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She wore cutoffs that day, too, and I remembered the way her short but shapely legs had filled them out. But besides the physical attraction I felt toward her, she’d managed to mesmerize me a little with the way she was always up in arms about something. It was endearing. And admirable.
Not like me. I had a lot of opinions, but I kept them to myself. I was too afraid to be judged for going against the grain.
But not Devo. No siree.
And now that I’d spotted her, I really hoped she’d say yes when I asked for a ride because I was excited to be trapped in her truck with her. I wanted to know what injustice or wrongdoing she was all jazzed about these days. I just wanted to listen to her talk.
There was something about the passion in her voice when she got all hot and bothered about the issues she believed so passionately in. She was a loud, big presence for such a little lady. Secretly, I always loved getting called over to Ace’s House. Not that I was glad for whatever incident I’d had to respond to, but Devo was usually present. If I was being honest with myself, I always got a little excited to see her and hear her huffing and puffing again.
Tonight, Devo appeared to be picking up her dinner from Punky’s, the best pizza place in Jackson. She held a pie box in the air in one hand like she was about to serve it to a table of diners. Hopefully, that meant she was headed back to Wisper, which was also my destination. Or she might’ve been headed home to Barton, but she’d have to pass through Wisper to get there. Either way, it was in my direction.
I winced silently but straightened my shoulders as I walked closer. Somehow, approaching her felt like walking toward a guillotine.
“Hey, Devo.” Throwing her a limp wave when she turned at the sound of her name, I kept my pace toward her truck parked across the street from the awful restaurant Cute Kayla had taken me to. Apparently, Kayla had decided to stay for the ambiance ’cause I hadn’t noticed her leave after I did. “It’s Abey Lee. Remember me?”
Devo rolled her eyes. I saw it eight car lengths away before she turned to slide the pizza box into her front seat. I also noticed that she’d tucked her hair behind one ear, her tits were little and high, even without a bra, which she had definitely not worn tonight, and her hips swayed in a seductive manner when she moved. They looked soft and wide.
Well, I didn’t know if they were soft, but I could imagine wrapping my hands around them. Bet they’d feel soft then.
She turned back toward me, and when she spoke, the annoyance in her voice rang loud and clear. I was definitely not her favorite person. “You’ve arrested me twice. What do you think?” She looked me up and down, her eyes lingering just a few seconds too long on my legs, and she crossed her arms over her thin blue tank top. Her skin looked light brown and velvety.
I stopped ten feet in front of her. I wanted to touch her, just to see if she’d be as warm as I imagined.
“There somethin’ I can help you with, Deputy?”
“Um, yeah, actually. I kinda need… a ride. And I was thinkin’, since you’re here and I’m here, and we’re both goin’ back to Wisper…”
Devo snorted, then blew a raspberry. The way her face pinched up was freaking hilarious, but I figured laughing at her probably wouldn’t help my cause.
“You were thinkin’ that, were ya? No, I can’t give you a ride. I’m workin’ tonight. I can’t just pick people up and chauffer them around.”
Pointing to her cutoffs and flip-flops, I asked, “You’re workin’? That your uniform then?”
She rolled her eyes again.
A long, awkward silence stretched between us, but she didn’t look away or make any move to get in her truck and leave. Her eyes shifted back to my legs in my jeans, and I watched how her full lips pursed.
It was a standoff, a deadlock, a duel of sorts at high noon or, well, maybe more like eight at night.
I could shoot a beer can off a fencepost from fifty yards away on a bad day, but I’d never been good at fighting, so I figured I best do the thing I knew she was waiting for, but I kicked the curb in front of me three times hard before I did it.
Resting my boot on the cracked hunk of concrete, I slid my hands into my back pockets and leaned forward a little. Devo tracked the movement, then her eyes snapped back to mine.
“I’m sorry I handcuffed you, Devo. Twice. And I’m sorry I laughed when you fell on your ass when you tried to be cool and jump the cuffs.”
“Seriously?” she squeaked. “That’s your apology?”
“Well now, I was just doin’ my job, y’know?”
She growled at me!
“But I am sorry, Devo. Truly. And if you would be so kind, please can I catch a ride?”
I thought I could see her resolve slipping. She relaxed her defensive stance and dropped her arms to her sides, and right then, the burn in my chest disappeared. Maybe I could win her over. Maybe I could entice her onto Team Good Ol’ Abey Lee.
“Fine,” she grumbled and turned toward her truck, fumbling her keys in her hand and sassing me under her breath.
CHAPTER TWO
