Page 62 of Bump and Run
“Mm, it is,” I murmured, my eyes on his face.
He giggled and shook his head as he reached for my hand.
Ollie stood up. “I should go. Let you two have this time together.”
“You can stay,” I offered, not wanting him to feel like we didn’t want him here.
Ollie shook his head. “I can’t. I have plans. I’m going to hang out with Holt Walker and some of the other crew guys, plus I sort of have a date with Kit tonight.”
“A date?” Jones perked up. “Tell me you’re going to do what we talked about.”
Ollie chewed on his bottom lip. “Maybe, I don’t know.” But his eyes told the real story. The answer was no.
“Will you tell Holt that I’m sorry?” Jones said as he climbed to his feet. “And that I hope he’s okay? I feel terrible about what happened. Maybe I should send him some flowers or something. Would that be acceptable?”
Ollie snorted. “You don’t have to send him flowers. You could just text him, but I’ll tell him. You know Holt, he’s pretty chill.” He hugged his best friend before he spoke again. “You’re worried about Watts.”
“Uh, yeah. That guy wanted to lay me out for hitting his stepbrother, and I don’t blame him.” Jones nodded.
Ollie rolled his eyes. “He’ll get over it. By the next race, he won’t even remember what happened. There will be something new to worry about. I’ll catch you two later.” He raised a hand as he walked back through the house.
“Call me!” Jones shouted, then sat back down next to me. “That just leaves us.”
I pressed my nose into his soft hair and inhaled his familiar scent. “Whatever will we do?” I teased, then Jones was climbing up into my lap.
He linked his hands behind my neck. “I can think of a few things.”
Our lips met in a hot, wet slide, and all I could think about was the man in my arms. The soft sounds he was making, and the way his mouth felt against mine. That he still loved me. He still wanted me.
And I would do everything in my power to keep it that.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jones
I admired Charlie’s hands as he gripped the steering wheel of my car, keeping them at ten and two like we were taught in driver’s ed. He had dragged me out of the house, after telling me to pack an overnight bag, told me he wanted to show me something, and then asked if he could drive. I would have let him drive us off a cliff if he had asked me, because that’s how stupid I was for the man. From the moment I laid eyes on Charlie Callahan, he had been it for me. Despite everything that he had done to me.
“Where are we going?” I asked for the millionth time. I had an inkling as we headed down the interstate. All these road signs were familiar, the area a place I had known my entire life. Where I had grown up.
Charlie chuckled softly. “You think this is the time I’m going to tell you?” He reached over and laced our fingers together. “I think you know, but I thought it would be nice to go to our spot.”
“Our spot?” My heart rattled inside my chest as I spoke those words.
The place that I had wanted to burn to the ground after he’d abandoned me, yet found myself going there even more because of it. The first time I had gone back, I had cried and screamed in the darkness. I pounded my fists against thesand and begged for my heart to stop hurting. Prayed for a shark to swallow me whole so that I never had to feel this way again. Angry that I had fallen in love with Charlie so easily. Jumping headfirst into something that had shattered me beyond repair.
He squeezed my hand. “Mm, I thought it would be nice. To take you back to where we first met.”
“Are you going to break up with her, Charlie?” I hated myself for even asking.
When he didn’t answer right away, I untangled my hand from his and stared at the window.Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. No one likes a needy boy.
“Or are you going to have to pretend to be in love with her?”
Charlie’s lips were pressed together in a firm line when I glanced back over at him. “Yes, eventually, I will break up with Beverly. We’ve discussed it a few times already.”
“But when? I don’t want people to think that I’m a homewrecker or that you cheated on her. You’re engaged, Charlie, and people know who you are. You’re a big deal. If they see us together or—”
“Jonesy, don’t,” he growled, and it shouldn’t have been that hot.
