8. Chapter 8
Iwas hauling buckets of plaster up the stairs, two in each hand, as Tommy was barking at my back. We were hanging drywall, which was normally something I liked to do, but this new hire needed a bit of hand-holding—which was another thing I wouldn’t normally mind, except this guy never stopped fucking talking.
“So, now that I’ve had a three-way, I’m not sure I can ever go back to plain old vanilla,” he said.
When I didn’t give a response, I looked up to see him staring at me. “Dude, seriously?” I asked.
“Man, you should have seen these chicks. I’m meeting up with them again tonight!”
Thing was, I kinda didn’t believe Tommy could land any chick. From the moment I met him, I thought he was an awkward guy. Tall and skinny, he’s strong as an ox, but somehow had very few visible muscles on his body. He was blonde, which I knew he thought made him look good because he had his hair grown out long enough to fit into a little ponytail at the back of his head, like a rat tail. And the light hair did nothing for the sad excuse for a beard he was trying to grow. It looked more like a patchy dusting of sugar stuck to his face.
Gino was hot on our heels, also covered in drywall dust and lugging buckets of plaster. “You’re just a stallion,” he said in reply to Tommy’s comments.
Gino’s a stark contrast to Tommy in the looks department—the stereotypical profile of an Italian goob: olive skin, dark hair hanging perfectly coiffed over his forehead, and perfectly carved shoulder and arm muscles that lead to hard abs. I remember trying to freaking hate the guy—and his abs—but he made it hard.
Checking out of the conversation, my phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I tried to subdue the jolt of hope I got every time I got a notification since Lyzbeth and I exchanged numbers a few days ago, knowing it likely wouldn’t be her since she hadn’t reached out at all since our non-date.
But strike me dead, when I pulled out my phone I saw Princess Consuela flash across the screen. Wiping my hands on my jeans to try to get the drywall dust off them, I nearly dropped my phone as it bounced from one hand to the other and I caught it before it hit the ground. I swiped the green button and quickly put the phone to my ear.
“Lyzbeth?” I’m not sure why I said it like a question. Maybe I thought the universe was playing a trick on me. I could practically see both Tommy and Gino’s ears perk up at hearing me say her name.
“Knox. Hey, it’s, uh, well, it’s Lyzbeth. Obviously.” She let out a nervous laugh.
We were both quiet for a minute as I moved into another “room,” which was a joke because no walls were up yet in the latest building we were working on, so it wasn’t like I actually went anywhere. But, still, it felt like I had a little more privacy.
“It’s good to hear from you,” I said sincerely, as I used my free hand to remove my ball cap, shake it out, and replace it, backwards.
I heard her let out a breath, then in a rush she began, “So, I’m sorry, this is awkward, but I kinda need a favor.” I could practically hear her face scrunch up. “I have that interview for the internship at the paper today, and my freaking car won’t start! I don’t know if it’s the battery or—”
“What time?” I asked as I turned on my heel and waved the guys off as I started to descend the stairs, two at a time.
“I called my sister, but she must be in class, and I believe her boyfriend is in that same class so he’s no use, and of course I have no cash—”
“What time?” I asked again.
“Three o’clock.”
I pulled the phone away from my face to check the time—two-thirty. Pulling open my truck door, I told her, “I’m on my way. Should be there in ten. How far away is the office from campus?”
“Only like ten minutes. But, Knox, are you sure this isn’t an inconvenience? I know you’re working—”
“Ten minutes. Be outside waiting for me!” I hung up, then sent a quick group text to my dad and the guys to let them know something came up, and I had to cut out for the rest of the day. Then I brought the truck to life and peeled out of the lot.
When I pulled up to the dorm, I was struck by how different Lizzie looked. She had black, heeled, ankle-boot-type shoes with black stockings, a short black skirt, and a red top underneath a black blazer with the sleeves rolled up, revealing a white-striped liner on the cuffs. She had more makeup on than she did the other night, and her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail with little curly wisps hanging around her face.
She was the sexiest damn thing I had ever seen.
She bound up to the passenger side door and opened it, and as she stood there, I saw hesitation in her eyes. “Knox, are you sure this is OK?”
