat, I moved the little mitt onto my lap and put my seat belt on.
When I was done buckling up, I waited for a solid ten minutes for him to come back outside.
When he did, he was shaking out his hand.
As he got closer, I took in his appearance.
There was blood on his uniform top.
He also had a wad of cash in his hands that had me frowning.
“Rough game?” I asked him when he jumped into the Jeep.
He took the keys from my outstretched hand and started it up.
I watched as his foot moved onto the clutch and he shifted into reverse.
A manual.
“I’ve always wanted to learn how to drive a manual,” I mused, not waiting for him to explain about the blood on his shirt. “Was it easy?”
He grinned. “Want to learn?”
I blinked. “Here?”
“Here.” He shrugged.
So that was what I did.
I learned how to drive a manual on the way to Texas Roadhouse where he treated me to rolls galore, chicken fingers, and a baked potato.
We drove to his uncle’s house to pick up Jett.
Then he dropped me off at my place four hours later.
It was the best night in the world, and I was somewhat glad that Marx had fucked me over if that was how I got to spend my night.
Gunner waved as I got to my front porch, hand on the knob.
I waved back, then slipped inside and headed straight up to my room, glad that my parents were out still for the night.
When I got up there, I put my hands into the pockets of the jacket I’d borrowed and burrowed deeper into the smell of Gunner.
It took me a second to figure out that there was something in the pocket that my left hand was touching. Pulling it out, I found a wad of cash and frowned.
