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I look at him over my sunglasses and watch Nok round the front of the truck, showing off by sliding across the hood.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“How’d you know where I live?” I ask, frowning as Nok gets up close to my naked bike and starts prodding around.
“Small town, new kid, not hard.”
“Do you always talk in unfinished sentences?” I ask him but he doesn’t respond. “I’ll take that as a yes then.” Clearing my throat, I drop the bolt into the tray with the others and wipe my forehead on my arm. My hands are covered in brown grease. If you turn out the lights it looks like drying blood. It’s mesmerizing in a really twisted way.
I flex my fingers and sit back on my butt when Nok takes over tweaking my bike.
“You know how to fix bikes?”
“He doesn’t,” Joseph states and then laughs when Nok glares at him. “But I do. My pa runs the garage where you bought your part this morning.”
Fucking small towns.
Nok rolls his shoulders, stands, and flexes his neck. “I know a bit.”
“Have at it,” I say, waving my oil-slick hand at my machine. “I’m too fucking high for this shit right now anyway.”
“You been on the ganja?” Joseph asks, looking surprised as I start scrubbing the grease from my hands with a damp towel.
“Needed something to bring me down after last night,” I reply and look at Nok who is now sitting on my bike as Joseph works on it. His eyes look at my house.
“Your parents home?” Joseph asks, noticing Nok’s eyes. “’Cause we can’t be here and not introduce ourselves.”
I shake my head. “Mom’s at work, will be until tomorrow.”
“Dad?”
My cheeks puff out as I blow into them. People in this town ask so many fucking questions.
“Is he working too?”
“Joseph,” Nok warns and they share a look between them. Brown eyes clash as Nok silently tells him to shut up and Joseph silently replies that he’s not doing anything wrong.
I alter the conversation. Something I’m good at. “You want a beer?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“I’m good. Thanks.”
I lick my lips and look at my bike. “Is this your way of saying thanks for saving your asses last night?”
“I had it handled,” Nok retorts, as firm and as harsh as always. I respect that about him, he doesn’t feel the need to kiss ass with a changing tide. He stays true to himself.
Still, I laugh while shaking my head. “I know. I just gave it a new angle.”
Joseph snorts and looks at his friend. “I like her.”
“I don’t,” Nok states and looks down his nose at me. “What did you do with the gun?”
I tap my nose. “Why would I tell you? You don’t like me.”
“Guns in the wrong hands are dangerous.”
I quirk a brow. “I took it out of the wrong hands.”
“Let me have it. I’ll get rid of it.” He sounds and looks genuine. “Let it be my burden. You’ll get into serious shit with somebody else’s gun in your possession.”
With flat lips and an even flatter stare, I click my tongue against my palate and curb my temper.
I’m no damsel. I take care of business myself.
“Why are you here, Nok?”
“This is me paying you back for last night.”
“By fixing my bike?” I ask incredulously. “No, this is you inserting yourself into my life when I didn’t ask for your help.”
A muscle in his jaw flexes.
“I’m not sure that you’ve noticed, but Justin is doing all the leg work.” I grin a genuinely sadistic grin and stand so we’re almost at equal height, putting my weight onto the tips of my toes, brushing my chest against his.
“It’s Joseph,” Joseph replies but we both ignore him.
“From what I’ve heard, you natives like to owe favors when people do things for you. And I did some pretty big things for you last night.” I walk my fingers up his chest like I did last night and tap him on the tip of his perfect nose. “You owe me. Like it or not. And I will cash that in eventually. You do not get to say when.”
“What about me? Do I owe you?” Joseph asks, looking way too excited as Nokosi glares so intently at me I feel the heat burning my profile.
“Yep.”
“Awesome.”
I laugh but then stop, worried my sister might hear. I look up at her bedroom window, but the drapes are drawn shut.
“Who’s upstairs?” Nok asks, following my line of sight.
“None of your business, that’s who.”
He stares at the window for the longest time, until I feel like pushing his face away.
Joseph with his cute dimples and shining hazel eyes pulls a face behind Nok’s back. I snigger to myself and walk towards the truck. I open the passenger side and climb up without permission, surprised when Nok charges at me, grabs my hips, and yanks me back down so hard my entire body collides with his.