“Get in the damn car, woman!” I ordered, and she slung a black leather briefcase into the cab, which I didn’t even realize she was holding, and hoisted herself into the truck. As soon as the door was shut, I pulled away.
“Which way?” I asked, as she buckled herself in.
“Left out of campus, right at the light.”
Getting my bearings on which way I was headed, I finally allowed myself a glance at her again. Seated, her skirt rode up a bit and exposed even more of her thick thigh. When I drew my eyes up her torso to her eyes, I saw her staring at me.
“What?” she asked nervously.
“Nothing,” I shook my head. “Nothing. I just …”
“WHAT?!” she practically barked, and I jumped.
“No. It’s not. It’s just … Is that what women wear in the workplace?”
She stared at me. “What … Why? What do you mean? What’s wrong with my outfit?” She started fidgeting with her blazer and pulling at her skirt.
“No, nothing! Nothing is wrong with it. You just, well—”
“What, Knox?! Tell me!”
“I wanna fucking eat you for dinner, is what!” Smooth, Knox. Real smooth.
She gawked at me like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Seriously, Knox? You’re saying that to me as we rush, late—take the next left, by the way—to this interview, and it’s not like I have a change of clothes in my briefcase along with my portfolio and I didn’t even have anything else to wear PERIOD because apparently I’m stuck in 2005 and nothing I own is even remotely businesslike …”
She stammered on, hands flying through the air as she animatedly lost her mind right there in the cab of my truck. When she pinched her blouse at the chest and started tenting it out and back in, fanning herself like she was having a hot flash, I couldn’t help the smile that plastered across my face. Adorable.
“... and of course, my printer was out of ink so I couldn’t print out my latest writing sample, so they are going to have to go off my older stuff which is OK, but I really feel like it’s not my best—up here on the right!” She pointed out the window.
By the grace of God, there was a parking spot right out front I was able to fit into. “Lizzie, it’s OK. Take a breath,” I said as I put the truck in park and turned it off. “And you’ve even got eleven minutes to spare.”
All joking aside, she was more stressed than I had realized, running her hands up and down her thighs, fanning herself, and looking around and out the windows like she was looking for an emergency exit. She was panicking.
I jumped out of the truck and jogged around the front to open her door. I helped her out, and she kept looking around, wringing her hands, and I swear she had tears in her eyes.
“Woah, hang in there, baby,” I said softly as I secured my hands on her shoulders and ducked down to look into her eyes.
“What if they don’t like me?” she blurted out.
“Hang on,” I said as I released her and tried to pat off the dust from my pants. Why did we have to be hanging drywall today?
Realizing my shirt was toast, I reached behind me and pulled it over my head and tossed it into the back of the truck, leaving me in just my sweaty undershirt. Then, I gently pulled Lyzbeth into my arms. I remember thinking she may stink after that, but at least she wouldn’t be filthy.
“What are you—”
“Shhhh,” I cooed as I wrapped my arms around her and slowly tightened my hold. I could feel her heart beating a mile a minute. She was rigid at first. She murmured into my chest, “Knox. What are you doing?” as I ever so slowly rocked her side to side.
“Think of it like a dance. It’s just a dance,” I said, still swaying with her in my arms.
“Why are we dancing on the street when I have a job interview in like six minutes?” she murmured into me.
“Because you’re about to lose your shit, and that’s not a good look on anyone.” I felt her start to relax. “Now, just take a breath, and tell me: Why should they hire you?”
She stilled, but I urged her to keep swaying with me, my cheek pressed to the top of her head, her breath against my neck. “What?” she asked.
“I can think of about ten reasons why they should hire you, but I want you to tell me why you think you should get the gig.”
A minute passed before she answered. “Well, I have excellent grades in my classes—”
“Mmhmm.”
“I have great references from my professors …”
“Oh yeah?”
“And …”
I stopped swaying and pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. “But why should they really hire you?” I asked.
Her eyes seemed to settle on something just past me, then she brought them back to mine. “Because I’m fucking awesome.”
A grin started to stretch across my face.
“I’m relentless, nosy, have common sense AND street smarts. I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and they will simply find no one else like me.”
