Twenty-Four
TWENTY-FOUR
“Yes, I promise to drive carefully. Stay only on I-10, no detour and only stopping for gas, pee break and food.” I sit on FaceTime with my parents, while in my home for the last nine days, while I gather all of my belongings.
“And check in with us every hour,” Dad adds.
“Good grief. Okay. Seven phone calls. Maybe six if I can speed through Baton Rouge without all the traffic.”
“No speeding!” Mom shouts. “Drive the speed limit. Below the speed limit.”
I roll my eyes and sigh. “Okay. I’ll drive twenty-five miles an hour. See you in five days.”
“Smartass. Just make it home safely, baby bird.”
I hear the worry in Dad’s voice and I feel horrible for what I’ve put them through over the last two weeks. I’m not a bad girl. I don’t step a toe out of line… ever . I graduated at the top of my class in high school. I’ve already been accepted to grad school, and I’m the best big sister you’ll find. My family always comes first so the fact that I left everyone high and dry without a word is very unlike me.
But as much as I love my family, I just needed to breathe without fifty people in my face. Their love can be a bit suffocating at times.
“I will, Dad. I promise. I’m really sorry I’ve put you all through so much lately.” My face falls and my heart stings with guilt.
“Oh honey, it’s okay.” Mom’s face falls soft and loving and it looks like she’s trying to climb through the phone. “You had a lot thrown at you. It’s understandable that you would need to be alone to process it all. We can be a bit much, sometimes.”
I squint one eye and hold my thumb and forefinger just a millimeter apart. “A little.”
“You better get on the road. I don’t want you driving in the dark. Please be sure to thank Mr. Dare for his kindness. I worried a lot less knowing he was looking after you.” Mom’s eyes widen and I bite back my smile, both of us knowing Dad wouldn’t appreciate the way that Mr. Dare cared for me.
“I will. Love you guys.”
“Love you,” they sing out together, like an expertly practiced chorus.
I press end and flop back on to the bed that I have stripped of its sheets in anticipation of them being laundered. I offered to wash them, but Hendrix wasn’t having it. His maid is coming to take care of it all.
The door creaks open and Hendrix slowly steps in. “Everything good?”
I turn my head and smile. He’s so gorgeous, my eyes have never seen a more beautiful man. And despite the black exterior he shows the world, inside he’s a bright light.
“Yeah. They’re just worry-warts. And not just because of the accident. They’ve always been that way.”
“I could tell when your dad interrogated me,” he huffs.
I prop myself up on my elbows and watch as he swaggers over. My eyes eat him up and my body already feels the loss of his touch.
“Can I say something without you thinking I’m some clingy, silly girl?” I ask him just as he leans over me, framing my face with his outstretched arms.
“Yes. You tell me and then I’ll tell you what I came in here to say.”
I nod my head and swallow, my throat scratchy and feeling like thorns line it. “I’ll never forget you Hendrix Dare and I’m thankful for that.”
His eyes search mine and I work hard to not let him see the tears that build behind my eyes. The look on his face is thoughtful and I can’t decipher if he’s about to kick me out on my ass or…or I don’t know.
I’m surprised when he kisses me, hard and unrelenting. I circle my arms around him and hold on with every fiber of my being, memorizing what he feels like. My nose starts to tingle and a lump builds in my throat. Hendrix rests his forehead against mine and sighs.
“I’m coming with you,” he tells me, his eyes still closed.
“Say what?” My eyes fly open and he rises to his full size.
“I said I’m coming with you.”
“Like…forever?” I am so confused right now and apparently it’s amusing to him.
“No, little mouse. I can’t stay forever.” My heartbeat that was pounding at triple comes to a hard stop. “I want to make sure you get home safely, so I’m coming with you. I’ll fly back tomorrow.”
I blink over and over, not really knowing what to say that doesn’t make me look like a childish teenager. I want to jump and scream and cling to him and never let him go. Instead of the insane woman that wants to break free, I tell him, “Okay.”
He reaches out, asking for my hand, and I give it to him. He pulls me to my feet, my chest crushing to his, and I circle his waist with my arms.
“What did mommy and daddy have to say?”
“My Dad told me to thank you for your kindness. I don’t think he’d be saying that if he knew the extent of your kindness.”
A small tick of his mouth sends flutters swirling in my belly. “Yeah, we better not tell him. Come on, little mouse. Let’s go.”
He kisses my nose and zips up my duffle bag, then throws it over his shoulder. Grabbing my hand, he pulls me from the room and I give one last look at the place that may have changed my life.
“You’re killing me with the music, little mouse.” Hendrix wears black wayfarers and drives oh so cool with his hand hanging on the steering wheel.
