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She flicked her towel at him. “Go greet your fans, Freeman.”
Hayley felt like she was floating as she watched Nick walk away. Who cared if Kevin came back? Kevin had gone, and Nick was here, and she could do whatever she goddamn well wanted with her life, because she hadn’t done anything wrong.
And what she wanted was her rock star.
39
Nick had been hanging on to the bar with both hands as he chatted with a regular, so he was only surprised, and not injured, when someone jostled him from behind.
“Oh!” One hand came over his shoulder while the other stayed near his hip. “I’m so sorry, Nick. Are you okay?”
He swallowed back his laughter and turned around. Hayley seemed genuinely concerned. “I guess I lost my balance,” she said.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Sometimes I have that effect on women.”
“Such big arms too! Do you work out?”
“Here, let me just …” Nick reached past her to grab the walker and roll it forward. “Oops.”
He’d neatly nudged the back metal bar against her, trapping her between it and him.
“Gee, I’m sorry.” Nick leaned into her. “What do we do now?”
She bit her lip. “Looks like you got me.”
“Maybe if I …” He put a hand on her hip as if to move around her. “Nope, not enough room.”
She countered with a step forward and to the side, so her mouth nearly touched his ear. “Take me out to your car.”
Nick hurried to follow Hayley through the kitchen, trying to look like all of this was completely normal and expected. He was so focused on getting out of the building that he nearly ran into her when she stopped at the back door. Hayley peered cautiously into the parking lot.
“Okay,” she said, “we’re good. Hurry.”
This was good. Best not to be seen. Nick hurried to his car, unlocked it, then stopped.
“What …” He was at a bit of a loss. “I mean, how do you want to …”
“Get in the back.” Hayley was hushed and giddy. Nick climbed into the back seat, shutting the door after him, and then he listened to Hayley open the back and load the walker in. Also good. Wouldn’t want anyone seeing an empty walker in the parking lot. He wouldn’t have thought of that.
This was impressive on so many levels.
The door across from him flew open, and Hayley hopped in and slammed it behind her. She grinned at him, breathless, eyes bright.
Nick dove for her.
She twisted as he moved across the seat and met him halfway, kissing him hard. Nick kept his hand behind her head, thinking she would hit it on the window, but she neatly scooted forward and underneath him. Her legs locked around his waist.
“Holy shit,” he breathed.
Hayley was radiating every bit of joy he’d seen the night he’d first caught sight of her, and now it was enveloping him too. He wasn’t watching from a distance anymore.
She said, “C’mere, baby.”
He moved in again. Her hands were everywhere, through his hair, down his back, past his belt to the seat of his jeans, slipping under his shirt and running upward. The feel of skin on skin drove him wild, but he didn’t want to stop exploring her mouth, feeling her tongue greet his, letting her bite his lip for a change. Then his lips seemed to move on their own, finding her collarbone, her neck. His hand slipped under her T-shirt, brushed her stomach, caressed her breast. She moaned, rocked against him, and he almost couldn’t take it. He reached around her and neatly unclasped her bra.
Hayley laughed, and he could feel her breath on his skin as she nibbled at his neck. “Very good!”
“Practice,” he gasped, laughing along, because it wasn’t a skill gained in the back of cars. It’d been one rainy Saturday afternoon in ninth grade, while Vicki’s parents were gone for the day. They’d watched trashy TV movies, and he’d kept at it, working the clasp one-handed, and they’d whooped and cheered like he’d just won the Super Bowl when it finally came free. Then she’d fasten it again, and he’d work on it again. The funniest part was that Vicki never took off her sweater. He could barely believe it now, but for that afternoon, learning the trick was more important.
