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I only had to accept that it was up to me to choose, to give myself a chance. All I had to do was try.
“If you want, I can have a look at that death trap you’re driving…”
Earlier H had made no secret his concerns over my car. I didn’t think it was as bad as he was carrying on. It had been reliable enough to get me where I needed to go but I loved that he was worried about me all the same. The warm feeling in the pit of my stomach spread over my body and my insides went to mush. I had never felt anything that intense before. The raw need to touch and be touched.
My nipples tightened at the thought of his hands on my skin and before I lost my nerve, I sat up and moved closer to him. He was still talking but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, and his eyes went wide as soon as I crossed that invisible barrier of personal space.
“Annette?”
“Annie. I liked to be called Annie.” I said before I planted my lips on his. At first, he went still and threw both hands in the air as if he wasn't sure what to do with them. Then slowly he relaxed and was kissing me back. I parted my mouth as his tongue slipped inside.
The kiss was delicious, no stale cigarettes or trace of liquor on his tongue. I could taste him all day. The same scent I'd grown to crave filled my nose as I inhaled him. Did I say he didn't know what to do with his hands? Well, that was a lie. He slid his palms under the hem of my shirt and let his fingertips lightly caress my lower back. Goosebumps spread over my skin as I reached to pull his shirt from his jeans. I nipped and sucked on his bottom lip, loving the way he groaned in response.
“Hal.” I whispered against his mouth. “Are you real? Please tell me you're real.”
He removed his hands from under my top and didn't answer my question, instead, he chuckled lightly as he pulled his face away from mine, effectively breaking the moment we just had.
“It's late and I need to go.” He swept a lock of hair from my cheek and tucked it behind my ear. “Donnie is probably out of his mind right now at the club so I'd better get down there. At least show my face.”
I blinked at him several times as I tried to understand what he was saying. Leaving? Was he going to leave? I looked down at the way I was straddling him with my arms around his shoulders and handfuls of his shirt in my palms. It didn't take a genius to see that I'd been ready to take things further, a lot further and he was going to leave?
“Uh…um... okay,” I said as I unraveled myself and slid away. “Yeah, it's probably a good idea. I'm pretty tired.” Faking a stretch and a yawn, I tried my best to play it cool without looking as wounded as I felt. H stared at me as if he wanted to say something but thinking better of it.
“I'll see you at the club tomorrow?”
“I'm not sure. I need to look for a sitter and see about a job that's going to help me make steady money I can depend on.”
“I can get you a sitter. My little sister Elizabeth is nineteen and taking classes at the community college. She's looking to earn some extra money. If you want, I can bring her by tomorrow.”
“Wow, really? Yes.” I replied, unable to believe his offer. In the span of twenty-four hours, he'd come up with a solution for every single problem I'd spent the last month trying to solve. In the back of my mind, I wondered if it was all too good to be true. “That would be great. Thank you.” I put on a bright smile.
H flashed me a grin before getting up. I immediately followed and walked him to the door.
“Hal?”
“Yeah?” He turned around to look at me expectantly with his hand on the door knob.
“Why are you so nice to me? Helping me out like this?”
“Because I can, and I know you don't have anybody else.”
“But I--,” I started to sputter and he put a finger to my lips.
“Take it as a compliment, woman. It's okay to accept help when you need it. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Not everyone is hell bent on letting you down.” With that, he pecked a kiss on my jaw, them my lips before pulling the door open and closing it behind him.
I stood there staring blindly ahead wanting so bad to believe his words. The hard part was letting people in when my experience was that they had always screwed me over, one way or another.
“Lock the door, Annie.” H's muffled command from the other side of the door snapped me back to focus.
“Yes, sir.” I shouted back in a mock military style voice, then giggled. After the lock and chain were securely i
n place, I heard the Camaro start up then drive away.
Chapter Twelve
“Drink?” Tammy asked from behind the bar, holding a bottle of top-shelf vodka in her hand.
“No.” I shook my head and took another sip of my ginger ale. Tuesday nights usually were pretty slow so Donnie agreed to let Tammy, the bartender, throw a birthday party for herself, hence the reason she was trying to get others to drink. I'd only planned to show my face just long enough to not seem rude before I headed home. I needed to save every dime especially since my boys were back with me. Plus, coming home late and drunk wasn't going to cut it.