Cradling her face in my hand, I felt an odd sense of pride. “There she is,” I said, and she returned my giddy smile. “Now,” I took her shoulders and turned her toward the office, before grabbing her briefcase from the truck and handing it to her, “go kick some ass!” and I swatted her behind, causing her to yelp.
Yep, definitely leaving some boundaries behind.
She gave me a look of disbelief, shook her head, then turned forward, straightened her shoulders, and walked into the building.
About an hour later, Lyzbeth exited the building, talking to a guy who looked at least a decade older than us. He was dressed in clean jeans and a button-down shirt and had a camera slung around his shoulder. They were talking excitedly and seemed to be getting along. They stopped at the end of the walkway and shook hands before he turned and walked in the other direction, and she headed to where I had just stood up after killing time sitting at a nearby bench.
She walked casually as she made her way out of view of the office windows, and I followed, and as soon as we were a safe distance away, she turned around squealing, dropped her briefcase and leaped into my arms.
“I nailed it!” she practically screamed, and I spun her around.
“I knew you would!” I answered. Good lord, why was I so happy?
After she was done squeezing the life out of me, she pulled back and looked down at me. “Uh, sorry, about that,” she stammered as I took a hint and slowly lowered her back to the ground, my body awakening as hers slid against mine all the way down.
She tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear and looked down at the pavement, then back up at me. “Thank you, Knox. Not just for the ride, but for showing up—really showing up for me today.”
I couldn’t take the embarrassment she was trying to hide. “Hey,” I said. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Yeah,” she said, not taking her eyes off mine. “Friends.”
“So … as friends, how about a celebratory dinner? My treat, for kicking ass in there.”
Lizzie looked elated and then instantly deflated. “Shit. I can’t. I really want to. But I have other plans.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling like an asshole for assuming she would be available on the spot.
“It’s a family thing,” she clarified, and when I looked back up at her, she was wringing her hands like she was earlier. Biting the inside of her cheek, she gave pause before asking, “Why don’t you come with me?”
Shocked by her invitation, I removed my ball cap, ran my hand through my hair and replaced it, looking down at my work clothes. “I’m not dressed to impress right now,” I said.
Lyzbeth shook her head. “It’s just dinner at my sister’s with my mom. We try to do it at least once a week. We just order in. It’s very casual.”
“You sure?” I asked, still perplexed by the invite, but also not wanting to part ways with her.
She eyed me for a minute, before answering, “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Girl, I just told Mom you were bringing a boy toy, and she didn’t believe me!” A dark-haired female with a face strikingly similar to Lyzbeth’s opened the door wide to an off-campus apartment.
Shocked, and a little excited by the greeting, I stood frozen while I took in this chick’s black Adidas T-shirt, baggy gray sweats, and socks with athletic sandals.
Sighing, Lyzbeth looked at me, seeing the relief in my eyes that her sister was dressed even less to impress than I was, and said, “Told you it was casual.” Then she turned to her sister, “Leanne, this is Knox. Knox, Leanne. And he’s not my boy toy, he’s my friend. Mom here yet?”
“Just arrived,” Leanne replied, as Lyzbeth pushed past her and strolled into the apartment while her sister waved me inside.
“Sorry for being a last minute plus-one,” I said.
“Not at all,” Leanne said, as she shut the door behind me, and I took in the small living space. The apartment opened right up into the living room, with a dining room and kitchenette just further inside to the left. I was wondering where their mom was when a guy came down the small hallway off to the right, tucking a notebook into a backpack.
“Hey, Lizzie,” he greeted Lyzbeth with a half-hug. “I hear you brought a gentleman caller.” That comment got him a shoulder-punch from Lyzbeth, to which he responded by putting her in a pseudo headlock and ruffling her ponytail.
“Kirk!” she squealed. Once he let her go, she fluffed her hair and turned back toward me. “Kirk, this is my friend, Knox. Knox, this is Leanne’s horrible taste in a lover, Kirk.”
“Nice to meet you, man,” Kirk said as he came at me with his hand extended.
