Chapter 17
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
Brooks
About to prove I’m not as selfish as he thinks I am
Frankly, I was tired of Dean claiming his battery was dead. He’d said it multiple times over the past couple of weeks and it was weird. Maybe it really was dead. Or he didn’t have a car. Whatever was going on, I was ready to get to the bottom of it.
Was it messed up that I stopped by his dorm to invite him to a movie, then swiped his keys when he wasn’t looking? I mean, maybe, but my intentions were good. It wasn’t like I was going to steal the thing. Since there was a car key on the ring, he was either telling the truth or it was there for show.
Enter Brooks: expert detective. It was also possible that I needed a distraction. Fuck the details.
We were leaving in an hour, which gave me the perfect amount of time to let him shower, snoop, then get back to his room to pick him up. He would be none the wiser.
Since it was Thursday evening, the parking lot was fairly empty. For the most part, only the people who lived on campus had their cars here this late and a decent number of students didn’t have one.
There weren’t any controls on the key, plus the battery was apparently dead, so I couldn’t start smashing the button to find which car responded.
Maybe it’d be a little bit harder than I thought.
The key was for a Honda and it looked pretty old. That narrowed it down, at least.
As I strode through the lot, I scanned the emblems quickly. I found a Civic that was definitely outdated, but when I tried the key, it didn’t unlock it.
Tapping my fingers on my thigh, I turned in a circle. A few rows away, there was a faded maroon hatchback. It was older than me, that was for sure.
With a frown, I headed over to it. Sure enough, the key turned. I swung the door open and eyed the seat for a minute. Instead of sitting, I leaned in and tried the ignition. Dead, just like he’d said.
I really felt my privilege when I realized that I didn’t know how much batteries cost. It seemed like a simple thing to fix, but I guess it wasn’t for everyone. I closed the door and walked around the car. The tires didn’t match and it was missing a mirror on the passenger side. Pretty sure that wasn’t legal. At least the tabs were current.
“Shit,” I muttered as I pulled out my phone. It rang in my ear buds a few times before someone answered.
“Brooks, what’s up?”
“Hey, Kyen. You working tonight?”
“Always.”
“If you have an opening, can you do me a favor?”
“As long as you’re paying, I’ll do anything for ya. Don’t tell me you fucked up that gorgeous car.”
I chuckled. “No. It’s for a friend, actually. It’ll need a tow.”
“Text me what you need and I’ll get it here tonight.”
“That’d be great. It’s at Harmon. I’ll send you a picture.”
“You got it, Brooks.”
I ended the call but continued to grip the phone. It annoyed me that Dean acted like the whole thing was okay. He didn’t have a way to get around, but he kept assuring me he had it dealt with. I guess we weren’t too close, but I wished he would’ve been honest. I could’ve helped.
He was proud, though. Maybe it was more than that.
Well, he didn’t get a choice. By the time he knew what I’d done, it would be too late and he’d have a properly functioning vehicle. From the look of it, the car needed some serious TLC.
*****
Reminding myself that biceps don’t make a man
Mom: Call me.
An image of my phone flying across the room came to mind. If it shattered into a million pieces, I might feel better. Since that wouldn’t help, I stared at the text, trying to convince myself to hit ‘call.’
“Ready?” Dean asked as he strode into the room.
I glanced at him, then chuckled.
“What?” he asked.
My eyes ran down the length of his body. The dark blue jeans he wore hugged his thighs in a delicious way and the guy was wearing a sleeveless hoodie. That was more attractive than it should’ve been. The biceps helped. He embodied power and, fuck, who wouldn’t take a second to look?
“You’re too fucking hot,” I replied.
“Why do you do that?” he asked.
“Are you offended by compliments?”
“No.”
“I do it because everybody deserves to know the good things others see in them. You’re hot, you’re fun, and I’m intrigued by you, which makes me want to know more about you.”
His head cocked. “That was straightforward.”
“So?”
“Your words are nuanced most of the time. You have this obsession with being mysterious. I assume you do it to be a pest.”
“Hm. Weird.” I stretched my arms above my head with a groan. “No wonder he’s into you.”
His eyes narrowed, which made me laugh. “Who?”
All I did was shrug and look innocent.
I got another text from my mom. With a sigh, I held my finger over the call button.
“I have to talk to my mom real quick.”
Suddenly, my phone was plucked from my hand. “Is it an emergency?”
“I mean, no, but-”
“Then it can wait until later. We have plans.”
The idea made me frown. “I should just do it real quick.”
“You don’t look into it, so no.”
He started typing and I tried to grab the phone, but he backpedaled with a smirk on his lips. When he passed it back, I was horrified to find that he’d sent a text to her that said, I’m out with a friend right now. I’ll call later.
My teeth ground together. I had no idea how she’d take that. I always dropped whatever I was doing when she needed to talk to me.
Dean put his hands on my shoulders. I blinked and looked at him.
“Relax. You’re allowed to have a night off.”
“Fine.”
I saw that she read the text, so I put the phone on silent and slipped it into my pocket. It was something I’d deal with later. He was right. It was just one night. We’d have fun and I’d forget all about it.
“Oh, one more thing,” he said. “Your hair.”
“What about it?”
“Take it down.”
“Why?”
“Your hair is cool. I think it’s one of those good things about you. Plus, Tilian talks about it, so you should have it down.”
He smiled at me, showing his teeth. With a silent nod, I took out my hair tie. I itched to put it back up immediately.
Even though I loved my long hair, I was so used to keeping it tied back that I usually wore it that way. Back home, whenever we left the house, my mom would insist that I put it up. It needed to be ‘tidy’ instead of ‘wild.’
Professional. Perfectly tailored.
Dean grabbed a beanie and settled it on my head. I no doubt looked like my mom’s worst nightmare.
He whistled and nodded appreciatively. “Look at that. You’re a degenerate like the rest of us.”
My lips twitched, but I just rolled my eyes. “Come on. I might have to buy all the candy the theater has so that I can deal with you.”
He shook his head. “Nah. We’re doing things my way tonight.”
That sounded exhilarating. After I silenced my inner demon, I raised a questioning brow. He just flashed me a smile that made me wonder what the hell I’d gotten myself into tonight.
I didn’t have a good feeling about this.
Why did that make me excited?