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After a few more minutes, Nick got up and headed over to spend some time with Vince. Almost as soon as his chair was vacated, Dad came and sat beside me. He tipped his beer toward me, and I clinked mine against his before we both took deep sips. Dad turned to look at the fire and let out a long, contented sigh. He sat there beside me without saying anything. There was no expectation, no obligation for me to fill the silence with anything. It was the best way to spend the rest of the evening. Before I realized it, Dad and I had drank several more beers, and by the time the night was over, there was no way I was driving home. Dad had Mom to pour him into the car and get him back safely, leaving just me. I knew they were willing to give me a ride, but it would be out of their way. Instead, I crashed at Quentin’s house.
12
Kelly
Darren’s tongue slid up my body, sending shivers along my skin and making my toes curl. The anticipation was torture, yet I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted to lie there and savor every touch of his fingers, every second of his weight surrounding me. His mouth closed over one nipple, and he drew his fingers up along the outside of one leg, then around onto the soft inside of my thigh. My body shook in response to the sensation and to the increasing need for him. Every bit of me cried out for him, aching to have him inside me. He brought his mouth to mine and bit my bottom lip as his fingers sank inside me. I cried out, my back arching in response to the pleasure. Kissing him hungrily, I reached down to wrap my hand around… blankets.
I opened my eyes and saw only the bluish light of the hours just before the sun came up, filling my own small bedroom. Struggling to catch my breath, I clapped my hand over my eyes and tried to force the images of the dream out of my head. Tossing and turning for the next hour, I finally willed myself back to sleep for the short time I had left before I needed to wake up.
When the alarm went off, I dug my phone out from under my pillow and stared at it. The snooze button tempted me. I could hit it and sink back into the pillow for a few more minutes. But it was my first day of work and that might make me late, which wasn’t an option. It wasn’t lost on me how big of a deal it was that I’d even landed the position with Freeman Racing. Curiosity led me down the rabbit hole of an internet search the day before, and I’d discovered there wasn’t a single female mechanic on any of the racing teams in the area. Not one. Gus and Quentin made a bold choice when they agreed to hire me, and I didn’t want to jeopardize their trust in me or their confidence that they’d made the right decision. My goal was the same it had been since the day I did my interview: I would have to work harder, longer, and better than any other mechanic they’d ever had to make sure I proved myself every single day.
I didn’t just want them to think I was a good mechanic or to be happy I was around. I wanted them to think I was the best they had and feel like they wouldn’t be able to keep the company running without me. Possibly not the most realistic ambition considering the rest of their stable of mechanics had been with the company for many years and were exceptional at what they did. But a girl can dream.
Dragging myself reluctantly out of bed, I went into the bathroom for a shower I hoped would wake me up. By the time I got out, my usual morning energy was there, and I got ready quickly. Willa was still sound asleep when I crept into her room to kiss her goodbye. Flora was just arriving when I grabbed my bag and started for the door. I gave her a quick rundown of everything Willa needed to do during the day, reminded her again of my contact information while I was at work, and told her if she needed anything, to call me immediately. My daughter was where I drew the line of wanting to be totally professional. If she needed anything or something went wrong, I didn’t care who might be bothered by a phone call.
I got outside, took a deep breath, and headed toward the racing complex. I was far more nervous than I expected to be when I thought of seeing Darren again. Even though we’d agreed to be friends, in all honesty I wasn’t really sure I could manage that. I was the one who’d brought it up, who’d insisted on him agreeing that we would keep everything professional and focus only on being friends. But now I wondered if that was even feasible. Maybe I should haven’t mentioned it. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth closed after he said he wanted me to work at the complex. It was almost as though putting it out into the world that we needed to just be friends put extra pressure on me and gave my brain inspiration to remind me of what I actually felt about him.