“Same,” I replied, and we exchanged a strong handshake. Kirk had short-cropped dark-blonde hair and wore wiry glasses. He had a chiseled face and was sporting a pair of dark jeans and a hoodie.
He turned back to Lizzie. “Leanne said your car wouldn’t start today. If you give me your key, I can try and jump your car while I’m on campus.”
“Yes!” She started digging around in her purse, then pulled her keys out and took one off the ring. “That would be awesome. Thank you.”
“Oh, I can check it out when I take Lizzie back,” I offered, feeling like an ass for completely forgetting the reason I had her in tow today.
“It’s all good,” Kirk answered. “I’ve got time before my night class starts, anyway. Sorry to leave you with the trifecta here.” He hooked a thumb in the direction of Leanne and Lizzie, who were buddied up at a small kitchen table, hunched over an iPad propped up in its case. He then darted over and gave Leanne a quick kiss before breezing by me and grabbing his backpack.
He slapped me on the shoulder as he went to make his exit. “Next time we have a drink, eh?”
“Sounds good,” I replied, appreciating his kindness.
After the door closed behind him, Lyzbeth called me over to the table. “Knox, come meet my mom,” she said, waving me over, just like her sister had done to invite me inside.
I looked around awkwardly as I approached the table, and that’s when Lizzie turned the iPad around to face me, and I saw a woman with short dark hair with a thick streak of gray trailing down one side, sitting at a table with bright sunlight shining behind her. She had kind eyes that crinkled slightly at the corners, and she wore a bright lipstick that drew attention to her flawless white teeth and genuine smile.
“You must be Knox!” she announced excitedly, her hands going up in front of her in a way that, if she were actually standing in front of me, I would expect her to cradle my face in them.
Leaning down and bracing my hands on the table, I glanced over the top of the iPad at the two sisters before I focused my attention on their mother. “The one and only.” I gave her my best, panty-dropping smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. …”
Shit! I looked up at Lyzbeth for help, and she just stared at me with humor in her eyes, clearly not about to throw me a bone. Then I looked over at her sister, who didn’t seem to know what the hell was going on, before I looked back at the screen.
“Um, well this is embarrassing—”
“Oh, are you kidding me?” Leanne barked out, then began laughing hysterically. “You don’t even know each other’s last names?”
Humiliated. Mortified. I hung my head before I heard Lizzie chirp up, “I know his last name. It’s Mitchell.” Snapping my head back up, I couldn’t help the chuckle that came out of me when I saw her trying to cover her laughter with both hands.
“Oh, stop it, you two!” their mother chided. “Knox, you turn that thing around right now!”
Doing as I was told, I swiveled the iPad back around toward the two giggling buffoons and heard their mother tear into them. “Lizzie and Lee-Lee, that is no way to treat a dinner guest, you hear me?”
“Mmhmm,” Leanne responded, still suppressing a laugh. I heard their mom sigh on the other side of the screen, then yell, “Knox, get over here!” to which I high-tailed it to the other side of the table to stand behind Lizzie and “Lee-Lee.”
I saw their mom press her forearms on the table and lean in, as if she were trying to get closer to us. “The name is Nora Tanner, but don’t you dare call me Mrs. Tanner, you hear? Call me Nora.”
Nodding, I leaned in as well, one arm on the back of each of the girls’ chairs. “Yes ma’am,” I said. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Nora. I see where these two young ladies get their beauty.”
“Oh, good grief,” Lyzbeth practically cursed as I wrapped my arms around each of the girls’ shoulders and pulled them in closer. Leanne just laughed.
“Oh, I like this one,” Nora said with a giddy smile all her own. “Dad would have approved of this one.”
Would have?My eyes quickly darted to the side toward Lizzie, who acknowledged me with a nod. “Our dad died when I was ten. Cancer.”
“Sorry to hear that,” was all I could think to say.
“Mom migrated down south, and now lives with her boyfriend, George, in Florida,” Leanne filled me in.
A knock at the door had Leanne bouncing out of her chair. “Finally, I’m starving!” she said dramatically as she opened the door for a delivery guy holding bags of food.
Lyzbeth stood up, slid her chair over toward the center for me to sit in, then grabbed another from the other side of the table and slid it right next to mine. When Leanne came back over with the food, we all sat down close—like three peas in a fucking pod.
