Chapter 3
ROMY
Icould hear Rush yelling, and I wasn’t weak. Hell, I squatted heavy at the gym. But the slope and the momentum I gained when the truck released me at the exit were all working against me. The pedal was like a brick under my foot. No power, no assist, nothing.
“Brake!" he was yelling.
As if I wasn't already. I'd nearly pushed the seat into the back and I had both feet jammed one on top of the other on the brake pedal.
In my panic, I hadn’t even thought to yank the e-brake.
I could see it happening in slow motion and there wasn't a thing I could do.
Should I open the door and jump? It wasn't really an option because he'd probably run me over with his bike.
I had to ride this one out and see what the landing would be like. Wet for sure, but I hoped it would be soft.
My mind was in overdrive. Was I going to drown? How deep was the lake? Thank god there were no people in my line of disaster.
My window was down so at least I could escape.
My mind was processing faster than my body could react. And then it happened.
It was actually quite smooth and slow. There was no sudden jolt.
No airbag exploding in my face, just a sinking feeling and the sheer panic that this was my last day on earth.
I didn't even try the door as the water started filling the cabin.
I pulled myself out through the window and fell into the lake, standing up soaked in two feet of water.
I could have opened the door and only gotten wet to the waist, but no, Romy doesn't do things in small steps.
Always a fucking performance.
Rush was in the water beside me, helping me to my feet. He must have ditched the bike on the grass the second he saw where I was heading.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. Just wet."
His eyes looked down and I knew what he was seeing, but he brought them back up in a flash and kept them fixed on mine like he was too scared to move them.
I laughed. "You can look," I said.
And he did. And he smiled, and I felt really hot again even though I was dripping wet with cold water.
He held out his hand and helped me to the grass, then handed me his jacket to pull over my transparent top and very obvious nipples.
"My phone," I said.
"Where?"
"In the glove compartment. Why I put it there I will never know, but it was one good thing I did today."
He waded back into the water and fished it out along with my handbag, which had been on the seat and was wet through.
I looked at the phone and it was working, so I made the call that was long overdue.
Rush
This woman just kept getting hotter from one disaster to the next.
She looked hot on the bridge in her short skirt riding up her legs. But now. Holy fuck.
I knew I shouldn't look but I couldn't help myself. Her top was wet through and the pink bra underneath did nothing to hide the dark of her nipples, or the fact they looked like they'd poke my eyes out if I didn't drag my gaze off them.
I brought my eyes up to hers, hoping like a silly schoolboy that she hadn't seen where they'd just been. It was one of those moments when you know you've been caught but you fool yourself into thinking otherwise.
And then she gave me permission to take another look, and I wasn't about to let that chance go by.
I didn't want to linger too long. Well, to be honest, I wanted to linger there for the rest of the day. But I kept myself in check and hoped this was the first of many that she'd let me push my luck.
Fuck, they… she was gorgeous.
I helped her back to the grass and gave her enough side-eye, without her catching me this time, to lock in the mental photograph. In case that was all I was getting.
It pained me to see her covered in my jacket, but I was a gentleman and that's what gentlemen did, right? It swamped her, but I liked the idea of her wearing a piece of my clothing.
After I fished her phone and bag out of the car, she was already on a mission to sort out one area of her life. She didn't tell me who she was calling, but I knew it wasn't AAA.
Good. She needed to offload that loser so I could test my chances.
Romy
“We're done," I told Jeremy.
"Done how?" he asked.
"Like for good."
I was sitting sideways on Rush's bike. I hadn't considered that I was making his seat wet because I needed to make this call. I was angry beyond reason.
He was silent, so I said, "Did you hear me?"
"Yeah, but let's talk about this after the weekend."
"No. It's too late for talking. You can move your stuff out when you get back and stay with one of your bros."
"Move out?" His voice was raised like he couldn't believe it was him who had to move, so I gave him the facts he already knew.
"I pay the lease. I pay the utilities. And all the food."
"I caught some big fish," he said.
My parents were right. He wasn't the man for me.
"Fish! Fucking fish! That's all you think about. You can stick your fish up your ass. I had to get fished out of a lake because the car died, and that was on you."
"What the hell. In the lake? Which one?"
"A wet one."
"Yeah, but how did you end up in the lake?"
"Long story I'm not interested in repeating to you. The car failed. I got soaked. I could have drowned and the car is submerged."
He was quiet.
"You'll have more fun staying with your friends and I'll get on with my life. If your shit isn't gone by Monday, I will order a dumpster and a real man to fill it."
Then I ended the call.
I looked at Rush and he didn't say a word. Instead he pulled his phone out and made a call.