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I beam in victory. “Lead the way.”
I BEGIN WALKING TOWARD the right when we get outside.
“Where are you going?” Sparkles asks.
I nod toward the sleazy motel. “Which room is yours?”
He looks insulted. “You think I have a room there?”
I shrug. “Sure. I mean…why else would you be in that bar?”
He pulls out a set of keys and hits a button to unlock the shiny SUV five feet away. “I had a flat. I went inside to wash my hands after changing the tire.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “A flat?”
He kicks the back tire. The obvious spare tire. “Yep.” He slowly looks me over. “I’m not sure I want the answer…but what were you doing in there?”
Trying to forget. “I was waiting for you.”
I’m not the best liar but I’m a great deflector.
He laughs and opens the passenger door. “Okay, Red, I get the hint. You’re not big on personal questions.”
“Red?”
“I have to call you something,” he says. “Your dress and your lips…they’re red.” He gulps as his eyes lazily roam my body from head to toe. “They’re also driving me crazy.”
“Good crazy?”
He nods enthusiastically. “Definitely good crazy.”
I laugh. “Well, if you don’t have a room, where are you taking me?”
“There’s an all-night diner a few miles down the road.”
“Honey, if you want pie, I’ve got something better to offer. Why don’t we just get a room?”
His eyes widen. “Red, of that I have no doubt. But I’d like to buy you a meal and talk for a while.”
I try to hide my shock that he doesn’t want to get right down to it like everyone else always does. Nobody’s been interested in me for conversation before. Doubt really starts to creep in as to whether or not I can handle this.
“That’s really not necessary.”
He nods toward the car. “Actually, it is. Call me old-fashioned, but I’d like to know a little bit about the women I’m intimate with.” He holds up a hand when he sees me smile. “I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but if you’d like to take this any further, which you’ve already implied you do, I’d like to break bread and share some conversation first.”
Damn it. I want him so much and he knows it. I have to figure ou
t a way to take back the power before I transform into a heaping mess of vulnerability.
“Fine. We’ll eat first.” I dig my car keys out of my purse and unlock the beat-up Civic that’s parked right next to his vehicle. “But I’ll follow you.”
His lips twitch. “Whatever you want, Red.” He walks around to the driver’s side and starts his ignition.
I turn my key over as well. “Whatever you want, Red,” I mutter.
This guy had better be fucking dynamite in the sack. I can feel Pandora’s box opening in my brain and I’d rather not disturb it. All sorts of crazy comes out when that happens.
I follow him up Highway 101 to the north end of town. I knew exactly where we were going once he mentioned an all-night diner. There aren’t many options around these parts. I’ve spent a lot of time sitting in the worn vinyl booths at Rose’s. I just hope that no one recognizes me. The place becomes a stoner’s paradise after midnight which means I have less than an hour to convince this guy to get naked. Not that I’m a stoner; we’ve already covered that. But there isn’t a whole helluva lot to do in this sleepy town so my friends are. Well, the two that I have anyway.