“OK, we’ve got vegetable lo mein, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and—apparently—enough white rice to feed a continental army,” Leanne said as she started pulling containers out of the bags.
“Oh, I’ll take the lo mein!” Lyzbeth said, reaching over me to grab the container, brushing her body against my shoulder.
She dove a fork into the mass of noodles and shoveled some into her mouth right from the container. I looked to my right and saw Leanne doing the same with the beef and broccoli.
“Don’t be shy,” she said around a mouthful of brown meat. “I don’t like to dirty dishes if I don’t have to.”
“Oh heavens,” I heard Nora pipe up from the screen, and I looked to see she also had containers of food in front of her, along with an actual plate. “Knox, believe me when I say, I didn’t raise animals. I don’t know where they get their lack of manners.”
“You know what,” I said, grabbing a plastic fork off the table and the container of sesame chicken, “I don’t like washing dishes, either.” And I speared a piece of fried and sauced chicken and popped it into my mouth, releasing an obnoxious groan to let all the ladies know how delicious it was.
Leanne laughed. Nora blushed. Lyzbeth locked eyes with me, and I saw it there … heat. Raw heat.
After one of the best foursome dinner dates of my life, Lizzie and I left Leanne’s apartment. She was quiet as we descended the stairs. “Thanks,” she said softly as I held the outside door open for her to walk through, ducking slightly to go under my arm, never looking at me.
We walked in silence to the parking lot. It was dark, with the streetlights casting orbs of light here and there. I reached into my pocket to retrieve my keys as we approached my truck, which was parked right under a streetlamp, a circle of orange light encasing it and the cars on either side of it.
Lyzbeth fell in step behind me as I approached the passenger side door, and I froze when I felt her arms circle around my midsection from behind and she pressed her head against my back, causing me to fumble with the keys. Before I could react, she circled around, under my arm and pushed herself between me and the door, resting her back against the truck. Her hands settled on my waist. We were both breathing heavily. I watched her chest swell with each intake of air, the tops of her breasts rising and falling.
And then she did something so fucking hot.
She tilted her head downward, then shot her eyes up at me, searing me through thick lashes, with her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. She slowly reached up and removed my hat, which was forward-facing, and replaced it backwards. Then, with one hand she trailed her fingertips against my cheek and jaw, taking in the feel of my scruff.
I braced my hands against the truck on either side of her, sweaty palms flat against the metal. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest as I stood there in the middle of a dark parking lot, under a streetlight that felt like a heat lamp pulling beads of sweat to trickle down my temple and neck.
She slowly reached her arms around the back of my neck and pulled herself up to me, while also pulling me toward her, resting our foreheads against each other.
We exchanged one, two, three gulps of air before she ghosted her lips over mine, and it was the sweetest, most tender touch. It took all my restraint not to simply devour her as I kept my hands on the truck while I leaned down and returned her affection.
Slowly, gently, I pulled her lips tighter to mine, and we moved them in tandem. We introduced our tongues, and our mouths danced as our heartbeats quickened.
The kiss lasted for moments. I’m not sure how many, exactly. But we took our time. I felt her fingers on my ribs, outside my shirt, as she pulled me into her and my mouth briefly left hers only to taste her jaw, her cheek, her neck, and then return to her mouth. I didn’t know what part of her tasted better—and damn, I wanted to taste every part of her.
She released a sweet mewl into my mouth and that was it, I came undone.
With a grunt, I grabbed her face then pushed her into the side of the truck. I slid my hands down her throat, then ran them down her body, grazing the sides of her breasts, down her sides and over her ass with a squeeze.
My truck was too tall for me to hoist her up onto the hood, so I spun her around and lifted her up onto the hood of the sedan parked next to me. Her arms circled around my neck, and she pulled me into her as I grabbed her spread legs behind the knees and ground her onto me.
“Knox,” she panted as we dry humped right there, on top of someone else’s car, under a spotlight.
“I know, baby,” I breathed as we both gulped for air.
After we had explored every possible inch of each other while still fully clothed and in public—not that we seemed to care that much—I hesitantly pulled away and rested my forehead against hers once again.
