Page 10 of Wright Together

I’d had a radiator blow up on me at a Sonic drive-in. Smoke billowed out of the engine like a small bomb. An oil leak had come and gone for months with little patch repairs before more extensive work. I’d gone the summer before college without air-conditioning before I scrounged up enough to cover the repair. My brake pads had been burned into the ground before I had the money to make that replacement. And all that didn’t include the dead battery, a few flat tires, and a Check Engine light that still flared to life every time I started the car. I’d never gotten up the courage to figure out what that was all about. I liked to live on the wild side and hope for the best.

“How’s it going?” I asked as I strode toward him.

“Not great,” he admitted.

He hadn’t looked up yet. His fingers were currently working their way down the buttons of his shirt. My steps slowed as I watched inch after inch of toned skin appear on his chest. He slid the shirt off his shoulders and tossed it inside the car before leaning into the hood of the car and getting his hands dirty.

Literally.

My mouth went dry. Those shoulders flexed as he reached deeper into the car. His back muscles rippled as he spread his legs wider for balance. The sharp angles of his body formed a V as his torso tapered to his trim waist and into his suit pants. His impressive ass pushed backward. I tilted my head to get a better look. For a second, all I wanted to do was pour the entire bottle of water over my head.

Congratulations, sir. You have one-upped my Daisy Dukes.

“Well, it’s not the battery,” he said.

He brushed his hands back and forth as he straightened and faced me. Then, his jaw unhinged. His eyes slid down my long, tan legs to the boots on my feet and back up.

Then, he cleared his throat. “I think it’s a timing belt.”

“What?” I asked, shaken back to the moment. “No. That’s bad.”

“Yeah.”

I passed him the bottle of water, which he downed before continuing, “I wouldn’t recommend driving it even if we could get it to turn over. It’d be a more costly repair the more damage it takes. You’ll probably need a tow.”

I deflated. Fuck. A tow and a timing belt repair. How the hell was I going to afford that? I loved my 4Runner to pieces, but it was probably time to replace her. I just didn’t have the available funds, and she was so old that no one was going to give me more than pennies for her.

“I know a guy,” Whitt assured me. “I’ll give him a call and see if he’ll do the tow as a favor.”

“What? Really? Someone would do that?”

“Sure.” He already had his phone in his hand and was shooting off a text. “I collect friends like that.”

“Must be nice,” I said before I could think better of it.

He arched an eyebrow in my direction. “You’re doing all right in the friend department.”

“For sure. But no one who will tow my car for me,” I said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“You do now. I can take care of you.”

I smirked at him. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“Hmm,” he murmured. “Well, he said he’ll be here in twenty. I told him to take you to a shop where I know the owner. He’ll give you a fair price and not try to upsell you.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

Whitt took a step toward me. “I wanted to.”

A breath lingered between us. I could lean into it. I could let him work his Wright magic and be my knight in shining armor. But this wasn’t a fairy tale. I wasn’t going to be swept off of my feet. Men didn’t act like that in real life.

At best, a man was an accessory. He looked good on my arm, but he wasn’t necessary for me to shine.

I wanted to fuck Whitton Wright, but he’d made it clear that he wanted more. So, I took my step back. Decided to keep it professional and to leave the thirsting for my daydreams.

“Well, thanks. You don’t have to wait for the tow truck. I’ve already monopolized enough of your time.”

He nodded and took another sip of water. Already, he’d responded to my distance with his own. “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

---