AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He was right, of course, and I had no idea how long it would take for a ride to get out here. His warning about the creek flooding also left me worried about being so close to the water. So why was I resisting his help so ardently? It had a lot to do with the way his hair was blowing in the wind and the urge I felt to smooth it down. “I’m not stubborn,” I said, defensive. “I don’t want to put you out. Besides, I’d get your car filthy.”
He looked me up and down, which was infuriating, and also hot, which was doubly infuriating. “I have some clean gym clothes. Do you want to borrow them? I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving you out here alone.”
“I’d have to change in front of you,” I said, motioning to the space between us.
The corners of a grin returned, and my entire body heated, but he spoke again before I could respond, holding out his palms. “I won’t look. C’mon. It’s coming down harder. Can you continue to despise me from inside the car?”
“I don’t despise you,” I muttered, stepping forward to join him near the open trunk of his car, where several boxes, totes, and bags were organized with Tetris-like precision. The trunk provided asmall shelter where we could both stay dry, and I was certain he must have a few umbrellas back there, but the intimacy of the space was kind of nice.
He pulled a T-shirt and basketball shorts from a gym bag and handed them to me, along with a plastic bag he’d grabbed from the side pocket of a toolbox. He nodded to my feet. “For your shoes. And you could have fooled me.” He turned, facing the empty road where the intermittent light shone off the forming puddles.
I stepped out of my heels and tossed them in the bag, wiping at my legs as best I could with the towel. I shimmied the basketball shorts up my legs, pulling the dress up to my waist at the same time. I reached over my head. Muscle memory had me expecting the high zipper of the dress I often wore for weddings, only to brush the goose-bumped skin of my upper back.Dammit. This red dress.I fumbled for a moment before clearing my throat. “Could you help me with the zipper on this? I have a hook at home, but I can’t...”
Lear turned slowly. “Did I hear you correctly? Are you actually asking for help?”
I rolled my eyes. “Forget it. I’ll wear the shirt over the dress.”
“I’m just giving you shit,” he said, motioning for me to turn. “I’ll unzip your dress.” His voice was normal, maybe even playful, but I still closed my eyes against the sound of those words from his lips, because I’d had fantasies of him ripping a dress from my body. He rested a palm on my shoulder and fiddled with the hook before dragging the zipper down my back slowly, the sound and vibration a subtle reminder of his mouth. As he pulled it down, I had a moment wondering if he was checking out my butt and then remembered it was caked in mud. “There,” he said, stepping back. His hand fell from my shoulder, the pad of his thumb ghosting down my spine as it fell away.
“Thank you,” I said before pulling the shirt over my head and pushing the dress to the ground in a way everyone who went tomiddle school with breasts knows how to do. I tossed the dress in with the shoes. They were probably both ruined anyway. “I’m done,” I said, picking up the bag from the concrete.
“Wow,” he said, taking the bag from me, his eyes not leaving my body.
“What?”
“I’ve just never seen you dressed down. You look nice.”
I scanned his words for sarcasm. Finding none, I just glanced away.
“Sorry, uh, it’s unlocked if you want to climb in. I’ll stow this back here.”
I hadn’t realized I’d been cold, but sliding into the car and closing out the rain and the wind, I was comfortable, despite my bare feet. A second later, Lear climbed in the driver’s side and started the car, fiddling with the touch screen. Immediately, warm air blew onto my toes.
“You’ve got a little mud on your face. Hold on,” he said, reaching across my lap. Though he couldn’t see me, my eyes went wide in surprise, but he didn’t touch me. Instead he opened the glove compartment and pulled out a package of wet wipes. “Here.”
“You’re more prepared than my friend who has a toddler,” I remarked, taking the wet wipe and pulling down the mirror.
“Thank you...?” He signaled, despite there being no cars, which made me suppress a grin as he pulled out onto the highway.
I cast a glance at my car, which would hopefully not be washed away by the time a tow company could contact me. “It’s a good thing.”
“Just part of the job.” He didn’t say more, and we drove in silence.
“Thank you,” I finally said, breaking the bubble of background noise. “You didn’t have to be so nice.”
“I don’t think making sure you weren’t stranded in a ditch reallyqualifies me as nice,” he said, reaching for the touch screen. His gaze flashed to me before returning to the road. “But it’s no problem.”
I looked out the window, the rain pelting down. I hummed along with the song, letting my mind wander. “Lear,” I said, slowly turning my head. “Is this the soundtrack toHamilton?”
“Yeah. So?” He gripped the steering wheel and didn’t look at me. “It’s good.”
“I know. I just didn’t expect you to be listening to musicals.”
“There’s nothing weird about it. It’s a wildly popular show.” His tone hardened, and the defensiveness was kind of cute.
“Not weird.” I laughed. “If anything, it humanizes you.”
“You were thinking of me as nonhuman?”
