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Now he was back again, reappearing just as suddenly as he’d disappeared, and a part of me wanted to yell at him for it. To demand just what he thought he was doing waltzing out of my life and now having the audacity to come back again—and without warning either time. But I didn’t want a confrontation. All of my arguing had been sapped from dealing with Morgan all this time. If Pike was really just here to pick up his car, it wasn’t really worth my time or energy to fight with him over something from four years ago, something that I should’ve by all rights have gotten over.
I started to turn and tiptoe back into the house, fully prepared to hide up in my room until he left, but Pike must’ve heard me walk out or something because he just said, without turning around,
“Can you turn the key in the ignition for me?”
I wasn’t sure he knew I was Billie, or if he thought I was my mom or even Morgan, but I could never resist that calmly commanding voice of his, that edge of a growl that crept its way in. His voice had gotten a little deeper and rougher the last four years and it was sending shivers up my spine like crazy. Fuck. Two seconds around him and I was already in danger of melting into a puddle of goo.
I took a deep breath and walked over to the car, opening the door and sitting in the driver’s seat, turning the key. The engine clicked a few times.
“Okay, stop,” Pike ordered.
I did as I was told, watching with bated breath as Pike stepped back and lowered the hood. When he looked me in the eye it felt like my heart stopped—no, like everything had stopped. My face flushed and I tried not to squirm in my seat, caught in Pike’s gaze. No man had ever made me feel like this, like I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t get his hands on me, like I wanted to spread my legs and beg him to take me, right there, right that second. It didn’t help that Pike was looking at me with this heated gaze, his eyes hooded, like he was imagining pinning me to the car hood and having his wicked way with me. It didn’t escape my notice that we were back in the car where we’d had our… tryst, you could say, all those years ago.
Pike nodded. “Does Morgan still keep the jumper cables in the same place?”
I nodded in response, unable to think of anything to say. My throat was dry, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth. Pike turned and headed into the garage, and I, feeling deflated, followed him. Here I was, burning up with lust for him with nothing more than one heated look, and Pike was thinking about damn jumper cables. Obviously, he was over me and I was the one hanging onto something that no longer existed.
If it had ever really existed at all.
Pike grabbed the cables and jerked his thumb at my mom’s car, sitting in the garage like usual. “Could you pull the car around back and give me a jump?”
“Sure thing.” I did as he instructed, parking Mom’s car on the concrete pad at the back of the house. Dad was big into working on cars in his spare time, and that was how Morgan had gotten into it—and Pike, seeing as Pike spent more time with us at our house than anywhere else. Dad had always said that he’d rather have an unofficial third kid than have Pike going off somewhere causing more trouble. I wondered if Pike appreciated it. If he missed my parents at all during these four years. Or if he’d just forgotten about them as easily as he’d apparently forgotten about me and the rest of our small town.
It took a few minutes, but after some fiddling and work, we got Pike’s car started. Pike wound up the cables and we let his car run so that the battery could charge up. “Is it still good?” I asked.
“We’ll have to see. Might need a new one, but I think it was okay, just needed that jump.” Pike glanced over at me. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
“It wasn’t, really.”
“How’s Morgan doing? Your mom said that he moved out a while ago.”
Of course, he only cared about Morgan. His best friend. And, well, it wasn’t that I resented their friendship. It was just that after how Morgan had treated me… and how angry he’d been about Pike and me… yeah, it stung a bit. And to know that I didn’t register on Pike’s radar but Morgan did—I was a bit envious, yeah. Sue me.
“He moved out when he got his job with one of the big oil companies,” I said, shrugging. “He’s making the big bucks now.” Morgan had plenty of money to spare and lived in a big fancy house, all those science smarts coming in handy now. All the girls in the damn state were throwing themselves at him. Smarts, wealth, and good looks? He was the full package. “I can give you his address, if you want.”