“Lizzie,” I said, kissing her cheek and catching my breath.
“Yeah?” she breathed, and I kissed her other cheek.
“Tell me what you want.” I kissed her neck. God, I couldn’t stop kissing her. “You want to get in my truck? You want to go to my apartment? Want me to take you home? You tell me.” I ran a trail of kisses along her collar bone and hoped she didn’t destroy me with her answer.
“Knox, I—” she sucked in a hiss when I laved my tongue over the vein in her neck.
“Mmhmm?”
“I, oh God—” She pulled away and put her face in her hands, then peered at me through her fingers with humiliation on her face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I gently pulled her hands away from her face. “Whatever you want from me, I’ll do it. You want me to stop—”
“No,” she practically spat. “That’s the last thing I want. What I want is for you to push me inside your truck and do unspeakable things to me, but …”
My heart hammered and my dick strained in my jeans as I watched her eyes dart around. Nerves wracked me.
“What is it, Lizzie? Talk to me.” I placed her hands on my shoulders as I circled my arms around her waist, and she tightened her legs around me.
She turned her head up toward the sky, squinted and let out a rushed breath. “It’s bad timing, if you get my drift. You know, I’m kind of … mid-cycle …”
It took me a second to pick up what she was putting down, but then I threw my head back and let out a howl.
“Glad to see you find this amusing,” she said, pushing my shoulder but making no success in putting any space between us.
I smoothed her hair back and kissed her chastely. “I thought maybe you weren’t into this.”
She scoffed. “Uh, hello, I’m practically soaking the hood of this person’s car!” She gestured to her crotch, and the combination of the naughty suggestion and the truth behind it made me want to sink into her right there—cycle be damned.
But, instead, I kissed her once more. Massaging her lips and tongue with everything I had, with everything in me, then pulled away and pulled her onto her feet.
“What’s the rush, right?” I said as I pulled her into my arms and hugged her.
“Easy for you to say, your panties aren’t wet,” she said through lips that were smushed into my chest.
I practically groaned. “OK, first of all, I fucking love your filthy mouth. Second, my ‘panties’ might not be wet, but they are definitely tight.”
She glanced down at my raging boner, and we both laughed as I adjusted myself.
“Maybe we can get some ice cream from one of the food trucks down the street,” she said. “You know, cool off a little.”
“Good idea,” I said, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear once more. “We good?”
She smiled at me. “Oh, we’re way more than good.”
After sharing ice cream cones, and licking sweet drips off each other’s lips, chins and fingers, I drove Lizzie home. As I pulled up to the building and idled the truck and she unbuckled her seatbelt, I reached over and grabbed her waist, sliding her across the seat to me—thankful my truck didn’t have a center console. Taking her chin between my thumb and finger, I kissed her soft and sweet. God, her lips were practically swollen from our constant kissing, and the caveman in me loved it.
“Goodnight, Knox,” she purred before sliding back across the seat and exiting the truck. And then that little vixen took one, two, three backward steps before sashaying up the front steps to the building, peering at me over her shoulder and giving me a little wave of her fingers, then disappearing inside.
Grinning like a lovesick puppy, I ran my hand down my face as I waited for her to appear in her window, which I knew she would.
I was startled by a knock on my window and I looked over to see Ally standing there, all smiles and heart eyes. For the love of God, woman, take a hint. Reluctantly, I rolled my window down.
“Hey, Knoxie!” she chirped.
Knoxie?
“Uh, hey, Ally.”
“What brings you to these parts of the woods?” She batted her eyelashes and leaned her crossed arms into the open window.
“Actually, I was just dropping someone off after a date,” I said.
A little pout on her downturned lips, she nodded, then pulled back, gripping her hands on the open window as she said, “Well, if it doesn’t work out. Call me.” And with a wink she backed away, pulling a little baggie from her pocket and shaking it at me, letting me know she had something I may be interested in.
But for once, I wasn’t at all interested in that. I have another high I want to chase, I thought to myself, as I looked up to see Lizzie staring out the window—no doubt having seen Ally at my window. A look of disappointment was in her eyes.
Shit.