“You were the one that said you wanted to drive to make sure I didn’t ‘accidentally’ kiss anymore light posts. And I informed you that the navigator controls the music. Want a different song? Give me the keys.” He looks over at me, a crooked grin on his stupidly handsome face, and shakes his head no. “Fine. Then Lana it is.”
I set my phone in the cup holder and turn up the volume as Lana Del Rey croons about races and Bacardi chasers.
He sighs and asks, “How much longer until we’re at mommy and daddy’s house?”
I tap the map icon on the touchscreen and read off the estimated time of arrival. “Five thirty-six.”
“And what time is it?”
“One thirteen.”
His head falls back against the headrest. “Can you at least throw one song in for me every now and then?”
I clamber up on my knees and turn my body to face him. “Tell you what, Mr. Wolf. If you can tell me the name of my Mom, Dad, brother and sister, I’ll not only play whatever songs you want I’ll lean over the center console and help you relax a little.”
His jaw clenches and clicks and he grips the steering wheel with white knuckles. I watch him, waiting for the moment he gives up and I can go back to playing every song Lana has sung which will almost last the remainder of our drive.
“Vaughan, that’s easy,” he says and my eyes grow wide. “Your smoking hot mom is Camille.”
“Hey! Don’t look at my mama like that.” I smack his arm and he laughs.
“Sorry baby. I can’t help it. A blind man could see how beautiful she is.” I pinch his nipple and he barely flinches.
Masochist.
“Then you’ve got your little sis that has initials. A…AD. No. A.J. I can’t remember what it stands for.”
“Autumn Jade.”
“Right. Then the little man is Sloane, aka Sloaney Baloney. That name is unforgettable.”
“And why’s that?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“It’s just a cool name. At one point in my bleak existence I thought it would be a great name for a kid if I ever had one. But reality punched me in the face to remind me that would never happen.”
I tilt my head, studying his chiseled profile. “Please don’t say it’s because you’re too old. My Mom was in her thirties when she had Sloane. And my Uncle Bishop was almost forty when he and his wife had their second kid.”
“Nah. I know I’m not too old. I just recognize the fact that I’m not father material.”
“Hendrix…that’s not true. I’m sure you’d make an amazing father.”
He shrugs and passes me a quick look. “I never had anyone to base what being a good father means. My foster dads were all pieces of shit and much like my mom, my dad never stuck around to be one.”
Guilt settles in my belly like a boulder. Guilt for being such a brat and causing my Dad to worry so much. Guilt for having a dad which is silly, but when you’ve been spoiled by the best one ever, you forget that so many people have never had the satisfaction of feeling so loved.
“Well I wouldn’t rule it out, if I were you. I see the way you care for your brothers, even if one of them is a jerk face,” I add, thinking about Danté and his foul mood. “And the way you baby your cars and bikes would surely translate over to a child.”
He reaches over to squeeze my cheeks. “Sure. We’ll go with that.”
I smack at his hands and he laughs when I stick my tongue out. I flip through the songs on my playlist to find something that would satisfy his musical preferences and find a song by Godsmack that seems like his style. I press play and a devilish voice growls through the speakers.
“Are you forgetting about something, little mouse?” I look over at him and he points his finger down at his empty lap.
Apparently where my head should be.
“You aren’t really going to hold me to that, are you? I changed the song. Shouldn’t that be enough?”
“Baby. You’re the one who made the deal. Not me. I’m just adhering to the rules.” I pretend like what I’m going to do is such a hardship for no other reason than I like to poke the bear.
“Fine. You held up your end of the bargain, I’ll hold up mine.” I flatten my hands to the center divider and push myself up, reaching over as far as my seatbelt will allow.
I run my nose up his neck, kissing the spot below his ear and flicking his lobe with my tongue. “Ready?” I whisper in a breathy tone and he nods.
My fingers glide up his stomach, his hard abs tensing under his thin t-shirt. I play with the button of his jeans and I see the way his hardening dick twitches under the thick denim. I place my hand on his shoulder and begin rubbing his shoulder.
And that’s it. I just rub his shoulders, alternating between each side. Hendrix doesn’t say a word. He stays staring out of the windshield, focusing on the road and not the fact that I’ve left him wanting more.
“Feel good?” I ask him, but he stays silent. “Hopefully that helps you relax a little.”
I plop back down in my seat and rest my head back. The god awful music blares on and I sit with a smile on my face.
“Woman, you better climb that ass over here and choke on this dick before I pull over on the side of the road and fuck that sassy mouth of yours.” My jaw drops, utterly flabbergasted by what he’s just said. “Yes. Just like that. Bring that mouth over here, little mouse.”
He grips the wheel with his left hand and holds his right arm out wide, welcoming me like he’s going to give me a warm hug. I stare at him for another moment, still not believing his audacity, then climb over the seat because come on, let’s face it. Like any woman could resist a man like Hendrix Dare.