14. Sprocket
SPROCKET
Icould see the wheels turning in Dax’s brain, taking in everything that had just happened.
We all knew what Eagle had done, the gloves were off and she was fair game.
Knowing that I had the whole morning alone with her made me smile.
I was going to take her apart piece by piece until I could figure her out, see what makes her tick.
Being the quiet guy allowed me to observe people, watch them when they didn’t notice I was in the room.
It gave me an advantage as an adult, but was born from years of abuse and self preservation.
From the little time I’ve watched Dax I could tell she had a kindred spirit.
She’d been through her own version of hell and fought to land on top.
My fingers itched to peel back the layers of sass and bravado to see what was really hidden at her core.
“You can take a picture if you want, that way you can stare at it whenever you like,” Dax said, glancing at me from the corner of her eye.
I shook my head slowly, “Pictures never do the real thing justice.”
Dax snorted as she turned to give me her full attention.
Her silver-blue eyes wandered over me searching for anything she could use to figure me out.
I knew what happened this morning between us had caught her off guard and she still couldn’t decide what to make of it.
Grinning I gulped down the last of my tea before grabbing her plate and putting them in the dishwasher.
“Well babysitter what’s on the agenda?” Dax asked, trying to get a rise out of me.
“I have work to do in the shop, parts came in yesterday so I can finish up a few bikes,” I answered, walking to the pool table and grabbing the pair of black lace-up combat boots off them. “Here you're going to need these, can’t let you hang around wearing flip-flops.”
She took them from me and looked at the size, her eyes widening, “How did you know my size?”
“It’s a talent I guess you could say, I’ve always been good at matching up parts,” I said, giving her a wink.
I liked seeing her off balance, she was far too used to being in control, but I wasn’t going to make it that easy. “Come on we're burning daylight.”
“Fuck that, it only showed up an hour ago, it can give me a minute,” Dax grumbled, as she pulled out the pair of socks I had stuffed in one boot.
Muttering to herself she pulled on both boots but could only lace one up halfway because of the ankle tracker. Finished, she clomped her way over to me, stopped, hands on her hips, eyes bright with irritation. “Well, lets get on with it.”
Today was going to be a fun day.